Chronology of American Military History: Vol. 1 Independence to Civil War 1775 to 1865; Vol. 2 Indian Wars to World War II 1866 to 1945; Vol. 3 Cold War to the War on Terror 1946 to Present

2081 Pages·2010·85.13 MB·English

by  John C. Fredriksen

CHRONOLOGY
OF
AMERICAn
Military
HISTORy
VOLUME I
H H H
Independence to Civil War
1775 to 1865
Chronology of
AmeriCAn militAry history
Volume I
Independence to Civil War
1775 to 1865
Volume II
Indian Wars to World War II
1866 to 1945
Volume III
Cold War to the War on Terror
1946 to the Present
CHRONOLOGY
OF
AMERICAn
Military
HISTORy
V O L U M E I
H H H
Independence to Civil War
1775 to 1865
J O H N C . F R E D R I K S E N
Chronology of American Military History
Copyright © 2010 by John C. Fredriksen
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or
by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from
the publisher. For information contact:
Facts On File, Inc.
An imprint of Infobase Publishing
132 West 31st Street
New York NY 10001
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fredriksen, John C.
Chronology of American military history / John C. Fredriksen.
v. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents: v. 1. Independence to Civil War, 1775 to 1865—v. 2. Indian wars to
world war, 1866 to 1945—v. 3. Cold War to the War on Terror, 1946 to the present.
ISBN 978-0-8160-7761-8 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-4381-2963-1 (e-book) 1. United States—History, Military—Chronol-
ogy. 2. United States—History, Naval—Chronology. 3. United States—Biography. 4.
United States. Army—Biography. 5. United States. Navy—Biography. I. Title.
E181.F85 2010
973.02'02—dc22 2009022198
Facts On File books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk
quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions. Please call
our Special Sales Department in New York at [phone] or [phone].
You can find Facts On File on the World Wide Web at http://www.factsonfile.com
Excerpts included herewith have been reprinted by permission of the copyright
holders; the author has made every effort to contact copyright holders. The pub-
lishers will be glad to rectify, in future editions, any errors or omissions brought to
their notice.
Text design by Kerry Casey
Maps by Pat Meschino
Composition by Hermitage Publishing Services
Cover printed by Sheridan Books, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Book printed and bound by Sheridan Books, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Date printed: May 2010
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
C
ontents
P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P
Introduction vii
Chronology 1
Maps 609
Bibliography 653
Index 2051

i
ntroduCtion
P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P
Having declared independence, the fledgling American republic
began raising the military and naval forces necessary to secure it.
This proved no mean feat, seeing that colonial military experience
had been more or less restricted to episodic militia actions and periodic pri-
vateering. Worse still, whatever forces were raised would be pitted against
the British army and Royal Navy, which, man for man, were probably the
finest establishments of their kind in the world. American’s neophytes
endured some very hard knocks at the hands of these highly professional
antagonists. Yet, through the inspired leadership of men like George Wash-
ington and Nathanael Greene, coupled with a sizable and essential infu-
sion of money, weapons, sea power, and troops from France, Great Britain
failed to overcome the revolution and basically abandoned the effort after
1781. The Americans next struggled with exactly what kind of armed estab-
lishment they would adopt for their new nation. The initial rush toward
complete demobilization of the Continental army and navy was politically
appealing but unrealistic, and small standing forces were grudgingly adopted
under the new Constitution. Otherwise, America placed its faith in armed
citizen soldiers—the militia. A costly process of trial and error ensued, but
the nascent U.S. Army finally won its spurs in the Northwest Indian War,
1790–94, while the U.S. Navy performed capably in the Quasi-War with
France, 1798–1800, and the Tripolitan War, 1802–05. Still, prevailing politi-
cal sensibilities continued placing an inordinate emphasis on state levies,
volunteers, and privateers, all of which formed the majority of manpower
deployed in the second showdown with Great Britain, the War of 1812. As
before, this hybrid American army, where both regular forces and militiamen
were hastily trained and poorly led, was embarrassingly bested by smaller
British forces. It was not until the final year of the conflict that the first
manifestations of military professionalism began emerging, although far too
late to influence the course of events. Likewise the U.S. Navy, despite an
impressive run of individual ship victories, was driven from the sea by the
sheer bulk of Royal Navy hulls arrayed against it. The upshot of this second
war with England served to underscore the lessons of the first, namely, in
vii
viii  Chronology of American Military History
wartime there is no safe substitute for sizable regular forces led by pro-
fessionally trained officers, naval and military alike. Whatever lip service
politicians paid to the militia in the postwar period, after 1815 the American
polity displayed increasing tolerance for and acceptance of standing forces
on the European model.
Three decades lapsed before the nation’s next military contest unfolded,
and during this time the U.S. Army was mainly absorbed with frontier gar-
rison duties and an occasional Indian conflict. One of these, the Seminole
War of 1835–42, would prove to be the most prolonged struggle of its kind
waged by the army, but it handled itself well under extremely trying circum-
stance. The U.S. Navy was similarly deployed in campaigns against piracy
throughout the Caribbean and Mediterranean, acquitting itself capably. Both
services shone brightly during the brief but bloody Mexican War, 1846–48,
affording convincing proof of what relatively small American forces, backed
by sizable bodies of volunteers, could achieve under capable leadership. It
was here that graduates of the U.S. Military Academy were in abundance
for the first time and made an indelible impact upon American combat per-
formance—a far cry from the poorly trained cadres of 1812. This quest for
institutionalized professionalism further extended itself in 1854 following
the establishment of the U.S. Naval Academy, just as the newest steam and
armament technologies were coming to the fore. Yet neither service could
have prepared itself for the struggle that became the Civil War, 1861–65.
The sheer magnitude of the theater in question, the length of the coastline
covered, and the ultimate manpower totals involved simply dwarfed any-
thing previously experienced by American military planners. In the face of
this emergency, North and South alike resurrected the politically expedient
practice of recruiting volunteers and state militias to do most of the fighting.
However, most of the senior leaders and many regimental-grade officers pos-
sessed professional military backgrounds so that, within a year of the war’s
commencement, Northern and Southern armies were capable of mounting
impressive battlefield efforts. Moreover, these were the first military estab-
lishments to pioneer new technologies such as locomotives, barbed wire,
telegraphs, and—for the first time in America—military drafts on a vast scale.
The Union victory was overwhelmingly won by nonprofessional “citizen sol-
diers,” yet it did not alter the perception that American defense needs were
best addressed by small, professional forces in peacetime. These forces could
be greatly expanded by drawing upon a vast pool of militia and volunteers in
time of war. An American way of war had evolved.
This volume proffers extensive chronological coverage of United States
military history from 1775 to 1865, from the Revolutionary War up through
the Civil War. Thematically, entries are listed by service, with Military denot-
ing U.S. Army, militia, and National Guard, Naval for U.S. Navy and pri-
vateers, and Marines for Continental and U.S. Marines. A handful of other
Introduction  ix
topical entries such as Diplomacy crop up when necessary for clarification.
Aviation entries speak to individual events, as there was not yet a branch of
aviation service. Given the vast geographical expanse covered, this volume
also delineates military events by a strictly ordered geographical region
(East, South, then West), while naval events are listed by Atlantic, Pacific,
then rivers. Most entries cover single events, but where two or more military
or naval events fall under a given date, they are listed in this strict geographic
order for uniformity. Also, the exact locale is spelled out in each entry for
clarity. Moreover, the scope of this series is inclusive, and an “event” might
entail coverage of a battle, a noted person’s activities, a congressional law,
or policy respecting some facet of the army and navy, like the debut of new
technology. Space constraints limit most entries to a few lines at best, but sig-
nificant events may command up to a paragraph in space according to their
significance. The text is further enhanced by over 40 capsule biographies of
significant military figures (generals, admirals, officers, Native Americans)
who deserve a greater context than these citations allow. Finally, a bibliog-
raphy of all the latest scholarship on U.S. military history is appended, with
subdivisions to promote ease of use. By perusing these pages, even a casual
reader can grasp the great complexity and richness of the American military
experience, which has done so much to influence the history and politics of
the nation and the world at large. I am indebted to my editor, Owen Lancer,
for accepting this project at my suggestion; it was an arduous endeavor but
also a learning experience for which I am much obliged.
—John C. Fredriksen, Ph.D.