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The Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord was the first major military campaign of the American Revolutionary War, resulting in an American victory -
The Winter at Valley Forge
11,000 of Washington's Continental Army faced a lack of shelter, blankets, winter coats, and even shoes -
Benedict Arnold turns traitor
Revolutionary War hero Benedict Arnold turned his back on his country in a secret meeting with a top British official -
The Battle of Cowpens
A strategically ingenious American victory during the American Revolution over a British force in South Carolina -
The USS Constitution defeats the HMS Guerriere
a battle between an American and British ship during the War of 1812, about 400 miles southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia -
The Battle of Baltimore
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 Battle of New Orleans
American victory at the Battle of New Orleans became a symbol of American democracy triumphing over the old European ideas of aristocracy and entitlement -
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 Battle of the Alamo
Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission -
Mexico loses California, New Mexico, and Arizona
By terms of the treaty, 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. -
Abraham Lincoln Elected President
Lincoln took office following the 1860 presidential election where almost all of Lincoln's votes came from the Northern United States, as the Republicans held little appeal to voters in the Southern United States. -
South Carolina secedes from the United States
The victory of Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 presidential election triggered cries for disunion across the slaveholding South -
The First Battle of Bull Run
The first major battle of the American Civil War -
The Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg marked the turning point of the Civil War. With more than 50,000 estimated casualties, the three-day engagement was the bloodiest single battle of the conflict. -
The Treaty at Appomattox Courthouse
Confederate general Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Union General Ulysses S. Grant -
The sinking of the USS Maine
Maine sank when her forward gunpowder magazines exploded. -
Battle of the Philippines (Spanish American War, not World War II)
The Spanish–American War began in the aftermath of the internal explosion of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor in Cuba -
The Adoption of the Star Spangled Banner as the National Anthem
President Herbert Hoover signed a congressional act making “The Star-Spangled Banner” the official national anthem of the United States.