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On February 22nd, 1819, American and Spanish negotiators signed the Adams–Onís Treaty, transferring Spanish Florida to the United States and settling a long-troublesome frontier. For years, the border had been a patchwork where runaway enslaved people, Native communities, smugglers, and raiding parties moved in and out of reach of American authorities.
Before dawn on May 13th, 1862, an enslaved harbor pilot named Robert Smalls puts a quiet plan into motion in Confederate-held Charleston. While the white officers of the steamer Planter are ashore, Smalls and a small crew of fellow enslaved sailors steam the vessel out of the harbor, picking up their families along the way. Wearing the captain’s coat and hat, Smalls issues the right whistle signals to pass Confederat
Two years after the Emancipation Proclamation and months after the main Confederate armies had surrendered, Union military authority was still spreading across the far corners of the former Confederacy. On June 19th, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger landed in Galveston, Texas, at the head of Union troops and read General Order No. 3, announcing that enslaved people in Texas were free under federal law.
A story of a blood-soaked cornfield, a shallow creek, and a battle that reshaped the Union’s war.
Hooker’s spring offensive crossed the Rappahannock with an ambitious plan but ended in withdrawal. The main battle, Jackson’s flank march, and Sedgwick’s separate advance formed one campaign whose local actions cannot be reduced to a single surprise attack.
Gettysburg brought the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac into a three-day battle shaped by terrain, reinforcement, and local decisions. This overview connects the opening encounter, both flanks, Cemetery Ridge, the cavalry actions, and the human aftermath.
A story of a lopsided clash where earthworks, frontier rifles, and bad timing shattered a veteran British army and reshaped a young republic’s confidence.
On April 6, 1865, Union infantry and cavalry struck separated portions of Lee’s retreating army. The fights at Hillsman Farm, Marshall’s Crossroads and Lockett Farm inflicted losses the Confederates could not readily replace and brought the campaign nearer its conclusion.
After the Wilderness, the armies fought for roads, salients and supply routes around Spotsylvania. The Bloody Angle was the most remembered episode, but the battle also included Laurel Hill, Heth’s Salient and later attempts to turn or break the defenses.
The failed December 1864 expedition and successful January 1865 assault were separate attempts to close Wilmington’s protected sea approach. This overview distinguishes bombardment, amphibious landings, naval and army assaults, and the later advance on Wilmington.
The return to Luzon combined amphibious landings, the destruction and liberation of Manila, the recovery of the bay approaches and months of fighting in mountain defenses. Capturing the capital did not end the island campaign.
A story of block-by-block urban fighting and the hard decision to take back a city at any cost.
The struggle for Petersburg combined failed assaults, trench warfare, railway interdiction, and repeated battles on an expanding front. This overview follows the campaign from June 1864 through the April 1865 evacuation, preserving the distinctions between individual award actions.