List of wars involving the United States

Wikimedia list article

This is a list of wars involving the United States of America.[1]

  USA defeat
  USA victory
  Another result (e.g. a treaty or peace without a clear result, status quo ante bellum, result of civil or internal conflict, result unknown or indecisive)
  Ongoing conflict

18th-century wars

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Conflict Allies Belligerent Result for the United States and its Allies Presidents of the United States
American Revolutionary War
(1775–1783)

Location: Eastern North America, Southern North America, Gibraltar, India, Caribbean Sea, and the Atlantic
 
The Battle of Long Island, August 27, 1776
  United States
  Kingdom of France

  Spanish Empire

  Iroquois

Watauga Association
Catawba
  Lenape
  Choctaw


  Dutch Republic


  Mysore

  Great Britain
  Loyalists
  German Auxiliaries

  Iroquois

  Cherokee

US-allied victory President of the Continental Congress in American Revolutionary War:
Cherokee–American wars
(1776–1795)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: Old Southwest
 
Abduction of Daniel Boone's daughter by the Cherokee
  United States
  Choctaw
  Cherokee US-allied victory President of the Continental Congress in Cherokee –American wars:

Presidents of the United States:

Northwest Indian War
(1785–1793)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: Northwest Territory
 
The Battle of Fallen Timbers
  United States
  Chickasaw
  Choctaw
Western Confederacy   Great Britain US-allied victory George Washington
Quasi-War
(1798–1800)

Location: Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean
 
USS Constellation vs. L'Insurgente
  United States

Co-belligerent:
  Great Britain

  French Republic Convention of 1800
  • End of French attacks on American shipping
John Adams

19th-century wars

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Conflict Allies Belligerent Result for the United States and its Allies Presidents of the United States
First Barbary War
(1801–1805)

Part of the Barbary Wars

Location: Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Tripoli
 
Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon at Derna, April 1805
  United States[2]
  Sweden[2]
  Kingdom of Sicily[2]
  Malta Protectorate[2]
  Kingdom of Portugal[2]
  Sultanate of Morocco[2]
  Ottoman Tripolitania[3]
  Sultanate of Morocco[3]
US-allied victory Thomas Jefferson
Tecumseh's War
(1810–1813)

Part of the American Indian Wars and the War of 1812

Location: Northwest River Ohio
 
The Battle of Tippecanoe
  United States Tecumseh's Confederacy
US victory James Madison
War of 1812
(1812–1815)

Location: Eastern and Central North America
 
General Andrew Jackson stands on the parapet of his makeshift defenses as his troops repulse attacking Highlanders, by painter Edward Percy Moran in 1910.
  United States
  Choctaw Nation
  Cherokee Nation
Creek Allies
  United Kingdom

Tecumseh's Confederacy

  Spain (1814)
Inconclusive/Other Result
Creek War
(1813–1814)

Part of the American Indian Wars and the War of 1812

Location: Southern United States
 
The Battle of Horseshoe Bend, 1814
  United States
Lower Creeks
  Cherokee Nation
  Choctaw Nation
Red Stick Creek US-allied victory
Second Barbary War
(1815)

Part of the Barbary Wars

Location: Mediterranean Sea and the Barbary States
 
Decatur's squadron off Algiers
  United States   Deylik of Algiers
US victory
First Seminole War
(1817–1818)

Part of the Seminole Wars and the American Indian Wars

Location: Pensacola, Spanish Florida
 
Barracks and tents at Fort Brooke near Tampa Bay
  United States Seminole

  Spanish Florida

US victory James Monroe
Arikara War
(1823)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: Missouri River
 
An Arikara warrior
  United States

Sioux

Arikara Inconclusive/Other Result
  • White Peace treaty agreed by US Col Leavenworth[4]
Winnebago War
(1827)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: Illinois and Michigan Territory
  United States
  Choctaw Nation
Prairie La Crosse Ho-Chunks
with a few allies
US-allied victory
  • Ho-Chunks cede lead mining region to the United States
John Quincy Adams
Black Hawk War
(1832)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: Illinois and Michigan Territory
 
Native women and children fleeing the Battle of Bad Axe
  United States
Ho-Chunk
Menominee
  Dakota
Potawatomi
Black Hawk's British Band
Ho-Chunk and Potawatomi allies
US-allied victory Andrew Jackson
Texas Revolution
(1835–1836)

Location: Texas
 
Fall of the Alamo
  Republic of Texas

  United States

  • Out of the Texan soldiers serving from January through March 1836, 78% had arrived from the United States after October 2, 1835.[Note 1][5]
  Mexican Republic Texan victory
  • The Republic of Texas gains its independence.
  • Texas is annexed into the United States in 1845.
Martin Van Buren
Second Seminole War
(1835–1842)

Part of the Seminole Wars and the American Indian Wars

Location: Florida, United States
 
U.S. Marines search for Seminoles in the Everglades
  United States Seminole US victory Martin Van Buren (March 4, 1837 – March 4, 1841)

William Henry Harrison(March 4, 1841 – April 4, 1841)

John Tyler (April 4, 1841 –March 4, 1845)

Aroostook War
(1838–1839)
Location: MaineNew Brunswick border
 
Map showing the boundary claims and final border
  United States   United Kingdom
  British America
Inconclusive/Other Result Martin Van Buren
Mexican–American War
(1846–1848)

Location: Texas, New Mexico, California and Mexico
 
2nd Dragoons charge the enemy at the Battle of Resaca de la Palma, 1846
  United States
  California Republic
  Mexico US-allied victory James K. Polk
Cayuse War
(1847–1855)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: Oregon
 
The Whitman Massacre.
  United States Cayuse US victory
  • Cayuse reduced in numbers and forced to cede most of their lands
James K. Polk (March 4, 1845 – March 4, 1849)

Zachary Taylor (March 4, 1849 – July 9, 1850)

Millard Fillmore (July 9, 1850 – March 4, 1853)

Franklin Pierce (March 4, 1853 – March 4, 1857)

Apache Wars
(1849–1924)

Part of the Texas–Indian wars and the American Indian Wars

Location: Southwestern United States
 
U.S. Cavalry dash for cover while fighting Apaches, by F. Remington
  United States Apache
Ute
Yavapai
US victory James K. Polk (March 4, 1845 – March 4, 1849)

Zachary Taylor (March 4, 1849 – July 9, 1850)

Millard Fillmore (July 9, 1850 – March 4, 1853)

Franklin Pierce (March 4, 1853 – March 4, 1857)

James Buchanan (March 4, 1857 – March 4, 1861)

Abraham Lincoln (March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865)

Andrew Johnson (April 15, 1865 – March 4, 1869)

Ulysses S. Grant (March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1877)

Rutherford B. Hayes (March 4, 1877 – March 4, 1881)

James A. Garfield (March 4, 1881 – September 19, 1881)

Chester A. Arthur (September 19, 1881 – March 4, 1885)

Grover Cleveland (March 4, 1885 – March 4, 1889)

Benjamin Harrison (March 4, 1889 – March 4, 1893)

Grover Cleveland (March 4, 1893 – March 4, 1897)

William McKinley (March 4, 1897 – September 14, 1901)

Theodore Roosevelt (September 14, 1901 – March 4, 1909)

William Howard Taft (March 4, 1909 – March 4, 1913)

Woodrow Wilson (March 4, 1913 – March 4, 1921)

Warren G. Harding (March 4, 1921 – August 2, 1923)

Calvin Coolidge (August 2, 1923 – March 4, 1929)

Bleeding Kansas
(1854–1861)

Location: Kansas and Missouri
 
Sacking of Lawrence in 1856

Anti-slavery settlers
(Free-Staters)
Pro-slavery settlers (Border Ruffians) Free-Stater victory.
  • Kansas admitted as a free state on January 29, 1861.
Franklin Pierce (March 4, 1853 – March 4, 1857)

James Buchanan (March 4, 1857 – March 4, 1861)

Puget Sound War
(1855–1856)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: Washington
  United States
Snoqualmie
Nisqually
Muckleshoot
Puyallup
Klickitat
Haida
Tlingit
US victory Franklin Pierce
Rogue River Wars
(1855–1856)

Location: Rogue Valley
  United States Rogue River people US victory
  • Indians relocated to Siletz, Grand Ronde and Coast Reservations
Third Seminole War
(1855–1858)

Part of the Seminole Wars and the American Indian Wars

Location: Pensacola, Florida
  United States Seminole US victory
  • By late 1850s, most Seminoles forced to leave their land; a few hundred remain deep in the Everglades on land unwanted by white settlers
Franklin Pierce (March 4, 1853 – March 4, 1857)

James Buchanan (March 4, 1857 – March 4, 1861)

Yakima War
(1855–1858)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: Washington Territory
 
Seattleites evacuate to the town blockhouse as USS Decatur opens fire on advancing tribal forces.
  United States
Snoqualmie
Yakama
Walla Walla tribe
Umatilla tribe
Nez Perce tribe
Cayuse tribe
US victory Franklin Pierce (March 4, 1853 – March 4, 1857)

James Buchanan (March 4, 1857 – March 4, 1861)

Second Opium War
(1856–1859)

Part of the Opium Wars

Location: China
 
Palikao's bridge, on the evening of the battle, by Émile Bayard
  British Empire
  French Empire
  United States
  China US victory Franklin Pierce (March 4, 1853 – March 4, 1857)

James Buchanan (March 4, 1857 – March 4, 1861)

Utah War
(1857–1858)

Part of the Mormon wars

Location: Utah Territory and Wyoming
  United States Deseret/Utah Mormons (Nauvoo Legion) Inconclusive/Other Result
  • Solved through negotiation
  • Brigham Young replaced as governor of the territory
  • Full amnesty for charges to the citizens of Utah Territory by President James Buchanan. This was given in exchange that they accept American Federal authority
Franklin Pierce (March 4, 1853 – March 4, 1857)

James Buchanan (March 4, 1857 – March 4, 1861)

Navajo Wars
(1858–1866)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: New Mexico
 
Fort Defiance
  United States  Navajo Nation US victory Franklin Pierce (March 4, 1853 – March 4, 1857)

James Buchanan (March 4, 1857 – March 4, 1861)

Abraham Lincoln (March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865)

Pig War
(1859)
Location: San Juan Islands
 
Proposed boundaries:
  Through Haro Strait, favored by the US
  Through Rosario Strait, favored by Britain
  Through San Juan Channel, compromise proposal
The lines are as shown on maps of the time. The modern boundary follows straight line segments and roughly follows the blue line. The modern eastern boundary of San Juan County roughly follows the red line.
  United States   United Kingdom Inconclusive James Buchanan
John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry
(1859)

Part of pre-Civil War conflicts

Location: West Virginia
 
Harper's Weekly illustration of U.S. Marines attacking John Brown's "Fort" Teresa Baine
  United States Abolitionist Insurgents US victory James Buchanan
First and Second Cortina War
(1859–1861)

Location: Texas and Mexico
  United States

  Confederate States


  Mexico

  Cortinista bandits US-allied victory James Buchanan
Paiute War
(1860)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: Pyramid Lake, Nevada
  United States Paiute
Shoshone
Bannock
US victory James Buchanan
American Civil War
(1861–1865)

Location: Southern United States, Indian Territory, Northeastern United States, Western United States, Atlantic Ocean
 
The Battle of Antietam, by Kurz & Allison.
  United States
Indian Home Guard
  Seminole Nation (Western) (most)[6]
  Muskogee Nation (part)[7]
  Confederate States
  Cherokee Nation
  Choctaw Nation
Catawba
  Chickasaw Nation (part)
  Muskogee Nation (part)
  Seminole Nation (Florida)
  Seminole Nation (Western) (part)
  Comanche Nation (part)
US victory

Abraham Lincoln

Yavapai Wars
(1861–1875)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: Arizona
 
Rescue of Lt. Charles King
  United States Yavapai
Apache
Yuma
Mohave
US victory

Abraham Lincoln (March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865)

Andrew Johnson (April 15, 1865 – March 4, 1869)

Ulysses S. Grant (March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1877)

Dakota War of 1862
(1862)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: Minnesota and Dakota
 
The Siege of New Ulm, Minnesota on August 19, 1862
  United States   Dakota Sioux US victory Abraham Lincoln
Colorado War
(1863–1865)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska
  United States   Cheyenne
  Arapaho
  Sioux
Inconclusive/Other Result
Snake War
(1864–1868)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Locations: Oregon, Nevada, California, and Idaho
  United States Paiute
Bannock
Shoshone
US victory Abraham Lincoln (March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865)

Andrew Johnson (April 15, 1865 – March 4, 1869)

Powder River War
(1865)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: Powder River State
  United States   Sioux
  Cheyenne
  Arapaho
Inconclusive

Andrew Johnson

Red Cloud's War
(1866–1868)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: Powder River State
 
The Fetterman Massacre
  United States
  Crow Nation
  Lakota
  Cheyenne
  Arapaho
Lakota-allied victory
Comanche Campaign
(1867–1875)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: Western United States
 
Battle of Beecher Island. One soldier and three horses have fallen, while others continue to wage the battle.
  United States   Cheyenne
  Arapaho
  Comanche
Kiowa
US victory Andrew Johnson (April 15, 1865 – March 4, 1869)

Ulysses S. Grant (March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1877)

United States expedition to Korea

(1871)

Location: Ganghwa Island
 
The captured Sujagi aboard USS Colorado in June 1871
  United States   Joseon dynasty Inconclusive/Other Result

American military victory

American diplomatic failure

Ulysses S. Grant
Modoc War
(1872–1873)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: California and Oregon
 
Engraving of soldiers recovering the bodies of the slain May 3, 1873.
  United States   Modoc US victory
Red River War
(1874–1875)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: Texas
  United States   Cheyenne
  Arapaho
  Comanche
Kiowa
US victory
  • End to the Texas-Indian Wars
Las Cuevas War
(1875)

Location: Texas and Mexico
 
Texan soldiers.
  United States Mexican bandits US victory
  • Cattle returned to Texas
Great Sioux War of 1876
(1876–1877)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: Montana, Dakota and Wyoming
 
Custer's last stand at Little Bighorn.
  United States   Lakota
  Dakota Sioux
  Northern Cheyenne
  Arapaho
US victory
  • Legal control of Powder River Country ceded to the United States
Buffalo Hunters' War
(1876–1877)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: Texas and Oklahoma
  United States   Comanche
Apache
US victory
Nez Perce War
(1877)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana
 
Chief Joseph's band in the Battle of Bear Paw Mountain
  United States Nez Perce
Palouse
US victory Rutherford B. Hayes
Bannock War
(1878)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: Idaho, Oregon, and Wyoming
  United States Bannock
Shoshone
Paiute
US victory
Cheyenne War
(1878–1879)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Montana
  United States   Cheyenne US victory
Sheepeater Indian War
(1879)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: Idaho
  United States Shoshone US victory
Victorio's War
(1879–1880)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: Mexico
  United States
  Mexico
Apache US-allied victory
White River War
(1879)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: Colorado
 
Battle of Milk Creek Canyon
  United States Ute US victory
Crow War
(1887)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: Montana
 
Crow Indians Firing into the Agency 1887
  United States   Crow people US victory Grover Cleveland
Pine Ridge Campaign
(1890–1891)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: South Dakota
 
Mass grave for the dead Lakota after the conflict at Wounded Knee Creek.
  United States   Sioux US victory Benjamin Harrison
Garza War
(1891–1893)

Location: Texas and Mexico
 
3rd Cavalry Troopers searching a suspected Revolutionist, 1892
  Mexico
  United States
Garzistas US-allied victory
Yaqui Wars
(1896–1918)

Part of the American Indian Wars

Location: Arizona and Mexico
  United States
  Mexico
  Yaqui
Pima
Opata
US-allied victory Grover Cleveland (March 4, 1893 – March 4, 1897)


William McKinley (March 4, 1897 – September 14, 1901)


Theodore Roosevelt (September 14, 1901 – March 4, 1909)


William Howard Taft (March 4, 1909 – March 4, 1913)


Woodrow Wilson (March 4, 1913 – March 4, 1921)

Second Samoan Civil War
(1898–1899)

Location: Samoa
 
Samoan warriors and American servicemen during the Siege of Apia in March 1899.
Samoa
  United States
Mataafans
  German Empire
Inconclusive/Other Result William McKinley
Spanish–American War
(1898)

Location: Cuba, Puerto Rico, Philippines and Guam
 
Theodore Roosevelt and the "Rough Riders" after the Battle of San Juan Hill.
  United States
  Cuban Revolutionaries
  Filipino Revolutionaries
  Spain US-allied victory William McKinley
Philippine–American War
(1899–1902)

Location: Philippines
 
U.S. soldiers during the Battle of Manila.
1899–1902
  United States

1902-1906
  United States

1899–1902
  Philippine Republic

Limited Foreign Support:
  Empire of Japan


1902-1906
  Tagalog Republic

US victory William McKinley (March 4, 1897 – September 14, 1901)


Theodore Roosevelt (September 14, 1901 – March 4, 1909)

Moro Rebellion
(1899–1913)

Location: Philippines
 
American soldiers battling against Moro fighters.
  United States   Moro
  Remnants of the Sulu Sultanate
US victory
  • Total annexation of the Philippine Islands
William McKinley (March 4, 1897 – September 14, 1901)


Theodore Roosevelt (September 14, 1901 – March 4, 1909)


William Howard Taft (March 4, 1909 – March 4, 1913)


Woodrow Wilson (March 4, 1913 – March 4, 1921)

Boxer Rebellion
(1899–1901)

Location: China
 
U.S. soldiers during the Boxer Rebellion in China.
  British Empire

  Russian Empire
  Empire of Japan
  French Republic
  United States
  German Empire
  Kingdom of Italy
  Austro-Hungarian Empire
  China (until 1900)

  Boxers
  China (from 1900)
US-allied victory
  • Signing of the Boxer Protocol
  • Provisions for foreign troops to be stationed in Beijing
William McKinley
Vietnam War
(1955–1975)

Location: Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia
 
U.S. Army Bell UH-1D helicopters airlift members of the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment from the Filhol Rubber Plantation area to a new staging area, during Operation "Wahiawa", a search and destroy mission conducted by the 25th Infantry Division, northeast of Cu Chi, South Vietnam, 1966.
  North Vietnam   United States
  South Vietnam
  South Korea
  Philippines
  Thailand
  Australia
  New Zealand
  Khmer Republic
  Kingdom of Laos
  Brazil
  United Kingdom
  Mexico
Vietnam victory Richard Nixon
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  1. These numbers are gathered from a combination of surviving muster rolls and veteran applications for land grants. It is likely that the statistics on the Texan army size in both 1835 and 1836 underestimate the number of Tejanos who served in the army. American volunteers who returned to the U.S. without claiming land are also undercounted. Lack (1992), p. 113.

References

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  1. Kelly, Martin (4 November 2020). "American Involvement in Wars From Colonial Times to the Present". ThoughtCo. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "Tripolitan War | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  3. 3.0 3.1 r2WPadmin. "First Barbary War". American History Central. Retrieved May 8, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. Serial 89, 18th Congress, 1st Session, Senate Document No. 1, p. 95
  5. Lack (1992), pp. 122–3.
  6. "The Indians". The Philadelphia Inquirer. November 12, 1884.
  7. "Union and Confederate Indians in the Civil War". civilwarhome.com. 2002-02-16. Archived from the original on February 13, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.

Other websites

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