1783-1845
Early Republic and War of 1812
The new nation expanding westward, through the Northwest Indian Wars, the Creek War, the War of 1812, and early frontier conflicts.
83 engagements recorded
Featured engagements
Notable Early Republic and War of 1812 battles
1786 · IL
Battle of the Embarras River
In the early stages of the Northwest Indian War, which ran from 1786 to 1795, repeated clashes broke...
1790 · OH
Harmar Campaign
In the fall of 1790, the United States Army launched an effort to bring a confederation of Native Am...
1791 · WV
Big Bottom Massacre
On January 2, 1791, warriors from the Lenape and Wyandot peoples carried out a deadly attack on Amer...
1791 · OH
St. Clair's Defeat
Washington insisted that St. Clair push northward before summer's end, yet a tangle of supply troubl...
1791 · IN
Battle of Kenapacomaqua
In 1791, troops from the United States descended upon Kenapacomaqua, a Miami (Wea) settlement along ...
1791 · IN
Siege of Dunlap's Station
On the night of January 10 into January 11, 1791, fighters from the Northwestern Confederacy of Amer...
1794 · OH
Battle of Fallen Timbers
On 20 August 1794, near the Maumee River in what is now Maumee, Ohio, the last engagement of the Nor...
1794 · OH
Battle of Fort Recovery
At the site now known as Fort Recovery, Ohio, United States troops garrisoning a remote outpost in O...
1812 · VA
Chesapeake campaign
Between 23 April 1813 and 14 September 1814, British naval forces conducted a series of operations a...
1812 · MI
Monguagon
Near the Wyandot settlement of Maguaga, on ground that today forms part of Riverview, Michigan, a mo...
1812 · MI
Detroit
Fought in the opening months of the War of 1812, the clash at Detroit is remembered under several na...
1812 · OH
Copus massacre
On September 15, 1812, a violent clash unfolded along the Ohio frontier pitting American settlers ag...
1786
Battle of the Embarras River
In the early stages of the Northwest Indian War, which ran from 1786 to 1795, repeated clashes broke out around Vincennes during 1786, pitting American settlers...
IL
1790
Harmar Campaign
In the fall of 1790, the United States Army launched an effort to bring a confederation of Native American nations in the Northwest Territory to heel, viewing t...
OH
1791
Big Bottom Massacre
On January 2, 1791, warriors from the Lenape and Wyandot peoples carried out a deadly attack on American settlers, an event that came to be known as the Big Bot...
WV
1791
St. Clair's Defeat
Washington insisted that St. Clair push northward before summer's end, yet a tangle of supply troubles and logistical headaches dragged out preparations at Fort...
OH
1791
Battle of Kenapacomaqua
In 1791, troops from the United States descended upon Kenapacomaqua, a Miami (Wea) settlement along the Eel River, in an assault that history also remembers as ...
IN
1791
Siege of Dunlap's Station
On the night of January 10 into January 11, 1791, fighters from the Northwestern Confederacy of American Indians laid siege to Dunlap's Station, one of many cla...
IN
1794
Battle of Fallen Timbers
On 20 August 1794, near the Maumee River in what is now Maumee, Ohio, the last engagement of the Northwest Indian War unfolded among trees knocked down by a tor...
OH
1794
Battle of Fort Recovery
At the site now known as Fort Recovery, Ohio, United States troops garrisoning a remote outpost in Ohio Country came under assault from a substantial body of We...
OH
1812
Chesapeake campaign
Between 23 April 1813 and 14 September 1814, British naval forces conducted a series of operations across the waters and shorelines of the Delaware and Chesapea...
VA
1812
Monguagon
Near the Wyandot settlement of Maguaga, on ground that today forms part of Riverview, Michigan, a modest force of British soldiers, Canadian militiamen, and Tec...
MI
1812
Detroit
Fought in the opening months of the War of 1812, the clash at Detroit is remembered under several names: the siege of Detroit, the surrender of Detroit, and the...
MI
1812
Copus massacre
On September 15, 1812, a violent clash unfolded along the Ohio frontier pitting American settlers against Lenape, Wyandot, and Mohawk Native Americans, an episo...
OH
1812
Fort Harrison
In October 1811, troops led by General William Henry Harrison built a stockade on elevated ground above the Wabash River, in an area that now forms part of Terr...
IN
1812
Fort Dearborn
On August 15, 1812, near what was then Fort Dearborn in Illinois Territory in the Chicago area, American soldiers, militia, and Miami native auxiliaries clashed...
IL
1812
Battle of Wild Cat Creek
In November 1812, a punitive expedition set out against Native American villages, and the clash that followed became known as the Battle of Wild Cat Creek. Sold...
IN
1813
Fort Stephenson
In August 1813, an American garrison at Fort Stephenson in Ohio held off a two-day assault mounted by combined British and Indigenous forces, emerging with a de...
OH
1813
Dudley's Defeat
In the spring of 1813, a fierce standoff unfolded around Fort Meigs in northwestern Ohio, marking one of the notable clashes of the War of 1812. Brigadier Gener...
OH
1813
River Raisin (Frenchtown)
Also called the Battle of the River Raisin or the River Raisin Massacre, this clash unfolded across two separate engagements during the War of 1812. Brigadier G...
MI
1813
Havre de Grace
On May 3, 1813, British naval forces launched an assault from the sea against Havre de Grace, Maryland, an episode within the larger War of 1812. Rear Admiral G...
MD
1813
Battle of Holy Ground
On December 23, 1813, United States militia clashed with Red Stick Creek Indians at Econochaca, a name meaning holy ground in Creek, in what became known as the...
AL
1813
Canoe Fight
On November 12, 1813, militiamen from the Mississippi Territory under Captain Samuel Dale clashed with Red Stick warriors in an engagement that became known as ...
AL
1813
Fort Mims massacre
On August 30, 1813, violence engulfed a fortified homestead lying 35–40 miles north of Mobile, Alabama, in an episode remembered as the Fort Mims massacre, one ...
AL
1813
Battle of Buffalo
On December 30, 1813, along the Niagara River in the State of New York, British and American forces clashed in what became known as either the Battle of Buffalo...
NY
1813
Battle of Tipton's Island
The years after Tippecanoe in 1811, coinciding with the official start of the War of 1812, saw tensions boil over between American settlers and Native tribes ba...
IN
1813
Capture of Mobile
American troops led by James Wilkinson took control of Mobile, Alabama, in 1813, an action carried out amid the wider fighting of the War of 1812.
AL
1813
Raid on Sodus
On the morning of June 19, 1813, a British landing force of 100 soldiers came ashore near the village of Sodus, New York. A body of 40 militiamen offered a brie...
NY
1813
Fort Sinquefield
Nestled near what is now Grove Hill, the historic grounds of Fort Sinquefield mark the location where a wooden stockade once stood in Clarke County, Alabama. Se...
AL
1813
Ogdensburg (Second)
During the War of 1812, British forces clashed with American defenders at Ogdensburg and emerged triumphant, seizing control of the New York village. Though the...
NY
1813
Bombardment of Lewes
During the War of 1812, a British naval squadron subjected the Delaware town of Lewes to cannon fire from offshore, an episode that came to be known as the Bomb...
DE
1813
Battle of St. Michaels
On August 10, 1813, amid the broader conflict of the War of 1812, British troops clashed with Maryland militia in the town of St. Michaels, a settlement on Mary...
MD
1813
Battle of Autossee
On November 29, 1813, forces clashed near the Creek settlements of Autossee and Tallassee, not far from what is now Shorter, Alabama, in an episode of the Creek...
AL
1813
Sackets Harbor
By the opening stretch of the conflict, British forces had gained mastery over the Great Lakes region. That changed in September 1812, when U.S. Navy Captain Is...
NY
1813
Capture of USS Chesapeake
Captain Philip Broke, whose name was pronounced "Brook," commanded the Royal Navy frigate Shannon for a lengthy stretch, and during that time he brought in a ho...
MA
1813
Sackets Harbor
By the war's opening weeks, British forces held sway over the Great Lakes. Captain Isaac Chauncey of the U.S. Navy received orders in September 1812 to take cha...
NY
1813
Lake Erie
Off the Ohio coastline, American and British naval forces clashed on Lake Erie on September 10, 1813, in an engagement sometimes called the Battle of Put-in-Bay...
OH
1813
Battle of Burnt Corn
On July 27, 1813, combatants clashed at Burnt Corn Creek, a site now situated in Escambia County, Alabama. This engagement marked the opening clash of the Creek...
AL
1813
Battle of the Chesapeake - Maryland Waters 1813
The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American Revol...
MD
1814
Conjocta Creek
In the predawn darkness of November 28, 1812, British and American forces clashed near the Niagara River in Upper Canada, a Crown colony, in what became known a...
NY
1814
Caulk's Field
Kent County, Maryland became the setting for this War of 1812 clash, pitting a modest British contingent under Captain Sir Peter Parker of the Royal Navy agains...
MD
1814
Lake Borgne
Fought on December 14, 1814, this clash on Lake Borgne pitted British naval forces against their American counterparts as part of the wider conflict unfolding i...
LA
1814
Rock River (Credit Island)
On the southwest edge of Davenport, Iowa, within the Quad Cities, sits an island in the Mississippi River known as Credit Island. The name traces back to its ro...
IA
1814
Washington
Rear Admiral George Cockburn led a triumphant British seaborne assault that became known as the Burning of Washington, sometimes called the Capture of Washingto...
DC
1814
Battles of Emuckfaw and Enotachopo Creek
The engagements at Emuckfaw and Enotachopo Creek (also spelled Enotachopco Creek) unfolded as episodes within Andrew Jackson's larger effort during the Creek Wa...
AL
1814
Battle of Calebee Creek
The spark that set this campaign in motion was the Red Stick assault on Fort Mims, roughly 30 miles north of Mobile, in August 1813. In its wake, Georgia, Tenne...
AL
1814
Raid on Alexandria (Virginia)
When British forces struck Alexandria during the War of 1812, they came away with a decisive win and a rich haul of plunder, gained at minimal expense to themse...
VA
1814
Raid on Chesconessex Creek
A British naval landing force came ashore at Chesconessex Creek, Virginia, on June 25, 1814, with orders to strike an American fort. This force, made up of seve...
VA
1814
Salmon River Raid (1814)
In February 1814, British troops struck American positions that had just been left behind along the Salmon River, close to French Mills, New York, in what becam...
NY
1814
Bladensburg
Winder commanded a force that included at least 1,000 regular soldiers drawn from the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps, supplemented by roughly 7,000 militiamen and...
MD
1814
Battle of Credit Island
Situated along the Mississippi River just southwest of Davenport, Iowa, and part of the Quad Cities region, Credit Island takes its name from a practice tied to...
IL
1814
Oswego
Despite its precarious military standing, New France managed to string together several triumphs early in the Seven Years' War, and the fall of Fort Oswego stoo...
NY
1814
Battle of Rock Island Rapids
At Rock Island Rapids, sometimes known instead as Campbell Island, American forces suffered a setback during the War of 1812, overcome by Sauk, Meskwaki, and Ki...
IL
1814
Sandy Creek
On May 29 and 30, 1814, forces from the United States joined with Oneida Indians in a bid to ambush British troops and sailors who had followed them from Lake O...
NY
1814
Hampden
At Hampden, British forces clashed with American defenders as part of a larger effort by the crown to seize what is now Maine and turn it into a colony called N...
ME
1814
Battle of Stonington
For three days, townspeople and militiamen at Stonington held their ground against a British assault that came as part of the Chesapeake campaign during the War...
CT
1814
Battle of Pensacola (1814)
Occurring across three days, from November 7 to 9, 1814, the fight for Pensacola followed on the heels of the Creek War and formed part of the broader Gulf Coas...
FL
1815
New Orleans (Chalmette)
By December 14, 1814, Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane had positioned a British fleet in the Gulf of Mexico just east of Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne. ...
LA
1815
Battle of the Sink Hole
Long after the guns of the War of 1812 had supposedly fallen silent, Missouri Rangers clashed with Sauk warriors under Black Hawk on May 24, 1815, in an engagem...
IL
1815
Battle of Fort Peter
Where the St. Marys River meets the Georgia coast, Point Peter juts out as the earliest spot travelers would have come ashore on that side of the water, a strip...
FL
1818
Battle of Econfina River
On the morning of April 12, 1818, violence erupted along the Econfina River, in what is present day Taylor County, Florida, as part of Andrew Jackson's campaign...
FL
1832
Attack at Ament's Cabin
What happened at Ament's Cabin unfolded during the Black Hawk War, taking place on either the seventeenth or eighteenth of June, 1832. Located in what is now Bu...
IL
1832
Attacks at Fort Blue Mounds
Two distinct clashes struck Fort Blue Mounds on June 6 and June 20, 1832, both tied to the broader conflict of the Black Hawk War. During the first, locals blam...
WI
1832
Buffalo Grove ambush
On May 19, 1832, a small group of couriers fell victim to a surprise attack near Buffalo Grove, an episode that unfolded within the larger Black Hawk War. Six m...
IL
1832
Battle of Bad Axe
On August 1 and 2, 1832, regulars of the United States Army together with militia forces killed Sauk (Sac) and Meskwaki (Fox) people in what has become known as...
IA
1832
Plum River raid
At the site of what is now Savanna, Illinois, an encounter without bloodshed unfolded on May 21, 1832, forming one episode within the larger Black Hawk War. By ...
IL
1832
Battle of Stillman's Run
On May 14, 1832, in Illinois, a chaotic clash unfolded that would later carry three names: Stillman's Run, Sycamore Creek, and Old Man's Creek. It earned its mo...
IL
1832
Battle of Kellogg's Grove
Two separate clashes near Kellogg's Grove in what is now Stephenson County, Illinois, together make up what is called the Battle of Kellogg's Grove, small engag...
IL
1832
Battle of Waddams Grove
Fought on June 18, 1832, in what is now Stephenson County, Illinois, this clash formed one episode within the larger Black Hawk War and carries a second name, t...
IA
1832
Battle of Wisconsin Heights
Fought in 1832, the clash at Wisconsin Heights stood as the second-to-last confrontation of the Black Hawk War, pitting United States state militia and their al...
WI
1832
Indian Creek massacre
A conflict simmered between American settlers and a small Potawatomi settlement along Indian Creek in LaSalle County, Illinois, and this friction eventually eru...
IL
1832
Minor attacks of the Black Hawk War
Once fighting erupted at Stillman's Run in May 1832, marking the start of the Black Hawk War, a string of smaller clashes and raids continued to punctuate the b...
IL
1832
Sinsinawa Mound raid
On June 29, 1832, an assault took place at Sinsinawa Mound, close to the Sinsinawa mining settlement in Michigan Territory, in what is now Grant County, Wiscons...
IA
1832
St. Vrain massacre
A grim episode within the Black Hawk War unfolded at Kellogg's Grove, close to what is now Pearl City, Illinois, on May 24, 1832, when a party led by United Sta...
IL
1832
Battle of Apple River Fort
Late in the afternoon on June 24, 1832, violence broke out at Apple River Fort, situated close to what is now Elizabeth, Illinois. Black Hawk, leading roughly 2...
IL
1835
Dade Massacre
In 1835, a disastrous clash left the United States Army reeling in what became known as the Dade battle, sometimes called the Dade massacre. The confrontation g...
FL
1835
Dade battle
In 1835, United States forces suffered a stinging setback in what became known as the Dade battle, sometimes referred to as the Dade massacre. The government ha...
FL
1835
Battle of Ouithlacoochie
On December 31, 1835, forces clashed along the Withlacoochee River in what is now Citrus County, Florida, in an engagement that unfolded during the Second Semin...
FL
1835
Battle of Withlacoochee
On December 31, 1835, forces clashed along the Withlacoochee River in what is now Citrus County, Florida, in an engagement that unfolded as part of the Second S...
FL
1836
Battle of San Felasco Hammock
The clash at San Felasco Hammock unfolded as one episode within the Second Seminole War, the conflict Florida's Seminole Indians waged to resist being forced we...
FL
1837
Battle of Lake Okeechobee
On December 25, 1837, one of the significant engagements of the Seminole Wars unfolded at Lake Okeechobee. Colonel Zachary Taylor commanded a force of 1,000 U.S...
FL
1838
Battle of Jupiter Inlet
In South Florida during January 1838, west of Jupiter Inlet, American forces clashed twice with Seminole Indians under Chief Abiaka in what became known as the ...
FL
1838
Battle of Pine Island Ridge
On March 22, 1838, forces of the United States clashed with Seminole defenders at Pine Island Ridge in South Florida during what became known as the Second Semi...
FL
1839
Battle of the Caloosahatchee
On July 23, 1839, the Second Seminole War saw one of its more brutal clashes along the Caloosahatchee River, an engagement later remembered by some as a massacr...
FL
Spafford Farm massacre
Near what is today South Wayne, Wisconsin, militia members and settlers came under assault in an episode remembered by two names, the Spafford Farm massacre and...
IL