Early American Wars Timeline

  • The Battles of Lexington and Concord

    Massachusetts colonists defied British authority, outnumbered and outfought the Redcoats, and embarked on a lengthy war to earn their independence
  • The Winter at Valley Forge

    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

    Bitter, indignant, and desperate for money, Arnold decided to turn away from his country, brokering a secret agreement to begin spying for the British
  • The Battle of Cowpens

    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.
  • 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 British launched two attacks on us
  • The Battle of New Orleans

    fought on January 8, 1815 between British troops led by General Edward Pakenham and American forces led by General Andrew Jackson
  • 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

    Fighting lasted roughly 90 minutes, and by daybreak all the Defenders had perished,
  • Mexico loses California, New Mexico, and Arizona Battle of the Philippines (Spanish American War, not World War II)

    ended Spain's colonial empire in the Western Hemisphere and secured the position of the United States as a Pacific power.
  • 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 Battle of Bull Run

    Federal forces under General Irvin McDowell attempted to flank Confederate positions by crossing Bull Run but were turned back
  • The Battle of Gettysburg

    fought in the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War.
  • 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
  • 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.