When a single shot was fired – perhaps by accident – on 19 April 1775 at Lexington, the course of history was changed forever. The United States of America famously won its freedom from the United Kingdom just a few years later, but the fighting didn’t stop there. As time has gone on, the country’s soldiers have battled against Germans, Mexicans, Native Americans and even each other. In History of War US Military’s Greatest Battles, uncover the key moments that have defined the nation’s history. Explore the Siege of Yorktown, where the tide of the Revolutionary War turned in the Patriots’ favour, and take a wander on the battlefield of the Little Bighorn, where the US Army suffered a crushing defeat against the Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne tribes. Join the navy in the Battle of the Atlantic, and trace the American Civil War back to its first fight at the First Battle of Bull Run. Turn the page to discover why the United States has come to dominate the sea, sky and land and explore the defining battles that have shaped the nation.
US MILITARY'S GREATEST BATTLES
History of War US Military's Greatest Battles
MR PRESIDENT: FROM SOLDIER TO STATESMEN • MILITARY EXPERIENCE HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN DECIDING WHO GOVERNS FROM THE WHITE HOUSE AS COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE UNITED STATES
BATTLES OF LEXINGTON AND CONCORD • AFTER YEARS OF POLITICAL POSTURING AND CIVIL UNREST, THE FIRST SHOTS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION WERE FIRED IN MASSACHUSETTS
BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL • ALTHOUGH DEFEATED, THE AMERICANS MANAGED TO INFLICT SEVERE LOSSES ON THE BRITISH AND PROVE THAT A DETERMINED MILITIA COULD HOLD AN ARMY
BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND • THE FIRST MAJOR BATTLE OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR WAS ALSO ONE OF THE LARGEST, AND IT SAW THE BRITISH WIN A STUNNING VICTORY
BATTLE OF SARATOGA • THE CLEAR-CUT AMERICAN VICTORY THAT PAVED THE WAY FOR EUROPEAN AID TO REACH THE REBELLIOUS COLONIALS AND ULTIMATE VICTORY IN THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE
BATTLE OF KINGS MOUNTAIN • THE CLASH IN THE STRUGGLE FOR CHARLESTON
SIEGE OF YORKTOWN • THE BATTLE THAT LED TO THE END OF THE REVOLUTION
BATTLE OF WABASH • LITTLE TURTLE'S ARMY LAUNCHED A SURPRISE ATTACK ON AN AMERICAN ARMY SENT TO PUNISH HIS TRIBE
BATTLE OF DERNA • SPEND A DAY IN THE LIFE OF US MARINE IN THE FIRST BARBARY WAR
BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE • A SMALL NAVAL BATTLE ON THE AMERICAN FRONTIER HAD OUTSIZED CONSEQUENCES
BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS • ANDREW JACKSON LED A RAGTAG BUNCH OF AMERICAN SOLDIERS AND MILITIA AGAINST BRITISH REGULARS IN THE LAST GREAT BATTLE OF THE WAR OF 1812
THE TEXAS REVOLUTION • AS RESENTMENT TOWARDS THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT GREW IN AMERICAN-MAJORITY TEXAS, THINGS REACHED BREAKING POINT
BATTLE OF THE ALAMO • THE PIVOTAL SKIRMISH IN THE TEXAS REVOLUTION SAW A FRONTIERSMAN ENGAGING IN A FIGHT THAT HAS GONE DOWN IN AMERICAN HISTORY AND LEGEND
FIRST BATTLE OF BULL RUN • THE FIRST FIGHT OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR ENDED IN A DECISIVE VICTORY FOR THE CONFEDERATES
BATTLE OF HAMPTON ROADS • THE RISE OF ARMOURED SHIPS AND THIS CLASH OF IRONCLADS EFFECTIVELY ENDED THE AGE OF SAIL AMONG THE WORLD'S NAVIES
THE ‘FLOATING CHEESE BOX’ • JOHN ERICSSON'S IRONCLAD MONITOR INCORPORATED NUMEROUS INNOVATIONS IN WARSHIP DESIGN, INCLUDING MORE THAN 40 INVENTIONS THAT WERE ELIGIBLE FOR PATENT
BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG • IT SAW THE LARGEST NUMBER OF CASUALTIES OF ANY BATTLE IN THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR AND IS CONSIDERED BY MANY AS THE TURNING POINT, BUT WHAT REALLY HAPPENED OVER THOSE FATEFUL THREE DAYS?
THE PLAINS WARS • SETTLERS ON THE GREAT PLAINS MEANT TROUBLE FOR THE NATIVE AMERICANS WHO LIVED THERE
BATTLE OF THE LITTLE BIGHORN • CUSTER'S LAST STAND SAW HIM FACE OFF AGAINST THE LAKOTA SIOUX AND THE CHEYENNE IN THE WORST AMERICAN DEFEAT OF...