U.S. Military Actions and Wars, 1775 - 1994

1775-1783: The Thirteen ColoniesColonists wage and win a guerilla war for American independence from England.

1798-1800: The Quasi-WarAlong the U.S. Atlantic Coast and the West Indies, an undeclared war with France begins; the U.S. wins 9 of 10 naval encounters.

1801-1805: Tripolitan WarTripoli (now Libya) declares war on the U.S.; the U.S. responds by blockading and then invading Tripoli.

1811: The "Indian Belt" AffairAcross Indiana and Michigan, U.S. forces, led by Tecumseh defeat Native Americans and burn a city, Prophetstown.

1812-1815: The War of 1812The U.S. wars with Great Britain over freedom of the seas, capture of seamen, and a blockade of U.S. ports. Battles were fought in and around Lake Erie; New Orleans, Louisiana; and the nation's capital.  

1817-1818: First Seminole WarFollowing Native American raids in Florida, U.S. forces destroy Seminole villages and break tribal resistance.

1832: Assault on SumatraIn the first U.S. armed intervention in Asia, the U.S. retaliates against an attack on a U.S. merchant vessel, killing 100 Sumatrans and burning the town of Quallah Battoo, located in what is now Indonesia.

1832: Black Hawk WarIn Illinois and Wisconsin, Sac and Fox tribes under Sac leader Black Hawk attack white settlers, but are defeated at the Battle of Bad Axe.

1835-1836: Texas RevolutionTexas settlers revolt against Mexico.

1835-1842: Second Seminole WarIn Florida, American troops clash with Native Americans led by Osceola; the Seminole people are reduced to 350 in number by 1842.

1838-1839: Aroostook WarThe U.S. fights an undeclared war with England over Maine's boundaries. Approximately 10,000 troops camp along the Aroostook River in a conflict without casualties.

1846-1848: The Mexican WarThe U.S. declares war against Mexico; the war ends with Mexico ceding all rights to Texas, and the U.S. purchase of New Mexico and California.

1847-1850: Cayuse WarIn Washington state, Cayuse destroy the intrusive mission of Marcus Whitman, blaming the missionaries for a smallpox outbreak. In addition to Whitman, his wife, and their helpers, 14 Native Americans are killed. The U.S. military forces the Cayuse to surrender and hangs five people.

1855-1858: Third Seminole WarBrigadier General William S. Harney subdues Billy Bowlegs and other Seminole warriors in Florida.

1856: Bleeding KansasConflict erupts in Kansas between pro- and anti-slavery forces, including John Brown; federal troops quell the fighting.

1857-1858: Mormon ExpeditionThe U.S. Army subdues Mormons who refuse to obey federal law in Utah.

1861-1865: American Civil WarAmericans go to war over slavery and the attempted secession of southern states from the United States.

1871: War with KoreaAfter merchants are killed in Korea, the U.S. kills 250 Koreans in battle; a treaty is secured in 1882.

1871-1876: Apache WarsApache leaders Geronimo and Victorio raid white settlers and soldiers in Arizona; Geronimo surrenders in 1886.

1872-1873: Modoc WarIn California and Oregon, U.S. cavalry fight to return the Modoc people and their leader, Kintpuash (known to whites as Captain Jack), to an Oregon reservation; Kintpuash is hanged and the Modoc are exiled to Oklahoma.

1876-1877: Black Hills WarGold in South Dakota brings in whites to Sioux land. Colonel George A. Custer and 264 soldiers are killed at Little Nighorn; subsequently, the U.S. Army destroys Indian resistance.

1877: Nez Percé WarAcross Idaho, Oregon, and the Washington border, the U.S. moves against the previously peaceful Nez Percé people in the Northwest; Chief Joseph leads a skillful retreat towards Canada, but is caught.

1878: Bannock WarNative Americans of the Bannock tribe attack white settlers in Idaho before they suffer heavy losses and are forced back to Fort Hall Reservation.

1890: Messiah WarThe U.S. apprehends Sioux leader Sitting Bull, who is killed when followers try to free him. The Sioux surrender but are massacred at Wounded Knee in South Dakota, in this final fight between Native Americans and the U.S. Army.

1893: Coup in HawaiiU.S. Marines land in the kingdom of Hawaii to aid the overthrow of Queen Lili'upkalani.

1898-1902: Spanish-American WarU.S. victories against Spain lead to the Treaty of Paris, which establishes the independence of Cuba, and cedes Puerto Rico and Guam to the U.S.. The U.S. also purchases the Philippines for $20 million.

1912: Occupation of NicaraguaMarines arrive in Nicaragua to bolster the government of Adolfo Diaz; the last marines depart in 1934.

1914: Tampico AffairAfter U.S. Marines are arrested at Tampico, U.S. forces bombard Veracruz, Mexico, and occupy the city.

1915: Invasion of HaitiU.S. Marines occupy Haiti after a civil war; a treaty between the U.S. and the Haitian Senate makes the island nation a virtual U.S. protectorate. Troops withdraw in 1934.

1916-1917: Expedition Against VillaThe U.S. military invades Northern Mexico to capture Mexican Pancho Villa, who had raided New Mexico, killing 18; U.S. forces numbering 11,000 withdraw, unable to capture Villa.

1917-1918: World War IThe U.S. ends three years of neutrality in the European conflict, declaring war on Germany. An armistice is declared November 11, 1918.

1918-1920: Siberian ExpeditionThe U.S. and other Allied troops invade Russia to protect war supplies during the Russian Revolution.

1927: Protection of Shanghai's International SettlementOne hundred Marines land in Shanghai to defend U.S. property during a civil war there.

1941-1945: World War IIThe U.S. enters World War II after Japanese planes attack Pearl Harbor in Hawaii; in 1945, Germany and Japan surrender to Allied forces.

1950-1953: Korean WarThe U.S. battles North Korean soldiers and then Chinese soldiers in Korea before an armistice is signed in 1953.

1955: Defense of Chinese NationalistsThe U.S. 7th Fleet helps Nationalist Chinese evacuate 25,000 troops and 17,000 civilians from China to Taiwan to escape victorious Communist forces.

1955-1973: Vietnam WarIn 1955, U.S. advisers are sent to Vietnam; in 1964 Congress authorizes President Lyndon B. Johnson to "repel any armed attack" in the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. A cease-fire is declared in 1973.

1961: Bay of Pigs InvasionA CIA-backed invasion of Cuba fails.

1962: Anti-Communist InterventionPresident John F. Kennedy orders 5,000 troops to Thailand to support the right-wing Laotian government.

1965: Dominican CrisisMarines invade the Dominican Republic at the start of a civil war; troops withdraw in 1966.

1975: Mayaguez IncidentA U.S. merchant ship is rescued from Cambodians by U.S. Navy and Marines off the coast of Cambodia.

1980: Operation Eagle ClawA military mission to free American hostages in Iran fails.

1983: Operation Urgent FuryU.S. Marines and Rangers remove U.S. medical students from Grenada.

1986: Operation El Dorado CanyonU.S. war planes strike Libya in retaliation for the Libyan bombing of a West Berlin disco.

1990-1991: Persian Gulf WarThe U.S. leads a multi-nation coalition against Iraq after that country invades Kuwait; Iraq surrenders.

1992-1993: Operation Restore HopeU.S. troops go to Somalia to help restore order and deliver food during a period of unrest and famine.

1994-1995: Operation Uphold DemocracyThe U.S. Army sends troops to Haiti in September 1994 to help restore a democratic government.

1994-1995: Bosnian WarThe United States bombs Bosnia to prevent "ethnic cleansing" by Serbs in that region and then sends troops to Bosnia to join a NATO peacekeeping force there, as well as in other Balkan areas including Macedonia and Kosovo.

Select Chronology of Army History for the Army’s 240th BirthdayThis chronology includes a selection of significant events in U.S. Army history compiled for the Army’s 240th birthday on 14 June 2015.  It should not be considered all-inclusive or comprehensive. 

14 June 1775

The Continental Congress votes to raise ten companies of riflemen in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia.  This was the effective birth of the United States Army.

15 June 1775

George Washington appointed Commander in Chief of the Continental Army.

June 1776

Congress sets up a Board of War and Ordnance, the lineal ancestor of the War Department.

22 August 1776

Battle of New York (Brooklyn Heights).

26 December 1776

Washington and his army cross the Delaware and defeat the Hessian garrison at Trenton.

11 September 1777

Battle of Brandywine.

17 October 1777

British forces under Burgoyne surrender at Saratoga.

Winter 1777-1778

The Army receives its first real military training at Valley Forge from Prussian officer Baron von Steuben.

27 July 1778

Battle of Monmouth.

17 January 1781

Battle of Cowpens.

19 October 1781

Lord Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown.

September 1787

The US Constitution, which specifically provided that the President should be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, is adopted and signed.       

7 August 1789

Congress establishes the Department of War

16 March 1802

Congress authorizes the creation of a Corps of Engineers and a military academy under its control at West Point, New York

1803-1806

The Lewis and Clark Expedition.

18 June 1812-24 December 1814

War of 1812.

25 July 1814

Battle of Lundy’s Lane

13-14 September 1814

British fail to capture Baltimore when Fort McHenry withstands naval bombardment.

8 January 1815

Battle of New Orleans. British forces repulsed at Chalmette Plantation by American troops under the command of Andrew Jackson.

1817-1818

First Seminole War

1835-1842

Second Seminole War

13 May 1846-2 February 1848

War with Mexico.

8 May 1846

Battle of Palo Alto

9 March 1847

American forces land at Vera Cruz.

20 August-13 September 1847

Battles around Mexico City result in defeat of the Mexican Army and capture of the capitol.

12-3 April 1861

Confederate batteries bombard Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor.

15 April 1861

President Lincoln calls for 75,000 volunteers to augment the reduced Regular Army

21 July 1861

First battle of Bull Run.

April-July 1862

The Peninsula Campaign ends outside Richmond with the U.S. forces under McClellan defeated by Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee.

6-7April 1862

Battle of Shiloh.

17 September 1862

Battle of Antietam. 

12-14 December 1862

Battle of Fredericksburg

3 March 1863

Congress passes the Enrollment Act, which establishes national conscription.

1-3 July 1863

Battle of Gettysburg. 

4 July 1863

Vicksburg surrenders.

18 July 1863

The 54th Massachusetts, an African-American regiment, leads the assault on Battery Wagner near Charleston, SC.  

18-20 September 1863

Battle of Chickamauga.

9 March 1864

Grant is promoted to lieutenant general and appointed as General in Chief of all Union armies.

May-June 1864

Grant’s Overland Campaign in Virginia.

May-September 1864

Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign culminates in the capture of Atlanta on 2 September.  

July 1864-April 1865

Siege of Petersburg.

12 November-21 December

Sherman’s “March to the Sea” ends with the capture of Savannah.

30 November 1864

Battle of Franklin, Tennessee.

15 December 1864

Battle of Nashville.

January- April 1865

Sherman’s Carolina’s Campaign.

9 April 1865

Robert E. Lee surrenders to Grant at Appomattox Court House

1862-1890

The Army engages in an almost continuous series of campaigns and battles with Native American tribes on the western frontier.

25 June 1876

Battle of Little Bighorn.

29 December 1890

Battle of Wounded Knee.

25 April-12 August 1898

Spanish-American War.

1899-1902

Philippine Insurrection.

November 1901

Secretary of War Elihu Root directs that the Army War College be established. 

6 April 1917

Congress declares war on Germany.

18 May 1917

Selective Service Act passed, initiating the first draft since the Civil War

July-August 1918

American forces participate in Second Battle of the Marne.

September 1918

St. Mihiel Campaign, the American Expeditionary Force’s first independent action in World War I

26 September-11 November 1918

Meuse-Argonne campaign

11 November 1918

Armistice ending fighting on the Western Front.

16 September 1940

President Roosevelt signs the first peacetime Selective Service and Training Law. 

8 December 1941

U.S. declares war on Japan following the attack on Pearl Harbor

8 May 1942

U.S. forces in the Philippines surrender to the Japanese.

8 November 1942

Operation Torch.  Allied forces land in Morocco and Algeria.

19-24 February 1943

Battle of Kasserine Pass, Tunisia.

7 August 1942-9 February 1943

Guadalcanal Campaign

December 1942- February 1943

Buna, New Guinea Campaign.

February 1943- September 1944

New Guinea Campaign. In a series of landings and operations aimed at bypassing major Japanese resistance, forces under MacArthur leapfrog along the northern New Guinea coast.

10 July 1943

American and British forces land on Sicily.

9 September 1943

American and British forces land at Salerno, Italy.

22 January 1944

U.S. and British forces land at Anzio, Italy.

January-May 1944

Battle of Monte Cassino, Italy.

6 June 1944

D-Day landings in Normandy.

15 June 1944

Marianas Campaign begins with landings on Saipan.

20 October 1944

Landings at Leyte signal the U.S. return to the Philippines.

16 December 1944-25 January 1945

Battle of the Bulge, Belgium.

9 January 1945

U.S. Sixth Army lands at Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, Philippines.

1 April 1945

American forces land on Okinawa

8 May 1945

Victory in Europe.  Germany surrenders.

2 September 1945

Victory over Japan.  Japanese surrender ceremony occurs aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

26 July 1947

President Truman signs the National Security Act into law.  The act creates a “National Military Establishment” consisting of three military departments (Army, Navy, and Air Force), with a Secretary of Defense.

25 June 1950-27 July 1953

Korean War

15 September 1950

Amphibious landing at Inchon, Korea

October 1950

Chinese forces intervene against United Nations forces in Korea.

May- July 1951

U.N. forces counterattack and drive Chinese and North Korean forces north across 38th Parallel.

July 1951- July 1953

Stalemate along the 38th parallel in Korea.

1961-1964

American advisors in South Vietnam increase from 900 to 16,000.

March 1965-January 1973

Major combat operations in Vietnam.

March 1965

First large-scale deployment of U.S. forces to Vietnam.

28 April 1965

Operation POWER PACK, intervention in Dominican Republic begins

14-18 November 1965

First major action between American and North Vietnamese forces in the Ia Drang Valley.

November 1967

Battle of Dak To, Vietnam.

30 January-March 1968

1968 Tet Offensive by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces. 

8 April 1968

1st Cavalry Division links up with U.S. Marines at Khe Sanh, opening a land corridor to the base.

May-June 1970

Incursion into Cambodia.

27 January 1973

Paris Peace Accords signed, effectively ending American involvement in Vietnam

25 October 1983

Operation URGENT FURY, intervention in Grenada begins. 

20 December 1989

Operation JUST CAUSE, intervention in Panama, begins. 

2 August 1990

Iraqi forces invade Kuwait. Operation DESERT SHIELD begins

17 January 1991

Operation DESERT STORM begins with air strikers in Iraq and Kuwait.

24-28 February 1993

Coalition ground forces liberate Kuwait and defeat Iraqi forces in southern Iraq. 

December 1992-March 1995

Operation RESTORE HOPE, intervention in Somalia.

September 1994-March 1995

Operation UPHOLD DEMOCRACY, intervention in Haiti.

14 December 1995

The 1st Armored Division deploys in Bosnia-Herzegovina as part of Operation JOINT ENDEAVOR

7 October 2001

Operation ENDURING FREEDOM begins in Afghanistan. 

19 March 2003

Operation IRAQI FREEDOM begins.

9 April 2003

Baghdad liberated by elements of the 3d Infantry Division and the 1st Marine Division.

13 December 2003

Saddam Hussein captured by soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division.

November-December 2004

Second Battle of Fallujah, Iraq.

January 2007-November 2008

“The Surge” in Iraq during which U.S. forces were reinforced in order to stabilize the military situation.

18 December 2011

Last American combat troops leave Iraq

26 October 2014

The United States officially ends combat operations in Afghanistan after thirteen years

Military Conflicts in U.S. History

This page provides information about military conflicts involving the United States; including the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Indian Wars, Dominican Republic, Bosnia, and more.

American Revolution (1775-1783) Great Britain forced its 13 American colonies to pay taxes but did not give them representation in the British Parliament. This and other injustices led the colonies to declare independence on July 4, 1776. Independence was achieved in 1783, when the Treaty of Paris was signed with Britain.

War of 1812 (1812-1815) British interference with American trade, impressment of American seamen, and “war hawks“ in Congress calling for western expansion into British territory led to war. At the war's conclusion, trade issues remained unresolved, but Britain gave up some of its territorial claims on the continent.

Mexican War (1846-1848) The U.S. annexation of Texas, and its stated desire to acquire California and other Mexican territory, precipitated this war. Mexico was forced to give up two-fifths of its territory. This land eventually became the states of California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.

Civil War (1861-1865) Economic and political rivalry between an agrarian South and an industrial North grew into a civil war fought over slavery and states' rights. Eleven states seceded from the Union to form the Confederate States of America. The Union victory led to the reunification of the country and ended slavery.

Indian Wars (colonial era to 1890) U.S. expansionism led to numerous military conflicts with the indigenous inhabitants of North America, forcing them to give up their land. The massacre at Wounded Knee, S.D., in 1890 is generally considered the last of these conflicts.

Spanish American War (1898) The U.S. supported Cuba's desire for independence from Spanish rule, and seized the opportunity to expand U.S. powers in other parts of the world. At the end of the brief conflict, Cuba gained its independence, and the U.S. gained several former Spanish territories: Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.

World War I (1914-1918) Rivalries over power, territory, and wealth led to the “Great War.“ In 1917, the U.S. joined the Allies (Britain, France, Russia, Italy, and Japan), who were at war with the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey), after German submarines began sinking unarmed ships.

World War II (1939-1945) The Axis powers-Germany, Italy, and Japan-attempted to dominate the world. The Allies (U.S., Britain, France, USSR, and others) fought to stop them. The United States entered the war in 1941, after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. Germany surrendered in 1945, and Japan surrendered later that same year, after the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Korean War (1950-1953) Communist North Korea, supported by China, invaded non-communist South Korea. UN forces, principally made up of U.S. troops, fought successfully to protect South Korea. The Korean War was the first armed conflict in the global struggle between democracy and communism, called the cold war.

Bay of Pigs (1961) The U.S. orchestrated the invasion, an unsuccessful attempt by Cuban exiles to overthrow Fidel Castro's communist regime in Cuba.

Vietnam War (1961-1973) In 1955, communist North Vietnam invaded non-communist South Vietnam in an attempt to unify the country and impose communist rule. The United States joined the war on the side of South Vietnam in 1961, but withdrew combat troops in 1973. In 1975 North Vietnam succeeded in taking control of South Vietnam.

Dominican Republic (1965) President Lyndon Johnson sent marines and troops to quash a leftist uprising in the Dominican Republic, fearing the island nation would follow in the footsteps of Cuba and turn communist.

Lebanon (1982-1984) U.S. troops formed part of a multinational peacekeeping force to help the fragile Lebanese government maintain power.

Grenada (1983) President Reagan invaded the Caribbean nation of Grenada to overthrow its socialist government, which had close ties with Cuba.

Panama (1989) President George H.W. Bush invaded Panama and overthrew Panamanian dictator and drug-smuggler Manuel Noriega.

Gulf War (1991) Iraq invaded Kuwait, and a U.S.-led multinational force came to Kuwait's aid and expelled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's forces.

Somalia (1993) A U.S.-led multinational force attempted to restore order to war-torn Somalia so that food could be delivered and distributed within the famine-stricken country.

Bosnia (1994-1995) During the Bosnian civil war, which began shortly after the country declared independence in 1992, the U.S. launched air strikes on Bosnia to prevent “ethnic cleansing,“ primarily by Serbs against Bosnians. The U.S. became a part of NATO's peacekeeping force in the region.

Kosovo (1999) Yugoslavia's province of Kosovo erupted into violence in the spring of 1999. A U.S.-led NATO force intervened with air strikes after Slobodan Milosevic's Serbian forces uprooted the population and embarked on the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo's ethnic Albanian population.

Global War on Terror (2001- ) In the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, President George Bush launched the Global War on Terrorism-which has become the longest period of continuous war in U.S. history. The United Kingdom, several NATO countries, and other nations have participated to eliminate al-Qada and other militants groups.

Afghanistan (2001-2014) The Taliban government harbored Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda terrorist group, responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. After Afghanistan refused to turn over Bin Laden, the U.S. and UN coalition forces invaded. The Taliban government was ousted and many terrorist camps in Afghanistan were destroyed. U.S. and NATO troops remain in Afghanistan to support its fragile new government.

Iraq War (2003-2010) The U.S. and Great Britain invaded and toppled the government of dictator Saddam Hussein. Troops remain in Iraq to combat the insurgency that formed after Hussein's defeat.

War Against the Islamic State (ISIS) (2014—) The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), also called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), has terrorized large swaths of Iraq and Syria in its drive to establish an Islamic state in the Middle East ruled by strict shariah law. The militant group is made up of fundamentalist Sunni Muslims and foreign jihadists. In September 2014, President Barack Obama authorized airstrikes against ISIS in Syria. He was clear that he does not plan to deploy ground troops in the fight against ISIS.