| Conflicts | Other Events | Inclusive Date(s) | Explanation |
| First American unit formed |
1747
|
Known as "His Majesty’s first Independent Company of American Rangers." Though it served England, the Rangers were American soldiers. | |
| French & Indian War |
1758
|
It began on American soil and was brought to Europe, that war was part of what the French and British called the "Seven Years War." | |
| War of Independence |
1775-1783
|
Using small unit ambush techniques, the colonists proved successful against one of the world's finest armies, even while being outnumbered. | |
| Lexington Green |
April 19, 1775
|
An unordered "shot heard around the world" quickly started the War of Independence in which eight Americans were killed and 10 wounded. | |
| Establishment of the Continental Army |
June 14, 1775
|
Congress approved the raising of 10 companies of riflemen to enlist in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia until the end of the Revolutionary War. | |
| George Washington selected to lead the Continental Army |
June 15, 1775
|
Washington, named general and commander in chief, successfully fought against soldiers in large formations using small ambush tactics. | |
| Board of War and Ordinance established |
1776-1881
|
Established to adminster the army, the board was later abolished in 1781. Its duties were reassigned to the newly-created secretary of war. | |
| Congress establishes the U.S. War Department |
1789 through late 1790s
|
At a reduced strength of 800 men, the army protected settlers and fought wars with Indians in the Northwest Territory. | |
| Indian Wars |
1790-1891
|
The army fought American Indians on the plains, southeast, southwest, and Pacific Northwest, driving them from their native lands onto reservations. | |
| Miami tribe campaign (present-day Ohio and Indiana) |
1790-1795
|
Beaten two separate times, General Arthur St. Clair built a road and forts along their northern route. Major Indian stand was at Fallen Timbers. | |
| Creek War (Georgia and Alabama) |
1813-1814 & 1836-1837
|
Originally part of the War of 1812, the Upper Creeks sided with British. During 1836-37, army rounds up remaining Creeks from the Southeast. | |
| First U.S. military academy established |
1802
|
Congress establishes the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY. | |
| War of 1812 |
1812-1815
|
The war sealed America's independence. Failing to capture Canada, the army prevented the British from taking Baltimore and New Orleans. | |
|
1812-1815
|
Most army battles occurred along the Canadian border, Chesapeake Bay region and the Gulf of Mexico. Artillery units made a large contribution. | ||
| Indian Wars - Continued | |
1817-1863
|
The 19th century was the era of the great chiefs: Tecumseh, Geronimo, Cochise, Black Kettle, Red Cloud, Sitting Bill, Big Foot, and others. |
| Seminole Wars (Georgia and Florida) |
1817-1818 & 1842-1858
|
Began with a nearby Georgia army post massacre and ended with the hanging of chief Captain Jack. The remainder was removed to the Indian Territory. | |
| Black Hawk War (Northern Illinois and Southwestern Wisconsin) |
1832
|
Seventy settlers and soldiers, and hundreds of Black Hawk's band, died. It signaled the end of that area's conflict between settlers and Native Americans. | |
| Mexican War |
1846-1848
|
Soldiers fought for the first time far beyond their frontiers. First time the army administered a military government over a conquered area. | |
| Navajo Conflicts (Arizona and New Mexico) |
1846-1863
|
Navajo lands came under the jurisdiction of the U.S. after the Mexican War. The attack on Ft. Defiance brought a "total war" against the Navajo. | |
| Civil War |
1861-1865
|
The many important generals included: Ulysses S. Grant and [113:Robert E. Lee]. Later, black soldiers were quickly incorporated. | |
| Fort Sumter |
1861
|
One of only two Federal forts not already taken, Abraham Lincoln ordered its restocking, ushering in the "War Between the States." | |
| First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas Junction) |
1861
|
After the first major battle, both sides were optimistic the war would end soon. | |
| Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing) |
1862
|
With heavy losses of 10,000 casualties on each side, some Northerners were appalled by the carnage. Grant came to believe "total war" was necessary. | |
| Antietam (Sharpsburg) |
1862
|
One of the bloodiest battles of the war, it put the Confederate Army increasingly on the defensive. | |
| First conscription acts passed |
1862 and 1863
|
Once the initial war fever had dissipated, the South instituted the draft in 1862 while the North waited until 1863. | |
| Battle of Gettysburg |
July 1-4, 1863
|
Considered a turning point in the war, Confederate troops were forced to retreat after an unsuccessful, massive frontal attack. | |
| Gettysburg Address |
November 1863
|
Lincoln's famous short talk was delivered on the Gettysburg battlefield where a national cemetery was declared. | |
| Ulysses S. Grant |
March 1864
|
Grant becomes the first man to hold the rank of General of the Army. | |
| War casualties |
1861-1865
|
With death tolls up to nearly 700,000, those casualties exceeded America's losses from the Revolution through Vietnam. | |
| Indian Wars-Continued |
1868
|
Negotiations between Red Cloud and 125 chiefs at Ft. Laramie and the U.S. government resulted in a return of the Bozeman Trail to the natives. | |
| Modocs (Northern California and Southern Oregon) |
1872-1873
|
Captain Jack and followers fled from their hardscrabble reservation to the lava beds of Tule Lake, where they held out against soldiers for six months. He was hanged. | |
| Battle of the Little Big Horn (Southern Montana) |
1876
|
George A. Custer and 250 soldiers under his immediate command confronted Sioux warriors on the Little Bighorn River and were wiped out in the ensuing fight. | |
| Nez Percé War (Oregon, Idaho and Montana) |
1877
|
After fighting to keep their home in Wallowa Valley, Chief Joseph led his people on a 1,700-mile retreat to Canada. They surrendered near the border, to Nelson Miles' soldiers. | |
| The Wounded Knee Massacre (Pine Ridge, South Dakota) |
1890
|
Following the killing of Sitting Bull , Big Foot took command of the final band of fighting Lakota (Sioux). They were trapped at Wounded Knee Creek and destroyed by the U.S. Army. | |
| Spanish-American War |
April-December 1898
|
Making its mark as an army of great force by war's end, it helped establish governmental powers over the Philippines. | |
| Army reorganization begins |
Early 1900s
|
General Samuel Young became the army's first Chief of Staff and the first aeronautical division was set up within its signal corps. | |
| World War I |
1917-1918
|
President Woodrow Wilson sent the American Expeditionary Force to the Western front under General John Pershing's command. | |
| Selective Service Act |
1917
|
Drafted by Brigadier General Hugh Johnson, the Act was quickly passed by Congress. Approximately four million were ultimately drafted. | |
| Western front battles |
March-October 1917
|
Americans fought in France's Third Battle of the Aisne, the Marne, Le Hamel and Canal du Nord before launching its own offensives. | |
| Black combat troops |
1917-1918
|
Nearly 200,000 black soldiers served in Europe, but only 42,000 were classified as combat troops. | |
| Army Air Corps established |
1926
|
After the U.S. had withdrawn most military personnel from Europe, Congress changed the name of the Air Service to the Army Air Corps. | |
| National Anthem |
1931
|
"The Star Spangled Banner" officially became the National Anthem. | |
| World War II |
1941-1945
|
The greatest of U.S. generals — Dwight D. Eisenhower, Nelson Bradley and ^Douglas MacArthur^ — led the Allies to victory. | |
| D-Day, the Battle of Normandy |
June 6, 1944
|
In the largest, exclusively American field command, 1.3 million men stormed the beaches at Normandy in the greatest amphibious attack in history. | |
| Pacific Theater: Island Hopping campaign |
1942-1945
|
General MacArthur led a campaign that would eventually become an Allied victory over the Japanese, with massive support from the Army Air Corps. | |
| Flying the "Hump" |
1942-1945
|
Such campaigns put the Army Air Corps added a new dimension to warfare and put it at the top of the list in military importance. | |
| Manhattan Project |
1942-1945
|
U.S. Army engineers participated with civilian scientists to create two atomic bombs. | |
| Army's Demobilization |
1945-1948
|
With millions of soldiers to release from active duty, the army experienced massive problems demobilizing its forces. | |
| Korean War |
1950-1953
|
Led by General MacArthur, the war eventually became a stalemate that took the lives of 54,000 Americans and more than two million Koreans and Chinese. | |
| Operation Ripper |
March 14, 1951
|
Pushing communists back from Seoul, the army gained experience with guerrilla combat tactics and propaganda warfare. | |
| Army and atomic testing |
1953
|
During a test at Frenchman's Flat, Nevada, the first nuclear artillery shell was fired. | |
| Code of Conduct |
August 17, 1955
|
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a code for U.S. soldiers to live by during times of war. | |
| Anniversary of the U.S. Army |
June 14, 1956
|
The U.S. army flag is dedicated during the army's 181st anniversary celebration. | |
| Official U.S. Army song |
December 12, 1957
|
U.S. Army announces that "The Army Goes Rolling Along" ("Caisson Song") was to be verified as their official song. | |
| Operation Big Lift |
1963
|
The army trained for the long-distance, limited wars of the Cold War by moving 15,000 troops to West Germany with its new airmobile division. | |
| Vietnam War |
1965-1973
|
Troops were more effectively delivered to precise locations by helicopter. William Westmoreland commanded their involvement. | |
| Tet Offensive |
January 31, 1968
|
The army was caught off guard by a series of scattered diversionary attacks, when the Vietcong successfully launched a major offensive. | |
| My Lai Massacre |
March 16, 1968
|
Considered the turning point of the war, Army troops massacred innocent villagers, unable to identify the Vietcong. | |
| U.S. Embassy evacuation |
April 28, 1975
|
Two days prior to Saigon's fall, 8,000 people were transported from the U.S. Embassy making it the largest helicopter evacuation in history. | |
| Fall of Saigon |
April 30, 1975
|
After pulling out of Saigon, the U.S. watched helplessly as the capital city fell to communist forces when it captured the presidential palace. | |
| Operation Grenada |
1983
|
The first combined-service campaign in years, its initial failure brought about extensive training, resulting in the flawless invasion of Panama in 1989. | |
| Panama Invasion |
1989-1990
|
It was so successful that troops were withdrawn in two weeks. Some remained to support reconstruction and installation of a new government. | |
| First Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm) |
1991
|
A coalition force of 34 nations, the United Nations effort was led by U.S. Army General H. Norman Schwarzkopf. | |
| "Highway of Death" |
February 26, 1991
|
Setting fire to Kuwaiti oil fields as they retreated, the Iraqi convoy was bombed extremely and thoroughly by the coalition forces. | |
| Iraqi Ceasefire |
February 27, 1991
|
About 100 hours after the ground campaign began, President George H.W. Bush declared a ceasefire and that Kuwait had been liberated. | |
| Iraq War (Second Persian Gulf War) |
March-April, 2003
|
After a massive air strike, coalition ground forces invaded Iraq. By mid-April, Saddam Hussein's army and government had collapsed. | |