Early American Wars Timeline

By nicholasknapier

  • The Battles of Lexington and Concord

    The Battles of Lexington and Concord on 19 April 1775, the famous 'shot heard 'round the world', marked the start of the American War of Independence (1775-83). Politically disastrous for the British, it persuaded many Americans to take up arms and support the cause of independence.

  • The Winter at Valley Forge

    Valley Forge was the winter encampment of the Continental Army, under the command of George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. The Valley Forge encampment lasted six months, from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778.

  • 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. So how did Arnold, with his patriot's pedigree, become the most hated man in America?

  • The Battle of Cowpens

    Battle of Cowpens - At the Cowpens, a frontier pastureland, on January 17, 1781, Daniel Morgan led his army of tough Continentals and backwoods militia to a brilliant victory over Banastre Tarleton's battle-hardened force of British regulars. Located in present-day South Carolina north of Spartanburg

  • The USS Constitution defeats the HMS Guerriere

    On August 19, 1812, USS Constitution met and defeated HMS Guerriere, a 38-gun British frigate under the command of Captain James Richard Dacres.

  • The Battle of Baltimore

    The Battle of Baltimore was a sea/land battle fought on September 13 1814. American forces repulsed sea and land invasions off the port city of Baltimore, Maryland. The combatants first met at the Battle of North Point.

  • 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 General Andrew Jackson. It took place 5 miles east-southeast of the city of New Orleans, close to the town of Chalmette, Louisiana, and it was a U.S. victory.

  • The Election of Andrew Jackson

    The 1828 United States presidential election was the 11th quadrennial presidential election. It was held from Friday, October 31 to Tuesday, December 2, 1828.

  • The Battle of the Alamo

    Battle of the Alamo, battle during the Texas Revolution that occurred from February 23 to March 6, 1836, in San Antonio, Texas. It ended in a decisive victory for Mexican forces over “Texian” volunteers, who were annihilated.

  • 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 California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming

  • Abraham Lincoln Elected President

    The 1860 United States presidential election was the 19th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 1860.

  • 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 First Battle of Bull Run

    The first land battle of the Civil War was fought on July 21, 1861, just 30 miles from Washington—close enough for U.S. senators to witness the battle in person. Southerners called it the Battle of Manassas, after the closest town. Northerners called it Bull Run, after a stream running through the battlefield.

  • 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 Treaty at Appomattox Courthouse

    The Battle of Appomattox Court House, fought in Appomattox County, Virginia, on the morning of April 9, 1865, was one of the last battles of the American Civil War.

  • The sinking of the USS Maine

    USS Maine, a second-class battleship built between 1888 and 1895, was sent to Havana in January 1898 to protect American interests during the long-standing revolt of the Cubans against the Spanish government. In the evening of 15 February 1898, Maine sank when her forward gunpowder magazines exploded.

  • Battle of the Philippines (Spanish American War, not World War II)

    On February 4, 1899, just two days before the U.S. Senate ratified the treaty, fighting broke out between American forces and Filipino nationalists led by Emilio Aguinaldo who sought independence rather than a change in colonial rulers.

  • The Adoption of the Star Spangled Banner as the National Anthem

    The Senate passed the bill on March 3, 1931. 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.