1. Korean War
Korean War traces the conflict from the division of Korea after the Second World War to the North Korean invasion of 1950 and the international war that followed. It covers the intervention of United Nations forces led by the United States, China’s entry into the war…
2. The American Revolution
The American Revolution traces the escalating dispute between Britain and its North American colonies from taxation and political protest to armed rebellion and independence. It follows major campaigns, the leadership of figures such as George Washington and the diplomatic alliance with France that transformed the war.…
3. The Banana Wars
The Banana Wars surveys the series of United States military interventions in the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It examines campaigns in countries including Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua, alongside the economic and strategic interests that…
4. The Barbary Wars
The Barbary Wars recounts the young United States’ conflicts with the North African states of Tripoli, Tunis and Algiers over piracy, tribute and Mediterranean trade. It follows the First Barbary War, the burning of the captured frigate Philadelphia and operations against Tripoli, then turns to the…
5. The Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn reconstructs the June 1876 clash in which Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors defeated part of the U.S. Seventh Cavalry under George Armstrong Custer. It places the battle within the Great Sioux War and the federal campaign to force Indigenous…
6. The Civil War
The Civil War recounts the American conflict of 1861–65, beginning with secession and the dispute over slavery and federal authority. It follows the major eastern and western campaigns, the leadership of Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis and their generals, and the transformation of the war through emancipation.…
7. The Cold War
The Cold War traces the global rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union from the end of the Second World War to the collapse of the USSR. It covers the division of Europe, nuclear competition, the Korean and Vietnam wars, proxy conflicts, espionage and…
8. The Gulf War
The Gulf War examines the crisis created by Iraq’s invasion and annexation of Kuwait in August 1990 and the international coalition assembled to reverse it. It follows the diplomatic confrontation, the air campaign of Operation Desert Storm and the short ground offensive that expelled Iraqi forces…
9. The Mexican-American War
The Mexican-American War traces the 1846–48 conflict between the United States and Mexico against the background of Texas independence, annexation and American territorial expansion. It follows campaigns in northern Mexico, California and the march on Mexico City, while examining the political aims of President James K.…
10. The OSS
The OSS tells the story of the Office of Strategic Services, the American wartime intelligence organisation created during the Second World War under William J. Donovan. It follows espionage, sabotage, support for resistance movements and special operations in Europe and Asia, as well as the recruitment…
11. The Philippine–American War
The Philippine–American War examines the conflict that followed the transfer of the Philippines from Spain to the United States in 1898. It traces the break between American forces and the Philippine Republic led by Emilio Aguinaldo, the conventional fighting around Manila and the later shift to…
12. The Spanish-American War
The Spanish-American War examines the short 1898 conflict that ended Spain’s colonial rule in Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines and marked a new stage in American overseas power. It traces the Cuban crisis, the destruction of the USS Maine, campaigns in the Caribbean and the…
13. The War of 1812
The War of 1812 recounts the conflict between the United States and Great Britain fought while Britain was also engaged in the Napoleonic Wars. It explains disputes over maritime rights, impressment, trade restrictions and American ambitions in Canada, then follows campaigns on the Canadian border, the…
14. The War of Jenkins’ Ear
The War of Jenkins’ Ear examines the Anglo-Spanish conflict that began in 1739 amid disputes over trade, smuggling and imperial rivalry in the Caribbean. It recounts the incident involving Captain Robert Jenkins, British attacks on Spanish possessions and the disastrous expedition against Cartagena de Indias. The…
15. The West Virginia Coal Wars
The West Virginia Coal Wars examines the violent struggle between miners, coal companies and authorities in the Appalachian coalfields during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It follows union organising, company towns, armed confrontations and the tensions that culminated in the 1921 Battle of Blair…
16. Vietnam War
Vietnam War traces the conflict in Vietnam from the collapse of French colonial rule and the division of the country to the escalating American intervention of the 1960s. It follows guerrilla warfare, major campaigns, bombing, the Tet Offensive and the political pressures that led to U.S.…
17. Women in the American Revolution
Women in the American Revolution examines the many ways women participated in the struggle for American independence. It follows supporters of both Patriot and Loyalist causes as they managed farms and businesses, carried information, supplied armies, endured occupation and in some cases joined military activity directly.…