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The Battles of Lexington and Concord
kicked off the American Revolutionary War (1775-83). Tensions had been building for many years between residents of the 13 American colonies and the British authorities, particularly in Massachusetts. -
The Winter at Valley Forge
The six-month encampment of General George Washington’s Continental Army at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-1778 was a major turning point in the American Revolutionary War. While conditions were notoriously cold and harsh and provisions were in short supply. -
Benedict Arnold turns traitor
In 1779, he entered into secret negotiations with the British, agreeing to turn over the U.S. post at West Point in return for money and a command in the British army. The plot was discovered, but Arnold escaped to British lines. His name has since become synonymous with the word “traitor.” -
The Battle of Cowpens
took place in the latter part of the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution and of the Revolution itself. It became known as the turning point of the war in the South, part of a chain of events leading to Patriot victory at Yorktown2 The Cowpens victory was won over a crack British regular army3 and brought together strong armies and leaders who made their mark on history. -
The USS Constitution defeats the HMS Guerriere
A battle between the two ships during the War of 1812, approximately 400 miles (640 km) southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia. It took place shortly after war had broken out, exactly one month after the first engagement between British and American forces. Guerriere had been detached from a squadron which had earlier failed to capture Constitution and was proceeding to Halifax for a refit. -
The Battle of Baltimore
was a sea/land battle fought between British invaders and American defenders in the War of 1812. -
The Battle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815[1] between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the French Quarter of New Orleans in the current suburb of Chalmette, Louisiana. -
The Election of Andrew Jackson
It was held from Friday, October 31 to Tuesday, December 2, 1828. It featured a rematch of the 1824 election, as President John Quincy Adams of the National Republican Party faced Andrew Jackson of the Democratic Party. Jackson's victory over Adams marked the start of Democratic dominance in federal politics. -
Mexico loses California, New Mexico, and Arizona
This treaty, signed on February 2, 1848, ended the war between the United States and Mexico. By its terms, Mexico ceded 55 percent of its territory, including parts of present-day Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah, to the United States. -
South Carolina secedes from the United States
South Carolina became the first state to secede from the federal Union on December 20, 1860. -
Abraham Lincoln Elected President
Elected the 16th president of the United States over a deeply divided Democratic Party, becoming the first Republican to win the presidency. Lincoln received only 40 percent of the popular vote but handily defeated the three other candidates: -
The First Battle of Bull Run
The engagement began when about 35,000 Union troops marched from the federal capital in Washington, D.C. to strike a Confederate force of 20,000 along a small river known as Bull Run. -
The Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg, fought from July 1 to July 3, 1863, is considered the most important engagement of the American Civil War. After a great victory over Union forces at Chancellorsville, General Robert E. Lee marched his Army of Northern Virginia into Pennsylvania in late June 1863. On July 1, the advancing Confederates clashed with the Union’s Army of the Potomac, commanded by General George G. Meade, at the crossroads town of Gettysburg. -
The Treaty at Appomattox Courthouse
Trapped by the Federals near Appomattox Court House, Confederate general Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Union general Ulysses S. Grant, precipitating the capitulation of other Confederate forces and leading to the end of the bloodiest conflict in American history. -
The Battle of the Alamo
Was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. -
The Sinking Of The USS Maine
an explosion of unknown origin sank the battleship U.S.S. Maine in the Havana, Cuba harbor, killing 266 of the 354 crew members. -
The Adoption of the Star Spangled Banner as the National Anthem
President Herbert Hoover signed the bill on March 4, 1931, officially adopting "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the national anthem of the United States of America. -
Battle of the Philippines
Battle of the Philippine Sea, (June 19–20, 1944), naval battle of World War II between the Japanese Combined Fleet and the U.S. Fifth Fleet. Known as “the greatest carrier battle of the war,” it accompanied the U.S. landing on Saipan and ended in a complete U.S. victory.