American Involvement in Wars From Colonial Times to the Present Wars From 1675 to the Present Day

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America has been involved in wars large and small since before the founding of the nation. The first such war, sometimes called Metacom’s Rebellion or King Philip's War, lasted 14 months and destroyed 14 towns.1 The war, tiny by today's standards, ended when Metacom (the Pokunoket chief called "King Philip" by the English), was beheaded.

The most recent war, America's engagement in Afghanistan, is the most protracted war in U.S. history. A response to devastating coordinated terrorist attacks on American soil on Sept. 11, 2001, this war began the following month when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in search of Taliban forces and members of al-Qaeda. U.S. troops remain there to this day.

Wars over the years have changed dramatically, and American involvement in them has varied as well. For example, many of the earliest American wars were fought on American soil. Twentieth-century wars such as World Wars I and II, by contrast, were fought overseas; few Americans on the homefront saw any type of direct engagement during these. While the attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II and the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001 resulted in thousands of American deaths, the most recent war fought on American soil was the Civil War, which ended in 1865.

Chart of Wars With American Involvement

In addition to the following named wars and conflicts, members of the American military (and some civilians) have played small but active roles in many other international conflicts over the years.

Dates	War in Which American Colonists or United States Citizens Officially Participated	Major Combatants
July 4, 1675– August 12, 1676	King Philip's War	New England Colonies vs. Wampanoag, Narragansett, and Nipmuck peoples
1689–1697	King William's War	The English Colonies vs. France
1702–1713	Queen Anne's War (War of Spanish Succession)	The English Colonies vs. France
1744–1748	King George's War (War of Austrian Succession)	The French Colonies vs. Great Britain
1756–1763	French and Indian War (Seven Years War)	The French Colonies vs. Great Britain
1759–1761	Cherokee War	English Colonists vs. Cherokee Nation
1775–1783	American Revolution	English Colonists vs. Great Britain
1798–1800	Franco-American Naval War	United States vs. France
1801–1805; 1815	Barbary Wars	United States vs. Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli
1812–1815	War of 1812	United States vs. Great Britain
1813–1814	Creek War	United States vs. Creek Nation
1836	War of Texas Independence	Texas vs. Mexico
1846–1848	Mexican-American War	United States vs. Mexico
1861–1865	U.S. Civil War	Union vs. Confederacy
1898	Spanish-American War	United States vs. Spain
1914–1918	World War I	Triple Alliance: Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary vs. Triple Entente: Britain, France, and Russia. The United States joined on the side of the Triple Entente in 1917
1939-1945	World War II	Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan vs. Major Allied Powers: United States, Great Britain, France, and Russia
1950–1953	Korean War	United States (as part of the United Nations) and South Korea vs. North Korea and Communist China
1960–1975	Vietnam War	United States and South Vietnam vs. North Vietnam
1961	Bay of Pigs Invasion	United States vs. Cuba
1971-1973	Laos bombardment
1983	Grenada	United States intervention
1989	U.S. Invasion of Panama	United States vs. Panama
1990–1991	Persian Gulf War	United States and Coalition Forces vs. Iraq
1995–1996	Intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina	United States as part of NATO acted as peacekeepers in former Yugoslavia
2001–2021	Invasion of Afghanistan	United States and Coalition Forces vs. the Taliban regime in Afghanistan to fight terrorism
2003–2011	Invasion of Iraq	United States and Coalition Forces vs. Iraq
2004–present	War in Northwest Pakistan	United States vs. Pakistan, mainly drone attacks
2007–present	Somalia and Northeastern Kenya	United States and Coalition forces vs. al-Shabaab militants
2009–2016	Operation Ocean Shield (Indian Ocean)	NATO allies vs. Somali pirates
2011	Intervention in Libya	U.S. and NATO allies vs. Libya
2011–2017	Lord's Resistance Army	U.S. and allies against the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda
2014–2017	U.S.-led Intervention in Iraq	U.S. and coalition forces against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
2014–present	U.S.-led intervention in Syria	U.S. and coalition forces against al-Qaeda, ISIS, and Syria
2015–present	Yemeni Civil War	Saudi-led coalition and U.S., France, and Kingdom against the Houthi rebels, Supreme Political Council in Yemen, and allies
2015–present	U.S. intervention in Libya	U.S. and Libya against ISIS