List of U.S. military history events

The list includes notable events in about the military history of the United States. The categories on this (incomplete, in-development) list are somewhat arbitrary: Not all of these events were military, some were not even violent, but together they delineate the reappearance of the martial spirits in the life of the United States. The items enumerated here begin with the establishment of the states in 1776, and either are located within territorial boundaries of the United States or involve the armed forces of the federal government or the militias of the separate states and territories.

Militarized conflicts

This is a list of militarized conflicts involving the United States, the dates show the years in which U.S. military units (primarily regular, occasionally irregular) participated. The bolded items are the U.S. wars most often considered to be major conflicts by historians and the general public.

American Revolutionary War (1775–1783)
Quasi-War (1798–1801)
First Barbary War (1801–1805)
War of 1812 (1812–1815)
Second Barbary War (1815)
Mexican-American War (1846–1848)
*Bear Flag Revolt (1846)
Nicaragua Naval Battles (1854–1858)
Utah War (1857–1858)
American Civil War (1861–1865)
Occupation of Nicaragua (1867, 1894–1933)
Shinmiyangyo Battle in Korea (1871)
Spanish-American War (1898)
Samoan Civil War (1898–1899)
Philippine-American War (1899–1913)
Boxer Rebellion (1900)
Panamanian Revolution (1903)
Tampico Affair & Occupation of Veracruz, Mexico (1914)
Invasion of Haiti (1915-1934)
Occupation of the Dominican Republic (1916–1924)
Pancho Villa Expedition (1916–1917)
World War I (1917–1918)
*Polar Bear Expedition (Russian Civil War) (1918–1919)
Spanish Civil War (1936–1938)
World War II (1941–1945)
Cold War (1946–1991)
Korean War (1950–1953)The Vietnam War was one of the longest military conflicts in U.S. history.
Vietnam War (1964–1975)
Invasion of Dominican Republic (1965)
Capture of USS Pueblo (1968)
Mayagüez Incident (1975)
Operation Eagle Claw (1980)
Gulf of Sidra Incidents (1981, 1989)
Lebanon Peacekeeping (1982–1984)
Invasion of Grenada (1983)
Operation El Dorado Canyon (1986)
Operation Earnest Will (1987–1988)
*Operation Prime Chance (1987–1988)
*Operation Praying Mantis (1988)
Operation Golden Pheasant (1988)
Invasion of Panama (1989)
Gulf War (1991)
*Iraqi No-Fly Zones (1991–2003)
*Operation Provide Comfort (1991–1996)
Battle of Mogadishu (1993)
Operation Uphold Democracy (Haiti) (1994)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (as member of IFOR and SFOR peacekeeping forces, 1995—)
Operation Infinite Reach (strikes on Sudan and Afghanistan, 1998)
Kosovo War (1999)
War on Terrorism (2001—)
*Invasion of Afghanistan (2001—)
Iraq War (2003—)
Haiti Rebellion (2004)

Native American conflicts, wars, battles, expeditions and campaigns

See also: Indian Wars, Native American massacres

Wyoming Valley Massacre (1778)
Cherry Valley Massacre (1778)
Sullivan Expedition (1779)
Northwest Indian War (1785–1795)
Nickajack Expedition (1794)
Sabine Expedition (1806)
Tecumseh's War (1811)
Little Belt Affair (1811)
Peoria War (1813)
Creek War (1813–1814)
Seminole Wars (1817–1818, 1835–1842, 1855–1858)
Arikara War (1823)
Fever River War (1827)
Le Fèvre Indian War (1827)
Sac and Fox War (1831)
Black Hawk War (1832)
Sabine-Southwestern War (1836–1837)
Osage Indian War (1837)
Navajo Wars (1849–1861)
*Long Walk of the Navajo (1863–1868)
Cayuse War (1848–1855)
Pitt River Expedition (1850)
Mariposa War (1850–1851)
Yuma Expedition (1851–1852)
Walker War (1853)
Grattan Massacre (1855)
Yakima War (1855)
Snake River War (1855)
Klickitat War (1855)
Puget Sound War (1855–1856)
Rogue River Wars (1855–1856)
Klamath and Salmon Indian Wars (1855)
Tintic War (1856)
Gila Expedition (1857)
Mendocino War (1858)
Spokane-Coeur d'Alene-Paloos War (1858)
Pecos Expedition (1859)
Antelope Hills Expedition (1859)
Bear River Expedition (1859)
Paiute War (1860)
Kiowa-Comanche War (1860)
Cheyenne Campaign (1861–1864)
Sioux Uprising (1862)
Cheyenne-Arapaho-Kiowa-Comanche Wars (1863–1869)
Snake War (1864–1868)
Red Cloud's War (1866–1868)
Comanche Wars (1867–1875)
Battle of Washita River (1868)
Marias Massacre (1870)
Modoc War (1872–1873)
Red River War (1874)
Apache Wars (1873, 1885–1886)
Black Hills War (1876–1877)
Nez Perce Wars (1877)
Bannock War (1878)
Cheyenne War (1878–1879)
Sheepeater Indian War (1879)
White River War (1879)
Ute War (1879-1880)
Ghost Dance War (1890–1891)
Wounded Knee Massacre (1890)
AIM Takeovers (~1969–~1974)

Ethnic cleansing and control

Indian Removal (1830s)
*Trail of Tears (1838–1839)
WWII-Era Japanese American Internment (1942–1946)

Armed insurrections and slave revolts

Range wars

Bloodless boundary disputes

Toledo War (1835, Michigan Territory-Ohio)
Aroostook War (1838–1839, U.S.-Canada)
Honey War (1839, Iowa Territory-Missouri)
Fifty-Four Forty or Fight! (1844, U.S.-Canada)
Pig War (1859, U.S.-Canada)
Chamizal Dispute (1895–1963, U.S.-Mexico)
Alaska Boundary Dispute (1907, U.S.-Canada)
Bridge War (1932, Oklahoma-Texas)

Terror, paramilitary groups and guerrilla warfare

See also: List of terrorist incidents, Timeline of Islamic terrorism against the United States

18th & 19th century

Francis Marion (1780–1782)
Bleeding Kansas (~1854–~1860)
Cortina Troubles (1859–1861)
Kansas Jayhawkers (1861–1863)
Quantrill's Raiders (1861–1863)
Ku Klux Klan (1877–present)
Knights of the White Camelia
White League (1874–)
*Coushatta Massacre (1874)
*Colfax Riot (1874)

20th century

Black Patch Tobacco Wars (1904-1914?)
Wall Street Bombing (1920)
Capitol Attack (1954)
Weathermen (1969–1976)
Symbionese Liberation Army (1970s)
Marine Barracks Bombing (1983)
U.S. Embassy Bombing (1983)
World Trade Center Bombing (1993)
Oklahoma City Bombing (1994)
U.S. Embassy Bombings (1998)
USS Cole Bombing (2000)
9/11 (2001)

Covert operations, U.S.-supported coups, etc.

Baltimore Crisis (Chile, 1891)
Hawaiian Coup (1893)
Operation Ajax (Iran, 1951–1953)
Operation PBSUCCESS (Guatemala, 1954)
Bay of Pigs Invasion (Cuba, 1961)
Operation Mongoose (Cuba, 1961–1963)
Brazilian Military Coup (Brazil 1964)
Secret War (Cambodia-Laos, 1962–1975)
Chilean Coup (Chile, 1973)
Argentine Military Coup (Argentina, 1976)
Operation Condor (Latin America, 1960s–1970s)
Mujahideen vs. USSR (Afghanistan, 1979–1989)
Contras (Nicaragua, 1980s)

Miscellaneous

Yankee-Pennamite Wars (1769–1784)
Oconee War (1784)
Burr Conspiracy (~1804–~1807)
Chesapeake Affair (1807)
Railroad War (1853–1855)
Hatfields and McCoys (1860–1891)
Sinking of the General Sherman (1866)
Fenian Invasion of Canada (1866)
Brooks-Baxter War (1873)
Virginius Affair (1873)
Canal Zone Riots (1964)
Israeli Attack on USS Liberty (1967)
Kent State Shootings (1970)
War on Drugs (~1972—)
Iran Hostage Crisis (1979–1981)
Iraqi Attack on USS Stark (1987)
Vincennes Incident (1988)
USBATF Raid on Branch Davidians (1993)

Latter-Day Saints

Mormon War (1838)
Mountain Meadows Massacre (1857)

Republic of Texas

Texas Revolution (1835–1836)
Texas Santa Fe Expedition (1841)

External links

Instances of Use of United States Forces Abroad, 1798-1993 by Ellen C. Collier, Specialist in U.S. Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division
United States Military Campaigns, Conflicts, Expeditions and Wars Compiled by Larry Van Horn, U.S. Navy Retired
Basic Statistics for United States Imperialism

Category:United States armed forces Category:United States wars Category:Military history of the United States Category:Rebellions in the United States de:Milit%E4rische Geschichte der USA