Tales of Turning Point Battles Quiz

Answer: Revolutionary War

Two skirmishes comprise the military action known as the Battle of Saratoga, which is considered to have been a major turning point of the American Revolution. Saved by the arrival of Hessian forces during the first battle, known as the Battle of Freeman's Farm, the British claimed the victory, even though they lost two men for every one American lost.

At the second battle, the Battle of Bemis Heights, however, the British General John Burgoyne retreated to Saratoga, where he was surrounded and forced to surrender his army.

When King Louis XVI of France heard of the defeat, he decided it was time to seek more than just the occasional revenge for the French loss in the French and Indian War. Although he had been sending sporadic aid to the colonists, he now entered into an alliance with the Americans, and the colonists began to regularly receive much-needed supplies, soldiers, and money.

The British were also forced to divide their resources between the colonies, West Indies and Europe, as the war became a global conflict.

Answer: Tecumseh's War

Fought near present-day Lafayette, Indiana, the Battle of Tippecanoe is considered to be a turning point of Tecumseh's War because General William Henry Harrison met his goal of destroying the headquarters of Tecumseh's Confederacy of Native Americans. Fueled by the continuing westward expansion into the lands that had been claimed by the members of the Confederacy, the war began in 1811, and is considered by many to have become part of what became the War of 1812. Led by Tecumseh and his brother, Tenskwatawa, who was known as The Prophet and began the confrontation which became known as the Battle of Tippecanoe, the attackers outnumbered Harrison's army but lost because they ran low on ammunition.

In addition, Tenskwatawa abandoned the group's headquarters, known as Prophetstown, which was subsequently burned to the ground; the winter supplies of the Native Americans were destroyed, and they were never able to recover from the loss.

By the time of the War of 1812, Tecumseh was allied to Britain, however, he was killed in battle the following year.

Answer: Northwest Indian War

Fought from 1785-1795, the Northwest Indian War is also called the Ohio War or Little Turtle's War. A confederation of Native Americans joined with Britain to fight for control of the region known as the Northwest Territory. The Battle of Fallen Timbers is considered to be the final battle of the war; it was fought near present-day Toledo, Ohio, at a site where a group of trees had been blown down during a storm. General "Mad" Anthony Wayne led his men against a group that was led by the Shawnee warrior, Blue Jacket.

When Blue Jacket's men were scattered by Wayne's army, the British commander in charge of the nearby Fort Miami would not allow his allies inside for protection. The battle was a major turning point for two reasons: the British signed a treating promising to withdraw from frontier forts, and the Americans were able to gain much of modern-day Ohio from the Native Americans.

Answer: First Barbary War

From 1801-1805, the United States was involved in the First Barbary War, which is also called the Tripolitanian War. Pirates, or corsairs, from the Barbary States, mainly Tunis, Algiers, the Sultanate of Morroco, and Tripoli, were capturing American sailing ships and holding the crews for ransom. President Thomas Jefferson refused to pay the tribute, and joined with Sweden in an attempt to defeat the corsairs.

The turning point battle of the war, the Battle of Derna, was won by a small group of U.S. Marines along with several hundred other mercenaries, who marched 600 miles across the desert from Alexandria, Egypt, to the city of Derna, located in modern-day Libya.

This was the first time the flag of the U.S. was raised victorious on foreign soil; capturing Derna gave U.S. diplomats a bargaining chip which not only brought the war to an end, but also freed the American prisoners.

Answer: War of 1812

While some historians feel the War of 1812, fought from 1812-1815, is a war in its own right, others see it as an extension of the Napoleonic Wars fought in Europe. The British, with American allies including both Native Americans and people from the existing colonies, made one more attempt to subjugate the newly-formed United States of America.

At the Battle of Lake Erie, the American navy routed and seized six British Royal Navy ships; it was after this victory that Oliver Hazard Perry wrote the famous message, "We have met the enemy and they are ours. Two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop". Holding the strategic Lake Erie for the remainder of the war gave the Americans an advantage; by the time the Treaty of Ghent was signed in 1814, the Americans had a new national anthem, as well as the restoration of all pre-war boundaries.

Answer: Mexican-American War

Also known as the Invasion of Mexico, the Mexican-American War was fought from 1846-1848. In 1844, U.S. President Polk made a bid to purchase land from Mexico that was located in an area that both countries had claimed; angry over the recent loss of Texas, Mexico declined the offer.

When U.S. troops were moved into the area in question, they were attacked by the Mexican army. After taking over the fortress city of Monterey (present-day California) in 1846, the U.S. forces moved to Buena Vista, where General Antonio López de Santa Anna's army was forced to withdraw, even though they outnumbered the American forces approximately 20,000 to 4,500. Santa Anna would remove his army from northeastern Mexico, only to be defeated by General Winfield Scott, who occupied Mexico City and served as military governor.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war in 1848 and specified, among other provisions, that the U.S. would pay Mexico $15 million for the land in question, much less than the amount originally offered.

Answer: Spanish American War

The United States became involved in the Cuban War of Independence from Spain when the USS Maine, sent to Cuba to protect American citizens and interests there, was blown up in Havana harbor; the blame was placed on Spain, and this incident led to a declaration of war between the two countries in 1898. Fought on two fronts - the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, the war lasted approximately four months. Commodore George Dewey destroyed the Spanish naval force in Manila Bay, the Philippines, ending the war in the Pacific Theater of fighting, and essentially bringing the war to a quick conclusion, especially after the U.S. also won the Battle of San Juan Hill in Cuba.

After being defeated in both areas, Spain signed the Treaty of Paris, which gave all of their colonies (including Puerto Rico and the Philippines) outside of Africa to the U.S. Cuba became a U.S. protectorate; Guantánamo Bay was established as a perpetual lease to the U.S. at that time.

Answer: American Civil War

One of the major turning points of the American Civil War, 1861-1865, was the Battle of Vicksburg. By the summer of 1863, Vicksburg was the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River. Surrendering the city after a seven-week siege (July 4) was especially devastating to the CSA because now the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas were cut off from the other Confederate states, and using the river for travel, trade, or communication was essentially out of the question.

Not only that, but the loss at the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3) in Pennsylvania sealed the deal; it would take almost two more years, but the beginning of the end of the war had started.

Answer: Black Hawk War

In 1832 a group of Native Americans called the British Band were displaced from the Great Lakes region. Led by Black Hawk, the group crossed in to Illinois, hoping to settle on land that had been ceded to them in 1804. Many settlers feared that the British Band did not have peaceful intentions; when a group of three warriors approached Stillman's Run with a flag of truce, they were viewed with suspicion.

When other Native Americans were seen nearby, one of the three warriors was killed and a scuffle ensued. Black Hawk's forty warriors defeated a force of approximately 300 Illinois militiamen.

He was now committed to war, and so was President Jackson, who realized that a trained cavalry unit would be needed to fight against seasoned mounted warriors.

Answer: Great Sioux War

Also called the Black Hills War, the Great Sioux War was fought from 1876-77, against the Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne. After the discovery of gold in the Black Hills, of course, the United States wanted to take control of the area. Although the Battle of Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand, may have been the most famous of the battles of the war, the Battle of Slim Buttes was a turning point.

It was the first U.S. Army victory, and it came on the heels of Custer's terrible defeat.

In addition the village of Oglala Chief American Horse was destroyed at Slim Buttes; it was the first strike that would lead to the end of the war. Eventually the combatants would reluctantly be forced to live on reservations and they would loose their gold-rich land.