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American Military History Timeline
 

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A list of the wars and conflicts of American history. To access specific American wars or conflicts, click on the blue links. These American wars are listed in chronological order, beginning with the earliest conflicts.

Washington Crossing the Delaware

Washington Crossing the Delaware in the Revolutionary War, December, 1776

Wars of The Early Republic

Primary Name of Conflict
Dates of Conflict

(U.S. Involvement Only)

Type of Conflict
Primary Opponent(s)

of the United States

The American Revolution

1775-1783

Inter-State and Colonial War

Great Britain

The Indian Wars

*Note: See Timeline of American Colonial Indian Wars for wars during the Colonial period.

1775-1890

Wars of Imperialism

Native (Indian) Tribes and Nations of North America

Shay's Rebellion

1786-1787

Rebellion

Anti-(state)Government Rebels vs. Massachusetts

The Whiskey Rebellion

1794

Rebellion

Anti-Tax Rebels in Western Pennsylvania

Quasi-War With France

1798-1800

Inter-State (Naval) War

France

Fries's Rebellion "The Hot Water War"

1799

Rebellion

Anti-Tax Rebels in Pennsylvania

The Barbary Wars

1800-1815

Inter-State War

The Barbary States

(Tripoli, Algiers & Morocco)

The War of 1812

1812-1815

Inter-State War

Great Britain

Wars of The Growing & Troubled Republic

Primary Name of Conflict
Dates of Conflict

(U.S. Involvement Only)

Type of Conflict
Primary Opponent(s)

of the United States

Mexican-American War

1846-1848

Inter-State War

Mexico

U.S. Slave Rebellions

1800-1865

Slave Rebellions

Various Slave groups

"Bleeding Kansas"

1855-1860

Civil War (state of Kansas)

Pro-Slavery vs. Anti-Slavery Kansans

Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry

1859

Rebellion

Anti-Slavery Rebels (Led by John Brown)

United States Civil War

1861-1865

Civil War

United States (The North)

vs.

The Confederate States (The South)

Wars of The Imperial Republic

Primary Name of Conflict
Dates of Conflict

(U.S. Involvement Only)

Type of Conflict
Primary Opponent(s)

of the United States

U.S. Intervention in Hawaiian Revolution

1893

Internal Rebellion & Foreign Intervention

Hawaiian Government

The Spanish-American War

1898

Inter-State War

Spain

U.S. Intervention in Samoan Civil War

1898-1899

Civil War & Foreign Intervention

Samoan Faction

U.S.-Philippine War

1899-1902

Colonial War, War of Imperialism

The Philippines

Boxer Rebellion

1900

Internal Rebellion & Foreign Intervention

Chinese Government & "Boxer" Rebels

The Moro Wars

1901-1913

Colonial Wars

Philippine Muslim Rebels

U.S. Intervention in Panamanian Revolution

1903

Secessionist Revolution & Foreign Intervention

Colombia

The Banana Wars

1909-1933

Civil Wars & Foreign Intervention

Various Rebel Groups In Central America

"To Make The World Safe For Democracy"

Wars of The Global Republic

Primary Name of Conflict
Dates of Conflict

(U.S. Involvement Only)

Type of Conflict
Primary Opponent(s)

of the United States

U.S. Occupation of Vera Cruz

1914

Inter-State War

Mexico

Pershing's Raid Into Mexico

1916-1917

Inter-State, Border War

Mexican Government & Mexican Rebels ("Bandits")

World War I

1917-1918 (American involvement only)

Inter-State War

Germany

Allied Intervention in Russian Civil War

1919-1921

Civil War & Foreign Intervention

Russian Bolshevik (Soviet) Government

World War II

1941-1945 (American involvement only)

Inter-State War

Germany, Japan & Italy

The Cold War

1945-1991

Global Inter-State Cold War

The Soviet Union & Communist China

The Korean War

1950-1953

Inter-State War

North Korea & China

The Second Indochina War "Vietnam War"

1956-1975

Civil War, Inter-State War

North Vietnam & South Vietnamese "Viet Cong" Rebels

U.S. Intervention in Lebanon

1958

Civil War & Foreign Intervention

No real foe for U.S. Troops landed to support Lebanon Gov.

Dominican Intervention

1965

Civil War & Foreign Intervention

Rebels in the Dominican Republic

The Mayaguez Rescue Operation

News Story

1975 (May 15)

Hostage Rescue & Inter-State Conflict

Khmer Rouge Guerrillas (the new government of Cambodia)

Iranian Hostage Crisis and Rescue Attempt-- "Desert One" or "Operation Eagle Claw"

1980 (April 25)

Hostage Rescue & Inter-State Conflict

Iran

U.S. Libya Conflict

1981, 1986

Inter-State War

Libya

U.S. Intervention in Lebanon

"Bombing of the Marine Barracks"

1982-1984

Civil War,Foreign Intervention & Inter-State War

Syria & Various Muslim and Leftist Lebanese Militias

U.S. Invasion of Grenada

1983

Inter-State War

Marxist Grenadian Faction & Cuba

The Tanker War

"Operation Earnest Will"

1987-1988

Inter-State War

Iran

U.S. Invasion of Panama

1989

Inter-State War

Panama

Second Persian Gulf War "Operation Desert Storm"

1991

Inter-State War

Iraq

"No-Fly Zone" War

1991-2003

Inter-State War

Iraq

U.S. Intervention in Somalia

1992-1994

Civil War & Foreign Intervention

Various Somali Militias

NATO Intervention in Bosnia (Operation Deliberate Force) Summary

1994-1995

Civil War,Foreign Intervention & Inter-State War

Bosnian Serb Rebels

U.S. Occupation of Haiti

1994

Foreign Intervention

Haitian Government

U.S. Embassy bombings and strikes on Afghanistan and Sudan (The bin Laden War)

August, 1998

Terrorist Conflict

The embassy bombings in August, 1998 by Osama bin Laden caused hundreds of deaths in Kenya and Tanzania. The U.S. retaliated by launching Tomahawk Cruise Missiles at suspected terrorist targets in Afghanistan and Sudan.

"Desert Fox" Campaign (part of U.S./Iraq Conflict)

December, 1998

Inter-State War

Iraq

Kosovo War

Kosovo Links

1999

Civil War, Foreign Intervention & Inter-State War

Yugoslavia/Serbia

Attack on the USS Cole

October 12, 2000

Terrorist Conflict

Terrorists associated with Osama bin Laden

Attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon

September 11, 2001

Terrorist Conflict

Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida organization

Afghanistan War (Operation Enduring Freedom)

October 7, 2001-2021

War against Terrorism

The Taliban and Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaida organization

Third Persian Gulf War "Operation Iraqi Freedom"

March 19, 2003-December 31, 2011

Inter-State War

Iraq

Intervention in Haiti (UN Peacekeeping Mission)

March, 2004

Foreign Intervention in a civil conflict

Haiti

Intervention in Somali Civil War (aiding Ethiopia and the Transitional Government of Somalia during the Ethiopian intervention in the Somali Civil War)

See also:U.S. Operations Against al-Qaida in Somalia (2006-Present)

Dec., 2006-2009

Foreign Intervention in a civil conflict

The Islamic Courts Union and Al-Qaida

Libyan War

March, 2011-Oct. 31, 2011

Foreign Intervention in a civil conflict

Libyan leader Muamar Gadhafi

Hunt for Joseph Kony (LRA War)

December, 2011-2017

Foreign Intervention in a civil conflict

Joseph Kony and the LRA guerrilla army

ISIS War

August, 2014-Ongoing

Foreign Intervention in a civil conflict

Islamic State Jihadist forces in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya

U.S. Missile Strike on Syria

April 7, 2017

Foreign Intervention in a civil conflict

Syria

Persian Gulf Crisis (2019-2020)

December, 2019-Present

Inter-State Conflict/Foreign Intervention in a civil conflict

The U.S. engaged in clashes with Iran and with Iranian-backed Shiite Iraqi militias in late 2019 and 2020

SOURCES:

1. Kohn, George C. Dictionary of Wars. New York: Facts On File Publications. 1986.

2. Marley, David F. Wars of the Americas: A Chronology of Armed Conflict in the New World, 1492 to the Present. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 1998.

3. Wars and Conflicts of the U.S. Navy--Part of the United States Navy website.

 
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