On July 4, 1776, the American Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. While July 4 is celebrated as the birthday of the United States, the country was very different and smaller back then: a small cluster of 13 states with a combined population of about 2.5 million (about the same as Brooklyn today) seeking to break trans-Atlantic ties to King George III. (These are the origins of every American federal holiday.)
While the American Revolutionary War (fought from 1775 to 1783) birthed the nation, it would take more than a century for the country to fill out to its current borders. Along the way, throughout the late 18th and the 19th centuries, 44 watershed battles took place to help make that happen.
To provide a list of the battles that made America, 24/7 Wall St. compiled information about the 44 battles inscribed on the amphitheater of Arlington National Cemetery. These battles span the period from the American Revolution through the Spanish-American War. (Our list is arranged in chronological order, though Arlington doesn’t list them exactly that way.)
Click here to see the most pivotal battles that made America what it is today
On the list, you’ll find wars Americans fought against Great Britain, Mexico, Spain and – bloodiest of all – themselves. Twenty of these 44 battles were fought during the Civil War; a dozen of them drenched the soils of Tennessee and Virginia with the blood of tens of thousands of Americans. For example, more than 13,000 soldiers were killed in just two days at the Battle of Shiloh in April, 1862. (These are the deadliest battles in U.S. history.)
Other key battles in took place during the War of 1812, a failed attempt by Britain to stop American expansion; the Mexican-American War, fought in the wake of the 1845 annexation of Texas; and the Spanish-American War of 1898, the country’s first military foray outside of the contiguous United States.
Source: Fotosearch / Archive Photos via Getty Images
1. Battle of Lexington
> War: The American Revolution
> Location: Massachusetts
> Date(s): April 19, 1775
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Source: nypl / Flickr
2. Battle of Ticonderoga
> War: The American Revolution
> Location: New York
> Date(s): May 10, 1775
Source: Archive Photos / Archive Photos via Getty Images
3. Battle of Bunker Hill
> War: The American Revolution
> Location: Massachusetts
> Date(s): June 17, 1775
Source: Hulton Archive / Getty Images
4. Battle of Trenton
> War: The American Revolution
> Location: New Jersey
> Date(s): December 26, 1776
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Source: nypl / Flickr
5. Battle of Saratoga
> War: The American Revolution
> Location: New York
> Date(s): September 19-October 7, 1777
6. Battle of Monmouth
> War: The American Revolution
> Location: New Jersey
> Date(s): June 28, 1778
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Source: Archive Photos / Archive Photos via Getty Images
7. Battle of Stony Point
> War: The American Revolution
> Location: Rockland County, NY
> Date(s): July 16, 1779
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
8. Battle of Kings Mountain
> War: The American Revolution
> Location: South Carolina
> Date(s): October 7, 1780
Source: H. Charles McBarron / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
9. Battle of Guilford Courthouse
> War: The American Revolution
> Location: North Carolina
> Date(s): March 15, 1781
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Source: Hulton Archive / Hulton Archive via Getty Images
10. Battle of Yorktown
> War: The American Revolution
> Location: Virginia
> Date(s): September 28-October 19, 1781
Source: traveler1116 / Getty Images
11. Battle of Lake Erie
> War: War of 1812
> Location: Ohio
> Date(s): September 10, 1813
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Source: Archive Photos / Archive Photos via Getty Images
12. Battle of Chippewa
> War: War of 1812
> Location: Ontario
> Date(s): July 5, 1814
24/7 Wall St.
Source: Archive Photos / Archive Photos via Getty Images
13. Battle of Lundy’s Lane
> War: War of 1812
> Location: Ontario
> Date(s): July 25, 1814
Source: national_museum_of_the_us_navy / Flickr
14. Battle of Lake Champlain
> War: War of 1812
> Location: New York
> Date(s): September 11, 1814
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Source: nypl / Flickr
15. Battle of Plattsburgh
> War: War of 1812
> Location: New York
> Date(s): September 11, 1814
Source: Fotosearch / Archive Photos via Getty Images
16. Battle of New Orleans
> War: War of 1812
> Location: Louisiana
> Date(s): January 8, 1815
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
17. Battle of Monterey
> War: Mexican-American War
> Location: Monterrey, Mexico
> Date(s): September 20-24, 1846
Source: Kean Collection / Archive Photos via Getty Images
18. Battle of Buena Vista
> War: Mexican-American War
> Location: Monterrey, Mexico
> Date(s): February 22-23, 1847
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
19. Battle of Contreras
> War: Mexican-American War
> Location: Contreras, Mexico
> Date(s): August 19-20, 1847
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
20. Battle of Churubusco
> War: Mexican-American War
> Location: Churubusco, Mexico
> Date(s): August 20, 1847
Source: traveler1116 / Getty Images
21. Battle of Molino del Rey
> War: Mexican-American War
> Location: Mexico City, Mexico
> Date(s): September 8, 1847
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
22. Battle of Chapultepec
> War: Mexican-American War
> Location: Mexico City, Mexico
> Date(s): September 12-14, 1847
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
23. Battle of Fort Sumter
> War: Civil War
> Location: Charleston Harbor, SC
> Date(s): April 12-14, 1861
Source: Hulton Archive / Hulton Archive via Getty Images
24. Battle of Donelson
> War: Civil War
> Location: Stewart County, TN
> Date(s): Feb 13-16, 1862
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Source: MPI / Archive Photos via Getty Images
25. Battle of Shiloh
> War: Civil War
> Location: Hardin County, TN
> Date(s): April 6-7, 1862
Source: north-carolina-state-archives / Flickr
26. Battle of Malvern Hills
> War: Civil War
> Location: Henrico County, VA
> Date(s): July 1, 1862
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Source: Rischgitz / Hulton Archive via Getty Images
27. Battle of Antietam
> War: Civil War
> Location: Washington County, MD
> Date(s): September 16-18, 1862
Source: MPI / Archive Photos via Getty Images
28. Battle of Vicksburg
> War: Civil War
> Location: Warren County, MS
> Date(s): May 18-July 4, 1863
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
29. Battle of Winchester
> War: Civil War
> Location: Frederick County, VA
> Date(s): June 13-15, 1863
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Source: Archive Photos / Archive Photos via Getty Images
30. Battle of Gettysburg
> War: Civil War
> Location: Adams County, PA
> Date(s): July 1-3, 1863
Source: MPI / Archive Photos via Getty Images
31. Battle of Chickamauga
> War: Civil War
> Location: Catoosa County and Walker County, GA
> Date(s): September 18-20, 1863
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
32. Battle of Knoxville
> War: Civil War
> Location: Knoxville, TN
> Date(s): November 17-December 4, 1863
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Source: Archive Photos / Archive Photos via Getty Images
33. Battle of Chattanooga
> War: Civil War
> Location: Hamilton County and City of Chattanooga, TN
> Date(s): November 23-25, 1863
Source: MPI / Archive Photos via Getty Images
34. Battle of The Wilderness
> War: Civil War
> Location: Spotsylvania and Orange Counties, VA
> Date(s): May 5-7, 1864
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Source: exit78 / Flickr
35. Battle of Resaca
> War: Civil War
> Location: Gordon County and Whitfield County, GA
> Date(s): May 13-15, 1864
Source: Kean Collection / Archive Photos via Getty Images
36. Battle of Petersburg
> War: Civil War
> Location: City of Petersburg, VA
> Date(s): June 15-18, 1864
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Source: exit78 / Flickr
37. Battle of Atlanta
> War: Civil War
> Location: Fulton County, GA
> Date(s): July 22, 1864
Source: Archive Photos / Archive Photos via Getty Images
38. Battle of Mobile Bay
> War: Civil War
> Location: Mobile and Baldwin County, AL
> Date(s): August 2-23, 1864
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
39. Battle of Cedar Creek
> War: Civil War
> Location: Frederick County, Shenandoah County and Warren County, VA
> Date(s): October 19, 1864
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Source: MPI / Archive Photos via Getty Images
40. Battle of Franklin
> War: Civil War
> Location: Franklin, TN
> Date(s): November 30, 1864
Source: Archive Photos / Archive Photos via Getty Images
41. Battle of Nashville
> War: Civil War
> Location: Davidson County, TN
> Date(s): December 15-16, 1864
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
42. Battle of Appomattox
> War: Civil War
> Location: Appomattox County, VA
> Date(s): April 9, 1865
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
43. Battle of Manila
> War: Spanish-American War
> Location: Manila, Philippines
> Date(s): May 1, 1898
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
44. Battle of Santiago de Cuba
> War: Spanish-American War
> Location: Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
> Date(s): July 3, 1898
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