-
The Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were some of the leading military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy, and Cambridge. -
The Winter at Valley Forge
The winter of 1777-78 was not the coldest nor the worst winter experienced during the war, but regular freezing and thawing, plus intermittent snowfall and rain, coupled with shortages of provisions, clothing, and shoes, made living conditions extremely difficult. -
Benedict Arnold turns traitor
On September 21, 1780, Revolutionary War hero Benedict Arnold turned his back on his country in a secret meeting with a top British official. -
The Battle of Cowpens
The Battle of Cowpens was an engagement during the American Revolutionary War fought on January 17, 1781, near the town of Cowpens, South Carolina, between American Patriot forces under Brigadier General. -
The USS Constitution defeats the HMS Guerriere
USS Constitution vs HMS Guerriere was a battle between an American and British ship during the War of 1812, about 400 miles southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia. It took place on the 19th of August 1812, one month after the war's first engagement between British and American forces. -
The Battle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815, between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles southeast of the French Quarter of New Orleans, in the current suburb of Chalmette, Louisiana. -
The Battle of Baltimore
The Battle of Baltimore was a battle fought between British and American forces in the War of 1812. American forces repulsed sea and land invasions off the busy port city of Baltimore, Maryland, and killed the commander of the invading British forces. The British and Americans first met at the Battle of North Point -
the election of Andrew Jackson
Jackson decisively won the election, carrying 55.5% of the popular vote and 178 electoral votes, to Adams' 83. The election marked the rise of Jacksonian Democracy and the transition from the First Party System to the Second Party System. -
The Battle of the Alamo
The Battle of the Alamo was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Antonio de Béxar, killing most of the occupants. -
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 the present-day states of California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming. -
South Carolina secedes from the United States
South Carolina became the first state to secede from the federal Union on December 20, 1860. The victory of Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 presidential election triggered cries for disunion across the slaveholding South. -
The Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg was a three-day battle in the American Civil War fought between Union and Confederate forces between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania -
The First Battle of Bull Run
The First Battle of Bull Run, called the Battle of First Manassas by Confederate forces, was the first major battle of the American Civil War. The battle was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, just north of the city of Manassas and about thirty miles west-southwest of Washington, D.C -
The Treaty at Appomattox Courthouse
On April 9th, 1865, General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia surrendered, symbolizing the end of the Civil War for many, though fighting continued in some regions for several months. Even in defeat, Lee hoped to break through the Union lines for provisions and keep the fight alive, but this was not to be as Union forces blocked his way. -
The sinking of the USS Maine
On February 15, 1898, 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 sinking of the Maine incited United States' passions against Spain, eventually leading to a naval blockade of Cuba and a declaration of war. -
Battle of the Philippines
The Battle of Manila (Filipino: Labanan sa Maynila; Spanish: Batalla de Manila), sometimes called the Mock Battle of Manila, was a land engagement that took place in Manila on August 13, 1898, at the end of the Spanish–American War, four months after the decisive victory by Commodore Dewey's Asiatic Squadron. -
The Adoption of the Star Spangled Banner as the National Anthem
This patriotic song, whose words were written by Francis Scott Key on Sept. 14, 1814, during the War of 1812 with Great Britain, was adopted by Congress as the U.S. national anthem in 1931.