1622-1924
Indian Wars and Frontier Conflicts
Three centuries of conflict between the US government and Indigenous nations, from the Powhatan Wars through the final Plains conflicts.
207 engagements recorded
Featured engagements
Notable Indian Wars and Frontier Conflicts battles
1862 · MN
Action, Wood Lake, Yellow Medicine
The Battle of Wood Lake occurred on September 23, 1862, and was the final battle in the Dakota War o...
1862 · MN
Wood Lake
On September 19, 1862, Col. Henry Hastings Sibley set out from Fort Ridgely with 1,500 volunteers to...
1862 · MN
Fort Ridgely
In August 1862, the Santee Sioux of Minnesota under Chief Little Crow, angered by the failure of the...
1862 · MN
Action, Fort Ridgely
The Battle of Fort Ridgely was an early battle in the Dakota War of 1862. As the closest U.S. milita...
1863 · ND
Whitestone Hill
Following Brig. Gen. Henry Hastings Sibley's victories over the Sioux, he left the area, crossing th...
1863 · ND
Stony Lake
Following the Battle of Dead Buffalo Lake, Brig. Gen. Henry Hastings Sibley continued his march afte...
1863 · ID
Bear River
Shoshoni raids under Chief Bear Hunter during the winter of 1862-63 provoked Federal retaliation. Tr...
1863 · ND
Big Mound
Brig. Gen. Henry Hastings Sibley led his troops from Fort Ridgely, Minnesota, into the Dakotas, purs...
1863 · ND
Dead Buffalo Lake
Following the Battle of Big Mound on July 24, 1863, Brig. Gen. Henry Hastings Sibley and his men mov...
1864 · CO
Sand Creek
Scattered Indian raids had caused much ill-will between the white settlers and the Native Americans....
1864 · ND
Killdeer Mountain
Brig. Gen. Alfred Sully, who had defeated the recalcitrant Sioux at Whitestone Hill in September 186...
1865 · AZ
Skirmish, Fort Buchanan
The Battle of Fort Buchanan was an Apache attack on the United States Army post of Old Fort Buchanan...
1862
Action, Wood Lake, Yellow Medicine
The Battle of Wood Lake occurred on September 23, 1862, and was the final battle in the Dakota War of 1862. The two-hour battle, which actually took place at ne...
MN
1862
Wood Lake
On September 19, 1862, Col. Henry Hastings Sibley set out from Fort Ridgely with 1,500 volunteers to put down the Santee uprising. As they neared Wood Lake on S...
MN
1862
Fort Ridgely
In August 1862, the Santee Sioux of Minnesota under Chief Little Crow, angered by the failure of the Federal government to provide annuities and by the poor qua...
MN
1862
Action, Fort Ridgely
The Battle of Fort Ridgely was an early battle in the Dakota War of 1862. As the closest U.S. military post to the Lower Sioux Agency, the lightly fortified For...
MN
1863
Whitestone Hill
Following Brig. Gen. Henry Hastings Sibley's victories over the Sioux, he left the area, crossing the James River. The Sioux then recrossed the Missouri River a...
ND
1863
Stony Lake
Following the Battle of Dead Buffalo Lake, Brig. Gen. Henry Hastings Sibley continued his march after the retreating Sioux until he reached Stony Lake, where hi...
ND
1863
Bear River
Shoshoni raids under Chief Bear Hunter during the winter of 1862-63 provoked Federal retaliation. Troops under Col. Patrick E. Connor set out from Ft. Douglas, ...
ID
1863
Big Mound
Brig. Gen. Henry Hastings Sibley led his troops from Fort Ridgely, Minnesota, into the Dakotas, pursuing the Santee Sioux, who had initiated an uprising in the ...
ND
1863
Dead Buffalo Lake
Following the Battle of Big Mound on July 24, 1863, Brig. Gen. Henry Hastings Sibley and his men moved their camp about four miles and then rested till the next...
ND
1864
Sand Creek
Scattered Indian raids had caused much ill-will between the white settlers and the Native Americans. In the autumn, Territorial (Colorado) officers had offered ...
CO
1864
Killdeer Mountain
Brig. Gen. Alfred Sully, who had defeated the recalcitrant Sioux at Whitestone Hill in September 1863, wintered on the Missouri River. During the winter, Sully'...
ND
1865
Skirmish, Fort Buchanan
The Battle of Fort Buchanan was an Apache attack on the United States Army post of Old Fort Buchanan in southern Arizona Territory, which occurred on February 1...
AZ
1866
Battle of the Hundred-in-the-Hands
Under the terms set at Fort Laramie in 1851, this stretch of land had been recognized as belonging to the Crow, a boundary the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho ini...
WY
1867
Hayfield Fight
On August 1, 1867, near Fort C. F. Smith, Montana, a clash unfolded as part of Red Cloud's War that pitted twenty-one U.S. Army soldiers and nine civilian hay c...
MT
1868
Battle of Beecher Island
Sometimes called the Battle of Arikaree Fork, this clash pitted a coalition of Plains Native American tribes against Forsyth's Scouts, a hand-picked unit of fro...
CO
1868
Battle of Washita River
On November 27, 1868, troops of the 7th U.S. Cavalry under Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer struck Black Kettle's Southern Cheyenne encampment along the Washita...
OK
1868
Fort Cobb
Established in 1859 within what is today Caddo County, Oklahoma, Fort Cobb served the United States Army as a garrison meant to shield relocated Native American...
OK
1868
Saline River
In early August 1867, troops from the U.S. 10th Cavalry, among the earliest Buffalo Soldiers to see documented action, clashed with opposing forces along the Sa...
KS
1869
Summit Springs
On July 11, 1869, troops from the United States Army clashed with a band of Cheyenne Dog Soldiers under Tall Bull in what became known as the Battle of Summit S...
CO
1871
Battle of Blanco Canyon
In West Texas, the clash at Blanco Canyon stood as the culminating fight of Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie's opening drive against the Comanche, and it carried a d...
TX
1872
Battle of Salt River Canyon
Known also as the Battle of Salt River Canyon or the Skeleton Cave Massacre, this clash marked the opening major encounter of the Tonto Basin Campaign of 1872, ...
AZ
1872
Battle of Lost River
In November 1872, opposing forces clashed at Lost River in what became the opening engagement of the Modoc War, fought in the northwestern United States. This a...
OR
1873
Battle of Turret Peak
On March 27, 1873, in the Arizona Territory, United States Army troops clashed with a band of Yavapai and Tonto Apaches at Turret Peak. The fight formed part of...
AZ
1873
Battle of Dry Lake
What happened at Dry Lake, sometimes called Sorass Lake, marked the first time in 1873 that United States forces decisively defeated the Modoc Indians of northe...
CA
1873
First Battle of the Stronghold
On January 17, 1873, forces clashed at what became known as the First Battle of the Stronghold, the second engagement of the Modoc War that spanned 1872 to 1873...
CA
1873
Battle of Honsinger Bluff
Along the banks of the Yellowstone River, close to what is now Miles City, Montana, soldiers of the United States Army clashed with the Lakota people on August ...
MT
1873
Battle of Sand Butte
Fought at Sand Butte, this clash between the Modoc Indians and the United States Army formed one episode within the broader Modoc War in California. On April 26...
CA
1874
Battle of Palo Duro Canyon
During the Red River War, a decisive win for the United States came about at what history remembers as the Battle of Palo Duro Canyon. On September 28, 1874, a ...
TX
1874
Second Battle of Adobe Walls
On June 27, 1874, Comanche fighters clashed with a party of twenty-eight Texan buffalo hunters holed up at Adobe Walls, a settlement situated in what today is H...
TX
1876
Battle of the Little Bighorn
Fought on June 25 and 26, 1876, along Montana Territory's Little Bighorn River, the clash pitted allied Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors ag...
MT
1876
Battle of Cedar Creek
In the summer of 1876, Colonel Nelson A. Miles brought the 5th United States Infantry Regiment away from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, traveling by paddlewheel boat...
MT
1876
Dull Knife Fight
On November 25, 1876, United States Army troops and their scouts clashed with Northern Cheyenne warriors along the Red Fork in what is now Johnson County, Wyomi...
WY
1876
Battle of Powder River
On March 17, 1876, forces engaged in what became known as the Battle of Powder River, sometimes called the Reynolds Battle, in Montana Territory. This clash for...
MT
1876
Slim Buttes
Fought over two days, September 9 and 10 of 1876, the clash at Slim Buttes pitted American soldiers against Miniconjou Sioux warriors on the ground of the Great...
SD
1876
Battle of Warbonnet Creek
News of the Cheyenne breakout eventually made its way to Merritt as well, and with "Buffalo Bill" Cody leading the way, he managed to cut off the fleeing warrio...
NE
1876
Battle of the Rosebud
On June 17, 1876, in the Montana Territory, soldiers of the United States Army joined with Crow and Shoshoni allies to face off against warriors made up mostly ...
MT
1877
Battle of Canyon Creek
In Montana Territory, the 7th Cavalry of the United States Army clashed with the Nez Perce Indians in what became known as the Battle of Canyon Creek. This clas...
MT
1877
Battle of Little Muddy Creek
Also called the Lame Deer Fight, this clash unfolded over two days, May 7 and 8 in 1877, pitting American troops and their scouts against a camp of Miniconjou L...
MT
1877
White Bird Canyon
On June 17, 1877, forces clashed in Idaho Territory at what became known as White Bird Canyon. This clash marked the very first engagement of the Nez Perce War,...
ID
1877
Wolf Mountains
On January 8, 1877, United States Army troops clashed with Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne fighters in an engagement remembered by several names: the Battle ...
MT
1877
Battle of Yellow House Canyon
On March 18, 1877, near what is now Lubbock, Texas, a band of Comanches and Apaches clashed with a party of American bison hunters in what became known as the B...
TX
1877
Battle of the Clearwater
On July 11 and 12, 1877, forces under Chief Joseph clashed with United States troops at what became known as the Clearwater fight, fought within Idaho Territory...
ID
1877
Battle of Camas Creek
On August 20, 1877, warriors of the Nez Perce people struck an Army encampment situated in Idaho Territory, an episode that unfolded as part of the wider Nez Pe...
ID
1877
Battle of the Big Hole
Fighting broke out over two days, August 9 and 10, 1877, when soldiers of the United States Army clashed with the Nez Perce in Montana Territory as part of the ...
MT
1877
Bear Paw Mountains
The Nez Perce forded the Missouri River in the vicinity of Cow Island Landing on September 23. This spot served as a drop-off point for steamboats headed to For...
MT
1880
Battle of Hembrillo Basin
Over four days in early April 1880, from the 5th through the 8th, American troops clashed with a joint force of Chiricahua and Mescalero Apaches under Chief Vic...
NM
1881
Battle of Cibecue Creek
At Cibecue Creek on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, United States forces clashed with White Mountain Apaches during August 1881, in one of the no...
AZ
1881
Fort Apache
On September 1, 1881, in eastern Arizona Territory, soldiers stationed at Fort Apache found themselves under attack by dozens of mounted White Mountain Apache f...
AZ
1882
Battle of Big Dry Wash
On July 17, 1882, soldiers from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment and 6th Cavalry Regiment clashed with White Mountain Apache warriors in an engagement that would become...
AZ
1898
Battle of Guanica - Puerto Rico
The Puerto Rico campaign was the American military sea and land operation in Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War, which resulted in the invasion, occupa...
PR
1898
Battle of Arroyo - Puerto Rico
The Puerto Rico campaign was the American military sea and land operation in Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War, which resulted in the invasion, occupa...
PR
1898
Battle of Hormigueros - Puerto Rico
The Puerto Rico campaign was the American military sea and land operation in Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War, which resulted in the invasion, occupa...
PR
1898
Battle of Yauco - Puerto Rico
The Puerto Rico campaign was the American military sea and land operation in Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War, which resulted in the invasion, occupa...
PR
1898
Battle of Guayama - Puerto Rico
The Puerto Rico campaign was the American military sea and land operation in Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War, which resulted in the invasion, occupa...
PR
1898
Battle of Asomante - Puerto Rico
The Puerto Rico campaign was the American military sea and land operation in Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War, which resulted in the invasion, occupa...
PR
1898
Battle of Coamo
One of the more significant land engagements of the Puerto Rico campaign. A flanking movement successfully cut off the Spanish garrison's retreat, resulting in ...
PR
1898
Battle of San Juan Hill
The Battle of San Juan Hill (Spanish: Batalla de las Colinas de San Juan), also known as the Battle for the San Juan Heights, was a major battle of the Spanish-...
Cuba
1898
Battle of Coamo - Puerto Rico
The Puerto Rico campaign was the American military sea and land operation in Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War, which resulted in the invasion, occupa...
PR
1898
Battle of El Caney
The Battle of El Caney was fought on July 1, 1898, during the Spanish-American War. 600 Spanish soldiers held for twelve hours, until they ran out of ammunition...
Cuba
1898
Spanish-American War - Puerto Rico
The Puerto Rico campaign was the American military sea and land operation in Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War, which resulted in the invasion, occupa...
PR
1898
Battle of Las Guasimas
The Battle of Las Guásimas of June 24, 1898 was a Spanish rearguard action by Major General Antero Rubín against advancing columns led by Major General "Fightin...
Cuba
1898
Battle of Ponce - Puerto Rico
The Puerto Rico campaign was the American military sea and land operation in Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War, which resulted in the invasion, occupa...
PR
1898
Charge up Kettle Hill
The Battle of San Juan Hill (Spanish: Batalla de las Colinas de San Juan), also known as the Battle for the San Juan Heights, was a major battle of the Spanish-...
Cuba
1898
Battle of Guayama
Part of the US advance across Puerto Rico from multiple coastal landings in August 1898. The speed of the American advance and the limited resistance offered by...
PR
1898
Siege of Santiago
The siege of Santiago, also known as the siege of Santiago de Cuba, was the last major operation of the Spanish-American War on the island of Cuba.
The primary...
Cuba
1898
Battle of Yauco (Puerto Rico)
The Puerto Rico campaign was the American military sea and land operation in Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War, which resulted in the invasion, occupa...
PR
1898
Tampa Embarkation
The 1898 Tampa Riot occurred on June 6 and 7, 1898, in the context of military mobilization for the Spanish-American War. The 24th and 25th Infantry regiments, ...
FL
1911
Battle of Kelley Creek
Kelley Creek, sometimes remembered as the Last Massacre, stands among the final documented clashes between Native Americans and United States forces, marking a ...
NV
1916
Pancho Villa Raid on Columbus
The Battle of Columbus, also known as the Burning of Columbus or the Columbus Raid, began on March 9, 1916, as a raid conducted by remnants of Pancho Villa's Di...
NM
1916
Battle of Carrizal
The Battle of Carrizal occurred on June 21, 1916. It was a major skirmish between United States Army troops of General John J. Pershing's Punitive Expedition an...
Mexico
1916
Agua Caliente Skirmish
Stanwix Station, in western Arizona, was a stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail Stagecoach line built in the later 1850s near the Gila River about 80 miles (13...
NM
1916
San Geronimo Ranch Skirmish
The raid on Bear Valley was an armed conflict that occurred in 1886 during Geronimo's War. In late April, a band of Chiricahua Apaches attacked settlements in S...
NM
1916
Fort Bliss Border Incidents
Sustained border tension and skirmishing at the major US military installation at El Paso during Punitive Expedition period.
TX
1917
Bisbee Deportation, Arizona 1917
The Bisbee Deportation occurred on July 12, 1917, in Bisbee, Arizona, during a period of labor unrest among mine workers. The action was orchestrated by Phelps ...
AZ
1917
Camp Funston (Fort Riley) - WWI Training Camp and 1918 Influenza Origin
Probable origin point of the 1918 influenza pandemic that killed 50-100 million worldwide. Camp Funston sent infected soldiers to Europe, spreading the virus gl...
KS
1917
Camp Lee (Fort Lee) - WWI Training Camp
Trained 156,000 soldiers for WWI. The 1918 influenza swept through camp, killing hundreds in weeks. Now Fort Lee (renamed back from Fort Gregg-Adams in 2025), h...
VA
1917
Camp Travis (Fort Sam Houston) - WWI Training Camp
Site where General John 'Black Jack' Pershing organized the AEF for deployment to France. Adjacent to Fort Sam Houston, headquarters of the Southern Department.
TX
1917
Camp Pike (Little Rock) - WWI Training Camp
One of 32 major National Army cantonments built in 1917; transformed rural Arkansas with sudden population influx of 50,000 men. Still active as Camp Robinson.
AR
1917
Camp Logan Race Riot
On August 23, 1917, a mutiny and riot erupted in Houston, Texas, involving 156 soldiers from the all-black 24th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army. The...
TX
1917
East St. Louis Race Riot 1917
In 1917, East St. Louis, Illinois experienced a severe labor shortage as workers were drafted or enlisted for World War I military service. Simultaneously, Afri...
IL
1917
Camp Lewis Mobilization, Washington
Camp Lewis (later Fort Lewis) was the primary training installation for Pacific Northwest WWI troops; the 91st Division saw heavy combat at Ypres-Lys.
WA
1917
Camp Devens - WWI Training Camp
The 1918 influenza outbreak at Camp Devens was documented by Dr. Roy Grist in a famous letter describing men 'literally turning blue' - an early warning of pand...
MA
1918
Camp Funston Influenza Outbreak 1918
Camp Funston at Fort Riley Kansas is the leading candidate for origin of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic; the first documented cluster began here on March 11, 191...
KS
1918
Battle of Ambos Nogales
The Battle of Ambos Nogales (The Battle of Both Nogales), or as it is known in Mexico La batalla del 27 de agosto (The Battle of 27 August), was an engagement f...
AZ
1919
Red Summer - Chicago Race Riot 1919
In early 1919, Chicago's South Side was marked by significant ethnic tension stemming from long-standing racism, competition among new groups, an economic slump...
IL
1919
Elaine Race Massacre, Arkansas 1919
The Elaine Race massacre occurred on September 30 - October 2, 1919, at Hoop Spur in the vicinity of Elaine in rural Phillips County, Arkansas. The violence eru...
AR
1919
Centralia Armistice Day Massacre
Deadly clash between American Legion and IWW on Armistice Day; part of post-WWI Red Scare labor violence. IWW member Wesley Everest was castrated and lynched by...
WA
1921
Battle of Blair Mountain
The Battle of Blair Mountain was the largest labor uprising in United States history and is the largest armed uprising since the American Civil War. The conflic...
WV
1921
Tulsa Race Massacre
The Tulsa race massacre was a two-day terrorist attack perpetrated by white supremacists against the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma, between May 31 and J...
OK
1923
Rosewood Massacre
Suppressed from public history until investigative reporting in the 1980s led to a 1994 Florida state investigation. At least 6 Black residents and 2 white men ...
FL
1931
Battle of Evarts (Kentucky 1931)
The Battle of Evarts (May 5, 1931) was a 30-minute firefight between anti-union gunmen and striking coal miners on a rural highway near Evarts, Harlan County, K...
KY
1932
Bonus Army Dispersal
On 14 August 2013, Egyptian police and armed forces, under the command of Defense Minister Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, used lethal force to disperse two protest camps...
Washington DC
1932
Bonus Army Eviction (Washington DC 1932)
In mid-1932, approximately 43,000 demonstrators-comprising 17,000 veterans of World War I along with their families and affiliated groups-gathered in Washington...
DC
1937
Republic Steel Massacre (Chicago 1937)
The Memorial Day massacre of 1937 occurred during the Little Steel strike, a labor dispute that arose after U.S. Steel signed a union contract while smaller ste...
IL
1941
Attack on Pearl Harbor - Wheeler Field
The Attack on Pearl Harbor occurred on December 7, 1941, as Japan sought to advance its expansionist goals in the Pacific. The attack was preceded by months of ...
HI
1941
Niihau Incident (Hawaii 1941)
The Niʻihau incident occurred on December 7-13, 1941, when Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service pilot Shigenori Nishikaichi crash-landed on the Hawaiian island of...
HI
1941
Attack on Pearl Harbor - Ford Island
The Attack on Pearl Harbor occurred on December 7, 1941, as Japan sought to advance its imperial ambitions in the Pacific. The strike was preceded by months of ...
HI
1941
Attack on Pearl Harbor - Hickam Field
The Attack on Pearl Harbor occurred on December 7, 1941, when the Empire of Japan launched a surprise military strike against the United States Pacific Fleet at...
HI
1941
Attack on Pearl Harbor - Battleship Row
Battleship Row was the grouping of seven U.S. battleships in port at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, when the Japanese attacked on 7 December 1941. These ships bore the b...
HI
1941
World War II - Attack on Pearl Harbor
The Attack on Pearl Harbor occurred on December 7, 1941, when the Empire of Japan launched a surprise military strike against the United States Pacific Fleet at...
HI
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