List of wars involving the United States

This is a list of wars involving the United States.
 British–American Wars
 American Revolutionary War
 War of 1812
 American Wars in 19th Century
 Mexican–American War
 American Civil War
 Spanish–American War
 First and Second World Wars
 World War I
 World War II
 Cold War
 Korean War
 Vietnam War
 Gulf War
 War on terror
 War in Afghanistan
 Iraq War

18th-century wars

ConflictAlliesBelligerentResult 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
  Canadian Auxiliaries
 Spanish Empire

 Iroquois
  Oneida
  Tuscarora
Watauga AssociationCatawba Lenape Choctaw  Loyalists German Auxiliaries
 Iroquois
  Onondaga
 Mohawk
  Cayuga
  Seneca
 Cherokee  US-allied victory
 Treaty of Paris (1783)
 Britain recognizes the independence of the United States of America and the Thirteen Colonies.President of the Continental Congress in American Revolutionary War:
 John Hancock
 Henry Laurens
 John Jay
 Samuel Huntington
 Thomas McKean
 John Hanson
 Elias Boudinot
 Thomas Mifflin
 Richard Henry Lee
 John Hancock
 Nathaniel Gorham
 Arthur St. Clair
 Cyrus Griffin Cherokee–American wars(1776–1795)Part of the American Indian WarsLocation: Old Southwestthumb|left|Abduction of Daniel Boone's daughter by the Cherokee  Choctaw  Cherokee US-allied victoryPresident of the Continental Congress in Cherokee –American wars:
 John Hancock
 Henry Laurens
 John Jay
 Samuel Huntington
 Thomas McKean
 John Hanson
 Elias Boudinot
 Thomas Mifflin
 Richard Henry Lee
 John Hancock
 Nathaniel Gorham
 Arthur St. Clair
 Cyrus Griffin

Presidents of the United States:
 George Washington Northwest Indian War(1785–1793)Part of the American Indian WarsLocation: Northwest Territorythumb|left|The Battle of Fallen Timbers  Chickasaw Choctaw Western Confederacy
 Great Britain
  British North America US-allied victory
 Treaty of Greenville (1795)
 American occupation of the Northwest TerritoryGeorge Washington Quasi-War(1798–1800)Location: Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean
Co-belligerent:  French Republic
  Guadeloupe Convention of 1800
 End of French attacks on American shippingJohn Adams

19th-century wars

ConflictAlliesBelligerentResult for the United States and its Allies Presidents of the United States First Barbary War(1801–1805)Part of the Barbary WarsLocation: Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Tripolithumb|left|Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon at Derna, April 1805  Kingdom of Sicily Malta Protectorate Sultanate of Morocco 25px|border=no Ottoman Tripolitania Sultanate of Morocco US-allied victoryThomas Jefferson Tecumseh's War(1810–1813)Part of the American Indian Wars and the War of 1812Location: Northwest River Ohiothumb|left|The Battle of Tippecanoe  Tecumseh's Confederacy US victoryJames Madison War of 1812(1812–1815)Location: Eastern and Central North Americathumb|left|General Andrew Jackson stands on the parapet of his makeshift defenses as his troops repulse attacking Highlanders, by painter Edward Percy Moran in 1910.  Choctaw Nation Cherokee NationCreek Allies 
  British North America
 The Canadas

Tecumseh's Confederacy
 Spain (1814) Inconclusive/Other Result
 Treaty of Ghent
 Military stalemate; both sides' invasion attempts repulsed
 Status quo ante bellum
 Defeat of Tecumseh's Confederacy
 Burning of Washington including the White House and the Capitol Creek War(1813–1814)Part of the American Indian Wars and the War of 1812Location: Southern United Statesthumb|left|The Battle of Horseshoe Bend, 1814 Lower Creeks Cherokee Nation Choctaw Nation Red Stick Creek US-allied victory
 Treaty of Fort Jackson Second Barbary War(1815)Part of the Barbary WarsLocation: Mediterranean Sea and the Barbary Statesthumb|left|Decatur's squadron off Algiers   Deylik of Algiers US victory First Seminole War(1817–1818)Part of the Seminole Wars and the American Indian WarsLocation: Pensacola, Spanish Florida

 Spanish Florida US victory
 Spain cedes Spanish Florida to the United States in the Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819James Monroe Arikara War(1823)Part of the American Indian WarsLocation: Missouri Riverthumb|left|An Arikara warrior 
Sioux Arikara Inconclusive/Other Result
 White Peace treaty agreed by US Col LeavenworthSerial 89, 18th Congress, 1st Session, Senate Document No. 1, p. 95 Winnebago War(1827)Part of the American Indian WarsLocation: Illinois and Michigan Territory  Choctaw Nation Prairie La Crosse Ho-Chunkswith a few allies US-allied victory
 Ho-Chunks cede lead mining region to the United StatesJohn Quincy Adams Black Hawk War(1832)Part of the American Indian WarsLocation: Illinois and Michigan Territorythumb|left|Native women and children fleeing the Battle of Bad Axe Ho-ChunkMenominee DakotaPotawatomi Black Hawk's British BandHo-Chunk and Potawatomi allies US-allied victory
 End of Native armed resistance to U.S. expansion in the Old Northwest
 Black Hawk Purchase (1832)
 The United States bought Potawatomi land in the Treaty of Tippecanoe (1832)
 The United States bought the rest of Potawatomi land west of the Mississippi River in the Treaty of Chicago (1833)Andrew Jackson Texas Revolution(1835–1836)Location: Texasthumb|left|Fall of the Alamo 

 Out of the Texan soldiers serving from January through March 1836, 78% had arrived from the United States after October 2, 1835.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.Lack (1992), pp. 122–3.  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 WarsLocation: Florida, United Statesthumb|left|U.S. Marines search for Seminoles in the Everglades  Seminole US victory
 About 3,800 Seminoles transported to the Indian Territory
 About 300 remain in EvergladesMartin 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: Maine–New Brunswick border thumb|left|Map showing the boundary claims and final border  British America Inconclusive/Other Result
 Webster–Ashburton TreatyMartin Van Buren Mexican–American War(1846–1848)Location: Texas, New Mexico, California and Mexicothumb|left|2nd Dragoons charge the enemy at the Battle of Resaca de la Palma, 1846  California Republic  US-allied victory
 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
 Mexican Cession
 Mexican recognition of US sovereignty over Texas and California (among other territories)James K. Polk Cayuse War(1847–1855)Part of the American Indian WarsLocation: Oregonthumb|left|The Whitman Massacre.  Cayuse US victory
 Cayuse reduced in numbers and forced to cede most of their landsJames 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 WarsLocation: Southwestern United States
 Apaches moved to reservationsJames 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
 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 WarsLocation: Washington Snoqualmie NisquallyMuckleshootPuyallupKlickitatHaidaTlingit US victoryFranklin Pierce Rogue River Wars(1855–1856)Location: Rogue Valley  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 WarsLocation: Pensacola, Florida  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 settlersFranklin Pierce (March 4, 1853 – March 4, 1857)

James Buchanan (March 4, 1857 – March 4, 1861) Yakima War(1855–1858)Part of the American Indian WarsLocation: Washington Territory

James Buchanan (March 4, 1857 – March 4, 1861) Second Opium War(1856–1859)Part of the Opium WarsLocation: Chinathumb|left|Palikao's bridge, on the evening of the battle, by Émile Bayard  British Empire French Empire  US victory
 Treaties of Tientsin
 Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutters Island ceded to the United Kingdom as part of British Hong KongFranklin Pierce (March 4, 1853 – March 4, 1857)

James Buchanan (March 4, 1857 – March 4, 1861) Utah War(1857–1858)Part of the Mormon warsLocation: Utah Territory and Wyoming  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 authorityFranklin Pierce (March 4, 1853 – March 4, 1857)

James Buchanan (March 4, 1857 – March 4, 1861) Navajo Wars(1858–1866)Part of the American Indian WarsLocation: New Mexicothumb|left|Fort Defiance  Navajo Nation US victory
 Long Walk of the Navajo
 Navajos moved to reservationsFranklin 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 Islandsthumb|left|Proposed boundaries:

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.  Washington Territory  Colony of Vancouver IslandInconclusive
 Treaty of Washington
 Mostly a bloodless war – San Juan Islands awarded to the United States following third-party arbitrationJames Buchanan John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry(1859)Part of pre-Civil War conflictsLocation: West Virginiathumb|left|Harper's Weekly illustration of U.S. Marines attacking John Brown's "Fort" Teresa Baine  Abolitionist Insurgents US victoryJames Buchanan First and Second Cortina War(1859–1861)Location: Texas and Mexico  United States

 Confederate States  Cortinista bandits US-allied victoryJames Buchanan Paiute War(1860)Part of the American Indian WarsLocation: Pyramid Lake, Nevada  PaiuteShoshoneBannock US victoryJames Buchanan American Civil War(1861–1865)Location: Southern United States, Indian Territory, Northeastern United States, Western United States, Atlantic Oceanleft|thumb|The Battle of Antietam, by Kurz & Allison. Indian Home Guard Seminole Nation (Western) (most) Muskogee Nation (part)  Cherokee Nation Choctaw NationCatawba Chickasaw Nation (part) Muskogee Nation (part) Seminole Nation (Florida) Seminole Nation (Western) (part) Comanche Nation (part) US victory
 Dissolution of the Confederate States
 U.S. territorial integrity preserved
 Beginning of the Reconstruction Era
 U.S. government gets further control over land and railroad rights in the Indian Territory.Abraham Lincoln Yavapai Wars(1861–1875)Part of the American Indian WarsLocation: Arizonathumb|left|Rescue of Lt. Charles King|alt=Rescue of Lt. Charles King.jpg  YavapaiApacheYumaMohave US victoryAbraham 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 WarsLocation: Minnesota and Dakotathumb|left|The Siege of New Ulm, Minnesota on August 19, 1862   Dakota Sioux US victoryAbraham Lincoln Colorado War(1863–1865)Part of the American Indian WarsLocation: Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska   Cheyenne Arapaho Sioux Inconclusive/Other Result
 Military and congressional hearings against John Chivington Snake War(1864–1868)Part of the American Indian WarsLocations: Oregon, Nevada, California, and Idaho  PaiuteBannockShoshone US victoryAbraham Lincoln (March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865)

Andrew Johnson (April 15, 1865 – March 4, 1869) Powder River War(1865)Part of the American Indian WarsLocation: Powder River State   Sioux Cheyenne Arapaho InconclusiveAndrew Johnson Red Cloud's War(1866–1868)Part of the American Indian WarsLocation: Powder River Statethumb|left|The Fetterman Massacre  Crow Nation  Lakota Cheyenne Arapaho Lakota-allied victory
 Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)
 Legal control of Powder River Country ceded to Native Americans
 Creation of the Great Sioux Reservation (including the Black Hills) Comanche Campaign(1867–1875)Part of the American Indian WarsLocation: Western United Statesthumb|left|Battle of Beecher Island. One soldier and three horses have fallen, while others continue to wage the battle.   Cheyenne Arapaho ComancheKiowa US victoryAndrew Johnson (April 15, 1865 – March 4, 1869)

Ulysses S. Grant (March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1877)United States expedition to Korea

(1871)

Location: Ganghwa Islandleft|thumb|231x231px|The captured Sujagi aboard USS Colorado in June 1871   Inconclusive/Other Result

American military victory

American diplomatic failure
 Withdrawal of American forces
 Korea retains isolationist policies
 Eventual signing of the United States–Korea Treaty of 1882Ulysses S. Grant Modoc War(1872–1873)Part of the American Indian WarsLocation: California and Oregonthumb|left|Engraving of soldiers recovering the bodies of the slain May 3, 1873.   Modoc US victory Red River War(1874–1875)Part of the American Indian WarsLocation: Texas   Cheyenne Arapaho ComancheKiowa US victory
 End to the Texas-Indian Wars Las Cuevas War(1875)Location: Texas and Mexico
 Cattle returned to Texas Great Sioux War of 1876(1876–1877)Part of the American Indian WarsLocation: Montana, Dakota and Wyomingthumb|left|Custer's last stand at Little Bighorn.   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 WarsLocation: Texas and Oklahoma   ComancheApache US victory Nez Perce War(1877)Part of the American Indian WarsLocation: Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montanathumb|left|Chief Joseph's band in the Battle of Bear Paw Mountain  Nez PercePalouse US victoryRutherford B. Hayes Bannock War(1878)Part of the American Indian WarsLocation: Idaho, Oregon, and Wyoming  BannockShoshonePaiute US victory Cheyenne War(1878–1879)Part of the American Indian WarsLocation: Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Montana   Cheyenne US victory Sheepeater Indian War(1879)Part of the American Indian WarsLocation: Idaho  Shoshone US victory Victorio's War(1879–1880)Part of the American Indian WarsLocation: Mexico  Apache US-allied victory White River War(1879)Part of the American Indian WarsLocation: Coloradothumb|left|Battle of Milk Creek Canyon  Ute US victory Crow War(1887)Part of the American Indian WarsLocation: Montanathumb|left|Crow Indians Firing into the Agency 1887|alt=Crow Indians Firing into the Agency 1887.jpg   Crow people US victoryGrover Cleveland Pine Ridge Campaign(1890–1891)Part of the American Indian WarsLocation: South Dakotathumb|left|Mass grave for the dead Lakota after the conflict at Wounded Knee Creek.   Sioux US victoryBenjamin Harrison Garza War(1891–1893)Location: Texas and Mexicothumb|left|3rd Cavalry Troopers searching a suspected Revolutionist, 1892  Garzistas US-allied victory Yaqui Wars(1896–1918)Part of the American Indian WarsLocation: Arizona and Mexico  25px YaquiPimaOpata US-allied victoryGrover 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: Samoathumb|left|Samoan warriors and American servicemen during the Siege of Apia in March 1899. Samoa Mataafans Inconclusive/Other Result
 Allies and Rebels compromise for peace Tripartite Convention
 United States acquires American Samoa
 United Kingdom withdraws claim in exchange for concessions in the Solomon Islands
 Germany gets German Samoa
 Mata'afa Iosefo becomes paramount chief of SamoaWilliam McKinley Spanish–American War(1898)Location: Cuba, Puerto Rico, Philippines and Guamthumb|left|Theodore Roosevelt and the "Rough Riders" after the Battle of San Juan Hill.  Cuban Revolutionaries Filipino Revolutionaries  Spain
  Cuba
  Guam
  Philippines
  Puerto Rico US-allied victory
 Treaty of Paris
 Protectorate over Cuba
 Collapse of the Spanish EmpireWilliam McKinley Philippine–American War(1899–1902)Location: Philippinesthumb|left|U.S. soldiers during the Battle of Manila. 1899–1902
  Military government

1902-1906
  Civil government 1899–1902
  Negros Republic
  Zamboanga Republic
Limited Foreign Support:
 Shishi

1902-190625px Tagalog Republic
 Irrenconcilables US victory
 Occupation of the Philippines
 Establishment of the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands
 General Emilio Aguinaldo captured
 Dissolution of the First Philippine RepublicWilliam McKinley (March 4, 1897 – September 14, 1901)

Theodore Roosevelt (September 14, 1901 – March 4, 1909) Moro Rebellion(1899–1913)Location: Philippinesthumb|left|American soldiers battling against Moro fighters.   Moro Remnants of the Sulu Sultanate US victory
 Total annexation of the Philippine IslandsWilliam 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: Chinathumb|left|U.S. soldiers during the Boxer Rebellion in China. 




 French Republic (until 1900)  Boxers (from 1900) US-allied victory
 Signing of the Boxer Protocol
 Provisions for foreign troops to be stationed in BeijingWilliam McKinleyVietnam War(1955–1975)Location: Vietnam, Laos, Cambodialeft|thumb|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. Khmer Republic Kingdom of LaosVietnam victory
 Beginning of the Third Indochina War
 Reunification of North Vietnam and Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam
 Vietnam united under Communism
 Start of the Boat people and Cambodian genocideRichard Nixon

Related pages
 Military history
 List of ongoing armed conflicts

Notes

References

Other websites
 Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research (HIIK)
  – Describes recent trends in conflict development, escalations, and settlements
 A Continent Divided: The U.S.-Mexico War, Center for Greater Southwestern Studies, the University of Texas at Arlington
 Timeline of wars involving the United States, Histropedia
 U.S. Periods of War and Dates of Recent Conflicts , Congressional Research Service


Wars