Surrender at Saratoga
On this day General John Burgoyne’s British army laid down its arms to American forces near Saratoga, New York, ending a failed campaign to cut New England off from the other colonies.
Search & discovery
ONE SEARCH. A WIDER HISTORY.
Find a person, battle, citation, article, book or episode. Start with a name or identifier, then explore the connections.
621 results for “Wars & Historical Eras”
Showing 397–414
Surrender of Charleston
After a long siege, one of the young republic’s worst defeats unfolds as Major General Benjamin Lincoln surrenders Charleston, South Carolina, to British forces under Sir Henry Clinton. Thousands of Continental soldiers and militia lay down their arms, along with warships and supplies inside the vital port. With Charleston in hand, British leaders hope to rally Loyalists, crush resistance in the South, and then roll
Surrender of Corregidor in the Philippines
In the early months of the Second World War, American and Filipino defenders fought a desperate holding action in the Philippines as Japanese forces pressed south across the Pacific. While Bataan fell in April, the island fortress of Corregidor in Manila Bay continued to resist under constant bombardment, its tunnels crowded with wounded, staff, and the last reserves of ammunition.
Surrender of Detroit
On August 16th, 1812, early in the War of 1812, Brigadier General William Hull surrendered the American post at Detroit to a smaller British force under Major General Isaac Brock. Hull had crossed into Canada weeks earlier with an army of regulars and militia but retreated after supply problems, poor coordination, and concerns about Native American allies fighting alongside the British.
Surrender of Forts Jackson and St. Philip
During the American Civil War, these two masonry forts guarded the lower Mississippi River approach to New Orleans, anchoring Confederate defenses along the Gulf Coast. After a fierce bombardment and a daring nighttime run past their guns by Flag Officer David Farragut’s fleet, the forts were isolated and demoralized. Mutiny broke out among the Confederate enlisted men, and their officers were forced to concede that
Surrender of Santiago de Cuba
During the Spanish–American War, the Cuban city of Santiago became the focal point of United States operations on land and sea. After the destruction of the Spanish fleet outside the harbor and hard fighting on heights like San Juan and Kettle Hill, Spanish forces inside Santiago found themselves isolated and outgunned. On July 17th, 1898, they formally surrendered the city to United States forces, ending organized r
Surrender of Stand Watie
In the closing weeks of the Civil War, most Confederate field armies had already stacked their arms when Brigadier General Stand Watie, a Cherokee leader, finally agreed to terms in Indian Territory. Watie had commanded Confederate Indian units in the Trans-Mississippi theater, where fighting mixed conventional campaigns with raids, guerrilla strikes, and bitter internal divisions among Native nations.
Surrender of the Trans-Mississippi
While history often remembers the April surrender at Appomattox Court House as the Civil War’s end, organized Confederate resistance lingered west of the Mississippi River. On May 26th, 1865, officials representing General Edmund Kirby Smith’s Trans-Mississippi Department agreed to terms that effectively surrendered the last large Confederate field command.
Surrender of Vicksburg
While the guns still cooled at Gettysburg, another decisive event unfolded on the Mississippi River. On July 4th, 1863, after weeks of siege, Confederate Lieutenant General John Pemberton surrendered the fortress city of Vicksburg and its garrison to Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant. The fall of Vicksburg gave the Union complete control of the Mississippi River, severing the Confederacy’s trans-Mississippi region
Task Force Smith fights at Osan
The first significant ground clash between United States and North Korean forces occurred at Osan on July 5th, 1950, when a small blocking force known as Task Force Smith took up positions south of Seoul. Comprised mainly of infantry from the 21st Infantry Regiment, supported by limited artillery and outdated anti-tank weapons, the force was ordered to delay the North Korean advance.
Terrorist attacks on the United States
On this date, coordinated terrorist attacks struck the United States homeland in a way not seen before.
Texas admitted as twenty-eighth state
When Texas formally entered the Union on December 29th, 1845, a long-simmering question about the republic on the southwestern frontier finally came to a head.
The Fall of Fort Washington
On November 16th, 1776, British and Hessian forces assaulted Fort Washington, the last major Continental stronghold on Manhattan Island.
The fall of Wake Island
In the central Pacific, a small Marine garrison and civilian contractors turned Wake Island into a symbol of resistance in the opening days of the Pacific War.
The mass execution at Mankato, Minnesota
The aftermath of the Dakota War of 1862 reached a grim climax on December 26th, 1862, when thirty-eight Dakota men were hanged at Mankato under United States Army supervision.
Thomas Eugene “Gene” Atkins
It is the early hours of 10 March 1945 on Luzon in the Philippine Islands. The jungle around the Villa Verde Trail is black and close, broken only by a thin ridge that juts out from a larger hill. On that ridge, just ahead of the main American perimeter, three foxholes scrape a shallow line in the earth. In one of them lies Private First Class Thomas Eugene “Gene” Atkins of Company A, 127th Infantry. His job is simpl
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Dedicated
On November 11th, 1921, three years to the day after the armistice, an unknown American soldier from the First World War was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.
Tragedy at My Lai
During the Vietnam War, American units operated in a confusing environment where enemy fighters, civilians, and local political forces often mingled in the same villages and rice fields. On March 16th, 1968, a United States Army company entered the My Lai area in South Vietnam expecting to find a strong enemy presence.