Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

View animated battle maps from every major skirmish of the war

The American Battlefield Trust's animated maps trace every major Civil War battle with moving troop lines, narration, and historical context—bringing the strategies, turning points, and human cost of the war to life.

37 maps that explain the American Civil War

This collection of 37 maps tells the story of the American Civil War as well as any historical account. See how and where the war began and why, and where the major battles were fought. Discover how the North achieved victory and the many ways the war changed America forever.

See a timeline of colonial settlement in North America

This interactive timeline uses archival maps, illustrations, and documents to trace early American history—from the failed 1590 Roanoke colony and Indigenous accounts of a devastating smallpox epidemic to the political tensions that culminated in the Revolutionary War.

Revolutionary War reenactments have taken place for centuries

The first known reenactment of the war occurred in 1778, while the war was still ongoing. A journal entry from a lieutenant colonel in the Continental Army remarked that soldiers had commemorated a “Glorious victory obtained over the British” at Saratoga with “a Grand sham fight.”

Watch Ken Burns' documentary series on the American Revolution

In "The American Revolution," filmmaker Ken Burns presents the conflict as both a global war and a civil war, telling its story through the lives of soldiers, civilians, enslaved people, Native nations, and international allies.

The causes of American rebellion were multifaceted

British taxes on colonists to pay for the French and Indian War were just one element. Thousands of miles of separation between London and the Colonies, expanding territories, a distinct Colonial identity, and political conflicts combined to prompt the Revolution.

A virtual tour of Philadelphia’s American Revolution Museum

Philadelphia’s Old City hosts one of the largest museums on the American Revolution. This virtual tour allows you to view the museum’s exhibits as if you were there by zooming in on descriptions, browsing images, and learning about artifacts, portraits, and more.

New York was a hotbed of early revolutionary activity

In the decade before independence, New York City saw Stamp Act riots, liberty pole confrontations, the 1770 Battle of Golden Hill, and defiance of the Quartering Act, and organized efforts to block and destroy taxed British tea.

Debunking myths about the American Revolution

The history of the American Revolution and the establishment of democracy are proudly taught in the US, but a number of incorrect details continue to be circulated. This article debunks some of the myths that persist in the public consciousness, like the idea that the war was solely driven by taxes or that Paul Revere was the only rider warning the rebels about the British.

At age 22, Washington inadvertently started the French and Indian War

In 1754, while leading a small Virginia militia force in the Ohio Valley, Washington's troops ambushed a French scouting party. The clash heightened tensions between Britain and France and sparked a broader conflict that soon spread across North America, Europe, and parts of Africa and Asia.

A collection of contemporary maps from World War II

Newspapers published detailed maps of the conflict in real-time. See different portrayals of the situation, ranging from propaganda maps to speculative maps about the war's outcome. The fascinating depictions reveal how maps can show us the aspirations and intentions of different players in a global conflict.

Watch the British Empire expand and recede over 5 centuries

This interactive map traces the British Empire from 1450 to today—showing its explosive 19th-century expansion to one-quarter of the world's land and its steady contraction after World War II.

Guerilla warfare was a significant part of the success of the Americans

Francis Marion, also known as the Swamp Fox, was a Patriot general who used guerrilla warfare tactics in the Carolinas during the Revolutionary War’s southern campaigns. Also called “maneuver warfare,” the approach focuses on disorienting the enemy and exploiting their weaknesses while avoiding their strengths.

The American Battle Monuments Commission maintains 26 overseas military cemeteries in 16 countries

The cemeteries honor more than 218,000 American war dead, with the majority of sites located in France and Belgium, where some of the heaviest fighting of both World Wars took place.

Emanuel Leutze's painting 'Washington Crossing the Delaware' is one of the defining images of the Revolutionary War

The scene depicts George Washington leading Continental forces across the icy Delaware River on Christmas Day, 1776, enabling a surprise attack on British-paid mercenary troops at Trenton. This risky maneuver revived the revolution after months of defeat.

In a 2012 poll, Brits named Washington as the kingdom's greatest military enemy

The poll by the UK's National Army Museum ranked Washington above Irish independence hero Michael Collins, France's Napoleon Bonaparte, German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

An interactive map of 250 American places worth visiting before you die

The Smithsonian created ten categories of landmarks—from history and food to oddball Americana and architecture—to enrich your celebration of America's semiquincentennial. You can sort by region or category, see a map of each location, and learn each spot's significance in a clean, aesthetic user interface.

Explore an interactive map of WW2 shipwrecks

Historians estimate roughly 20,000 ships were sunk during World War II as a direct cause of fighting, primarily in the Mediterranean and Pacific theaters. This mapping project lists about 75% of them, while the remainder lacked specific location data.

An interactive timeline of the major events of World War I

World War I took place between July 28, 1914 and November 11, 1918, but a lot happened within that relatively short time. And even more occurred afterward. The comprehensive timeline shows when major and influential events took place during the conflict, accompanied by articles, videos, and other media in support.

See the results of all 59 presidential elections from 1789 to 2024

This interactive tool lets users explore the outcomes of every US presidential election from George Washington's uncontested 1789 victory through 2024, showing how electoral votes, state results, and shifting coalitions shaped each race.

What were the major battles of the Vietnam War?

As to be expected, there was no shortage of conflict during a war filled with guerrilla tactics. However, there were a few key battles and operations that influenced changes in warfare and ultimately led to the North's victory. This list of key battles starts with conflict between the France and Vietnam and ends with what became known as the fall of Saigon.

The US won every major battle of the Mexican-American War

Despite being outnumbered in key engagements, US forces defeated Mexican armies across every major front. Superior training, leadership, and logistics allowed the US to win decisively—capturing Mexico City without losing a single major battle.

Meet the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence and see their original signatures

This online exhibit from the Daughters of the American Revolution presents a visual slideshow of all 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence, pairing portraits and biographies with photographs of their handwritten signatures.

Meet the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence—most of whom didn't put pen to paper until August 2, 1776—and see their original signatures.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

Maps of murder across medieval England

These interactive maps show the sites of murders across York, Oxford, and London during the 14th Century. Explore the data by clicking site pins or experimenting with map filters, including crime scene type and murder weapon. Each pin includes a blurb on what researchers concluded about the attack, such as how a fight between the London fishmonger and skinner guilds during August 1340 ultimately left one man dead.

The Council on Foreign Relations maps conflicts to watch in 2026

This interactive map highlights conflicts to watch in 2026, rating each by likelihood and potential impact and allowing users to explore detailed background on every potential hotspot.

Trace how the Bill of Rights, inspired by centuries of political theory, took shape between 1774 and 1789.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

The power and influence of the American presidency have expanded significantly over time—far beyond what the founders envisioned.

The rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson centered on federalism—the question of how much power the federal government should hold relative to the states.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

See how each of the more than two million known species relates to each other—and to common ancestors—in this zoomable tree of life.

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

Visualize the path of every solar eclipse from 1900 to 2099 and see what each looks like when observed from different locations on Earth.

See this overview of the firework rules across all 50 states, ranging from a complete ban on non-professional fireworks in Massachusetts to states with more lax rules like Indiana.

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

Browse a detailed visual analysis of over 200,000 similes—comparisons that often use 'like' or 'as'—from popular fiction to see how frequently writers the same idiomatic expressions.

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

Search a massive database of over 4 decades of clues from the TV quiz show 'Jeopardy!'

Explore the archaeological treasures of Pompeii, the city buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE.

See how Ebola tore through Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia in 2014-2016.

Calculate how much of your tax dollars go to each federal program based on your income, filing status, and number of children

'Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,' a work by American painter Thomas Moran, inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park.

Poison ivy was sent to Europe in the 1600s as an exotic, ornamental oddity, where it was purposefully grown in the English royal gardens at Kew, the Faculty of Medicine in Paris, and a few other locations.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.