In honor of Memorial Day, and all the men and women who have served in the U.S. military, National Review Online presents fifty great battles in American history. Scroll forward. . . .
Battle of Lexington: On April 19, 1775, the first shot of the American Revolution was fired on the Lexington Green. Eight colonists were killed opposing British Regulars.
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Battle of Concord: Later on that same day, American militiamen defeated the British troops who were searching for hidden arms.
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Battle of Saratoga: A British invasion force was defeated on October 7, 1777. This marked a major turning point, with the French joining the Americans in response.
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Battle of Trenton: George Washington led an American force across the icy Hudson River on Dec. 26, 1776, to surprise the Hessians encamped in Trenton, New Jersey.
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Battle of Flamborough Head: John Paul Jones’s USS Bonhomme Richard defeated the HMS Serapis in America’s first naval victory.
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Battle of Cowpens: On January 17, 1781, a Continental force under Daniel Morgan defeated Banastre Tarleton’s dragoons in a pivotal battle for the South.
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Battle of Yorktown: The Continental Army with its French allies won this decisive victory over the British on October 19, 1781, when Lord Cornwallis surrendered his forces.
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Battle of Fallen Timbers: General “Mad” Anthony Wayne established America’s ability to expand westward when he crushed Native American resistance at this battle in 1794.
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Battle of Tripoli Harbor: In 1804, a small American force under Stephen Decatur boldly snuck into the Algerian harbor and destroyed the captured frigate Philadelphia.
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Battle of New Orleans: On January 8, 1815, Andrew Jackson defeated a British force which was intent on seizing the lands of the Louisiana Purchase.
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Battle of the Alamo: A small Texan force held off thousands of Mexicans in 1836 before they were killed. This inspired the Texans to later victories.
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Battle of the San Jacinto: In a short battle, the Texans defeated a much larger Mexican force, captured General Santa Anna, and won their independence from Mexico.
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Battle of Buena Vista: American forces repulsed a Mexican army three times its size and protected the main American march on Mexico City on February 23, 1847.
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Battle of Chapultepec: In September 1847, U.S. forces scaled Chapultepec Castle in a bloody battle, opening the way to Mexico City.
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Battle of Hampton Roads: On March 9, 1862, the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia engaged in the first battle between ironclad warships.
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Battle of Shiloh: On April 6-7, 1862, General Grant defeated Confederate forces in an important battle in Tennessee. The victory enabled the Union invasion of Mississippi.
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Battle of Antietam: On September 17, 1862, the single bloodiest day in American history, Union forces repulsed the Confederate invasion of the North under General Lee.
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Battle of Vicksburg: The siege of Vicksburg ended on July 4, 1863, when the city surrendered to General Grant. The loss of Vicksburg split the Confederacy in two.
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Battle of Gettysburg: General Lee’s final invasion of the North was turned back by General Meade after three bloody days in July of 1863.
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Third Battle of Chattanooga: Grant’s victories in the Chattanooga campaign opened the lower Confederate states to invasion by the Union.
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Battle of Atlanta: Sherman captured Atlanta on July 22, 1864, insuring the reelection of President Lincoln and the Union’s victory in the war.
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Battle of Manila Bay: On May 1, 1898, the U.S. Navy destroyed the Spanish fleet.
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Battle of San Juan Hill: American forces defeated Spanish forces and captured Cuba in 1898.
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Battle of Catigny: American troops launched their first offensive on May 28, 1918, and captured the village of Cantigny from German forces.
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Battle of Belleau Wood: In June of 1918, U.S. Marines turned back the German Army in hand-to-hand combat and won renown for their discipline and bravery.
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Battle of Chateau-Thierry: The American Expeditionary Force launched a counteroffensive against the German lines on July 18, 1918, pushing the Germans back.
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Battle of Pearl Harbor: On December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.
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The Doolittle Raid: American bombers struck the Japanese mainland for the first time on April 18, 1942. It provided a significant boost to U.S. morale.
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Battle of the Coral Sea: In May 1942, the U.S. Navy turned back the Japanese fleet in the first carrier-to-carrier battle in history.
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Battle of Midway: In June 1942, America’s Pacific fleet won a crushing victory over the Japanese, sinking four of Japan’s aircraft carriers and establishing U.S. dominance.
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Operation Torch: On November 8, 1942, American forces along with the other allies successfully invaded North Africa.
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Battle of Guadalcanal: Over the course of several months ending in early 1943, American forces fought to control this small Pacific island. This marked the first offensive by the U.S. in the Pacific.
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Operation Husky: Starting on July 9, 1943, American and allied forces invaded Sicily, paving the road to knocking Italy out of the war.
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Battle of Leyte Gulf: In October 1944, the U.S. fleet won the largest naval battle in history against the Japanese.
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D-Day: On June 6, 1944, U.S. and allied forces successfully invaded France in the largest amphibious invasion in history.
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Battle of the Bulge: In the winter of 1944-45, the largest and bloodiest battle for the U.S. in WWII saw American forces repulse the final German offensive.
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Battle of Iwo Jima: American forces captured the island of Iwo Jima in one of the fiercest battles of the Pacific campaign in February and March of 1945.
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Battle of Okinawa: In a major campaign lasting from April to June of 1945, American forces battled the Japanese for the strategic island of Okinawa.
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Battle of Inchon: The surprise amphibious landings by American and U.N. forces behind North Korean lines altered the fate of the Korean War.
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Battle of Ia Drang: In November 1965, surrounded American regiments fought off the North Vietnamese Army in the first major battle between the two sides.
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Operation Urgent Fury: The U.S. liberated Grenada In 1983 after the island’s government was overthrown in a coup.
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Operation Just Cause: American forces captured Panama’s dictator, Manuel Noriega, and installed the elected leader, Guillermo Endara.
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Operation Desert Storm: In early 1991, the U.S. and its allies liberated Kuwait and destroyed the Iraqi armed forces.
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Operation Noble Anvil: In 1998, the U.S. and NATO launched an aerial campaign to force Slobodan Milosevic from power and end the genocide in Kosovo.
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Battle of Kandahar: American forces lead an aerial and ground campaign against Kandahar in the fall of 2001 and captured the Taliban’s last stronghold on December 7, 2001.
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Battle of Tora Bora: In December 2001, U.S. forces and their allies overran Taliban and al-Qaeda positions in the mountains of Tora Bora.
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Battle of Nasiriyah: U.S. Marines captured this key city in March 2003 in the first major battle between U.S. and Iraqi forces.
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Battle of Baghdad: Three weeks into the invasion of Iraq, U.S. forces captured Baghdad with very few casualties.
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Battle of Fallujah: In late 2004, U.S. Marines cleared Fallujah of insurgents in the largest urban battle since Vietnam.
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Operation Neptune Spear: U.S. Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden and several other terrorists in a daring raid in Pakistan.
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