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The Winter at Valley Forge
George Washington lead about 11,000 soldiers through Valley Forge in the winter. A couple hundred died due to diseases. -
The Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. They marked the outbreak of armed conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and its thirteen colonies in America. -
Benedict Arnold turns traitor
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 between U.S. forces under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan and British forces under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton, as part of the campaign in the Carolinas (North and South). -
The USS Constitution defeats the HMS Guerriere
USS Constitution met and defeated HMS Guerriere, a 38-gun British frigate under the command of Captain James Richard Dacres. While relatively inconsequential in strategic terms for the War of 1812, the stunning victory provided a much needed morale boost for the American public. -
The Battle of Baltimore
The Battle of Baltimore was a sea/land battle fought between British invaders and American defenders 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 Battle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans was the last major battle of the War of 1812. It happened on January 8, 1815, although it was preceded by smaller skirmishes. Under the command of General Andrew Jackson, American forces successfully repelled the invading British army -
The Election of Andrew Jackson
The victory of Jackson indicated a westward movement of the centre of political power. He was also the first man to be elected president through a direct appeal to the mass of the voters rather than through the support of a recognized political organization. -
The Battle of the Alamo
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
A 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
Abraham Lincoln is elected the 16th president of the United States over a deeply divided Democratic Party, becoming the first Republican to win the presidency. For preserving the Union and bringing an end to slavery, and for his unique character and powerful oratory, Lincoln is hailed as one of the greatest American presidents. -
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 Battle of Bull Run, also known as the Battle of Manassas, marked the first major land battle of the American Civil War. The First Battle of Bull Run (called First Manassas in the South) cost some 3,000 Union casualties, compared with 1,750 for the Confederates. Its outcome sent northerners who had expected a quick, decisive victory reeling, and gave rejoicing southerners a false hope that they themselves could pull off a swift victory. -
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. Gettysburg ended Confederate general Robert E. Lee’s ambitious second quest to invade the North and bring the Civil War to a swift end. The loss there dashed the hopes of the Confederate States of America to become an independent nation. -
The Treaty at Appomattox Courthouse
Generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee met in the parlor of a house in Appomattox Court House, Virginia, to discuss the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, which would effectively end the Civil War. -
The sinking of the USS Maine
President William McKinley sends the battleship USS Maine to Havana to protect U.S. interests in Cuba. The Maine explodes in Havana Harbor, killing 266 men. An inquiry conducted by the U.S Navy concludes that the explosion was caused by the detonation of a mine under the ship. -
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. -
Battle of the Philippines
The invasion of the Philippines by the Empire of Japan and the defense of the islands by United States and the Philippine Armies during World War II. Japan's conquest of the Philippines is often considered the worst military defeat in US history. About 23,000 American military personnel and about 100,000 Filipino soldiers were killed or captured.