“Uncle Sam” nickname first linked to the United States government
During the War of 1812, a newspaper account connected the initials “U.S.” on Army supply barrels with a contractor named Samuel Wilson of Troy, New York.
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Union Army withdraws after Fredericksburg
By December 15th, 1862, the Army of the Potomac was pulling back across the Rappahannock River after the bloody defeat at Fredericksburg.
Union breakthrough at Petersburg
After months of siege warfare around Petersburg, Virginia, General Grant ordered a major assault on the overstretched Confederate lines protecting both Petersburg and the capital at Richmond. Union forces, including troops from several corps that had been steadily probing and extending the siege lines, attacked at multiple points along the defensive works. The Confederate positions, manned by weary soldiers of Genera
Union Capture of Fort Henry
During the American Civil War, control of rivers was as important as control of railroads, and Union commanders in the Western Theater understood that geography could be a weapon. On February 6th, 1862, combined Union army and navy forces under Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant and Flag Officer Andrew Foote attacked Fort Henry on the Tennessee River, a Confederate strongpoint guarding access into the Deep South.
Union forces occupy Atlanta, Georgia
The day after the fighting at Jonesborough, Union troops moved into Atlanta and took control of one of the Confederacy’s most important industrial and railroad hubs.
Union order of emancipation in Texas (Juneteenth)
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.
Union troops enter Richmond
The day after Petersburg’s defenses collapsed, Union troops marched into Richmond, the long-sought Confederate capital that had withstood years of pressure. Fires, some set deliberately to destroy supplies and prevent their capture, raged through parts of the city as Federal soldiers moved in to restore order and secure key facilities.
Union troops seize Wilmington, North Carolina
On February 22nd, 1865, Union forces completed the capture of Wilmington, North Carolina, after earlier seizing nearby Fort Fisher and fighting their way up the Cape Fear River. Wilmington had been the Confederacy’s last major Atlantic port, a vital outlet for blockade runners bringing in weapons, cloth, and other supplies from overseas. Once the harbor’s ring of forts fell and Union gunboats controlled the approache
Union Victory at New Bern
During the American Civil War, control of the North Carolina coast offered powerful leverage over Confederate supply lines. On March 14th, 1862, Union forces under Ambrose Burnside attacked Confederate defenses near the town of New Bern. After an approach up the Neuse River supported by naval gunfire, blue-coated infantry pushed inland against earthworks that were strong on paper but undermanned and poorly coordinate
United States agrees to purchase Alaska
Two years after the Civil War, Americans still debated how far their nation should extend and where strategic interests lay. On March 30th, 1867, Secretary of State William Seward signed a treaty with Russia to purchase Alaska, a vast, sparsely populated territory stretching from the Pacific into the Arctic. Critics mocked the deal as “Seward’s Folly,” seeing only ice and distance in exchange for seven point two mill
United States Air Force becomes a separate service
In the aftermath of global war, American leaders restructured their armed forces to meet emerging strategic realities.
United States Army Air Forces established
As global war raged and American involvement drew nearer, leaders in Washington recognized that the Army’s air component needed a more robust structure. On June 20th, 1941, the War Department reorganized the existing Army Air Corps into the United States Army Air Forces, giving it a more unified command structure and increased authority over training, doctrine, and operations.
United States Army Nurse Corps established
On February 2nd, 1901, Congress created the United States Army Nurse Corps as a permanent part of the regular Army. The Spanish-American War and campaigns in the Philippines had highlighted how crucial trained nursing was to survival, not only in battle but also against disease. Before the Corps, the Army relied heavily on contract nurses and ad hoc arrangements that made it difficult to build experience and enforce
United States assumes Panama Canal project
On this day the United States formally took over the stalled French canal project in Panama, turning a failing commercial venture into a strategic national priority. Army engineers and medical officers were at the heart of the effort, battling yellow fever and malaria while reshaping the isthmus with steam shovels, dynamite, and railroad lines.
United States carriers raid Marshall and Gilbert Islands
On February 1st, 1942, less than two months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, American carrier task forces struck back across the Pacific. The carriers Enterprise and Yorktown launched waves of aircraft against Japanese bases in the Marshall and Gilbert Islands, hitting airfields, shipping, and shore installations. The material damage to the enemy was limited compared with later campaigns, but the raid marked the fir
United States Coast Guard created
On January 28th, 1915, President Woodrow Wilson signed legislation merging the Revenue Cutter Service and the Life-Saving Service into a single organization: the United States Coast Guard. The revenue cutters had long chased smugglers, enforced customs laws, and supported naval operations, while life-saving crews manned small stations along dangerous coasts, ready to pull shipwrecked sailors from the surf.
United States declares war on Austria-Hungary
Fifty-five years later to the day, on December 7th, 1917, the United States again made a momentous move, this time with a declaration of war against Austria-Hungary.
United States declares war on Germany
Four days after Wilson’s address, Congress approved the declaration of war, formally bringing the United States into World War I on the side of the Allies. The decision triggered a sweeping mobilization effort at home, including the enactment of the Selective Service system to raise a large national army. The American Expeditionary Forces, under General John J.