San Antonio, Texas
The old mission stands as a monument to the small band of Texans who held out for thirteen days against the Centralist army of General Antonio López de Santa Anna.Although the Alamo fell in the early morning hours of March 6, 1836, the death of the Alamo Defenders has come to symbolize...
Unalaska, Alaska
This little known site of arduous WWII battles is located on a rich and remote archipelago stretching from Alaska to Siberia. Perched on Mount Ballyhoo in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, the concrete remains of the Aleutian World War II National Historic Area speak silently of a time of war. This...
Andersonville, Georgia
From the Revolutionary War to Operation Iraqi Freedom, this military site commemorates the sacrifices of brave American prisoners of war at the National Prisoner of War museum.Camp Sumter, commonly called Andersonville, was one of the largest military prisons established by the Confederacy during...
Sharpsburg, Maryland
At this field on Sept. 17, 1862, the Battle of Antietam, dubbed "the bloodiest day in American history," claimed the lives of 23,000 Civil War soldiers.It was at this battlefield that the Civil War saw its bloodiest single day battle. The Visitor Center here includes exhibits, an observation room,...
Elizabeth, Illinois
On June 24, 1832, the settlers at this fort turned back an attack by some 200 Sauk and Fox warriors led by Black Hawk during what is known as the Black Hawk War.The war, which lasted only 16 weeks, ended the threat of Indian attacks in the area and opened the region to further settlement. Many...
Gillett, Arkansas
Settled by the French in 1886, this region was the first permanent European colony in the Mississippi River Valley, playing a valuable role in dominating the fur trade.Arkansas Post became part of the United States following the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. By 1819, the post was a thriving river...
Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands
These dramatic caves were the last Japanese command post in Saipan during World War II.The Marianas were captured by Japan in 1914 and became a bloody battle ground in World War II between American and Japanese troops. There are still many reminders and war relics all over Saipan including a...
Beaver, Pennsylvania
The Beaver Area Heritage Foundation manages a museum as well as the Revolution-era Fort McIntosh Site and an 18th-century reconstructed log cabin.Founded in 1967 in Beaver, PA, 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, the Beaver Area Heritage Foundation has achieved local, statewide and national...
Benicia, California
Benecia's interesting history comes to light in this city museum with numerous exhibits highlighting various parts of the town's heritage.During the 19th century, when Benecia was first being settled, the military built an arsenal there and it became an important spot for the army in California....
La Junta, Colorado
The old fort features a reconstructed 1840's adobe fur trading post on the mountain branch of the Santa Fe Trail where traders, trappers, travelers, and Plains Indian tribes came together.William and Charles Bent, along with Ceran St. Vrain, built the original fort on this site in 1833 to trade...
Four Oaks, North Carolina
With a technologically advanced, fiber optic exhibit, visitors can see the strategic military campaigns from the 1865 battle.In addition to the fiber-optic display, Bentonville's remaining exhibits have received a major upgrade with an all-new layout—featuring new artifacts, new portraits of...
Boston, Massachusetts
All within reach of downtown Boston, the Harbor Islands allows visitors to walk a Civil War-era fort and visit historic lighthouses.Many of the Boston Harbor Islands contain buildings and structures related to such uses as coastal defense, agriculture, commercial fishing, year-round and summer...
Tupelo, Mississippi
The Confederate victory at Brices Cross Roads was a significant victory for Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest, but its long term effect on the war proved costly for the Confederates.Near the monument, visitors can study two signs that provide information about the battle. Beyond the one-acre...
Kentwood, Louisiana
These grounds were the site of a training camp of 25,000 Louisiana soldiers in the Confederacy before entering the Civil War.In May 1861, the site for the camp was selected and the troops began to arrive. The new camp was named for Governor Thomas Overton Moore, and Confederate Brig. General E. L....
St. Augustine, Florida
The last standing 17th-century fort in the U.S., the monument has a complex cultural history beginning with Native Americans and running through Spanish, French, and English colonial domination.Begun in 1672, the Castillo de San Marcos is the last 17th century fort left in the United States....
Chattanooga, Tennessee
In addition to its war monuments, this national cemetery is also the final resting place for many Medal of Honor recipients.On Dec. 25, 1863, Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas, “The Rock of Chickamauga," issued General Orders No. 296 creating a national cemetery in commemoration of the Battles...
Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia
The nation's oldest and largest military park, Chickamauga and Chattanooga commemorates the site of two Civil War battlefields with monuments and walking tours.In 1863, Union and Confederate forces fought for control of Chattanooga, the gateway to the deep south. The Confederate’s were...
Highland Falls, New York
A part of West Point, the island is most famous for the Great Chain that was placed across the Hudson during the Revolutionary War and the Warner family who lived there during the 19th century.In 1778, less than halfway through the Revolutionary War, the Americans were able to forge a huge iron...
Between Fillmore and Beaver, Utah
This fort was built in 1867 at the current site selected by Brigham Young because of the proximity between major Mormon cities Fillmore and Beaver.The construction of the fort was over-seen by Ira Hinckley. The fort provided safety, shelter, water and livestock feed for people traveling between the...
Crown Point, New York
During the French and Indian War, Ft. Fredric served as a critical French Bastion guarding against British invasions to the north. Destroyed by the retreating French in 1759, the British occupied the peninsula and eventually built a new and much larger fort adjacent to the old one. During the...
Wilmington, California
At the Drum Barracks, visitors can experience an important part of west coast military history in learning about the heritage of the barracks involvement in the Civil War.The Drum Barracks Civil War Museum is housed in the last remaining wooden building of Drum Barracks, named after Adjutant...
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Over two million visitors a year explore Puerto Rico's best-known fortress, where the history of 400 years of Spain in Puerto Rico comes alive.Officially known as Fuerte San Felipe del Morro, this fort sits atop a high promontory overlooking the entrance to San Juan Bay. It is the result of the...
Paso Robles, California
The Estrella Warbird museum is dedicated to the restoration and preservation of military aircraft and memorabilia to those who flew and worked on them.From jeeps, side arms, early year aircraft, fighter jets recently retired from active duty, to antique ambulances, bombadier sites to modern missles...
Fort Riley, Kansas
This building was the capitol for only four days in 1855, but many believe that the actions of the legislature that met here led directly to the Civil War.Governor Andrew Reeder picked this location, away from the proslavery influence of Missouri, where the legislature would choose a permanent seat...
Abercrombie, North Dakota
Known historically as "the Gateway to the Dakotas," Fort Abercrombie was the first permanent United States military fort established in what was to become North Dakota.It was also the only post in the area to be besieged by Dakota (Sioux) warriors for more than six weeks during the Dakota...
Newport, Rhode Island
From 1824 to 1950 Fort Adams housed generations of American soldiers, and today hosts tours and special events.Just a short drive or a water taxi ride across Newport Harbor stands the largest coastal fortification in the United States. Visit this engineering and architectural masterpiece to see...
Pensacola, Florida
This Confederate fort previously served as fortification for the British and Spanish. Today, the current structure includes a rifle gallery and rear wall added by U. S. Army engineers.The Fort Barrancas Area is on Taylor Road approximately a half mile east from the Museum of Naval Aviation. The...
Bedford, Pennsylvania
This site, constructed in 1785, was once a British fort designed to carry out attacks during the French and Indian War campaign.The fort was used as the staging point for a number of successful raids during the war. After victory, it was used until the American Revolution as a frontier outpost and...
Fort Benton, Montana
Over two hundred years of frontier history can be found at this historical complex, which includes Fort Benton, a bison collection, and the Museum of the Northern Great Plains.On the banks of the Missouri River, in the city park, stands a square bastion and fragments of the walls of old Fort Benton...
Bowie, Arizona
This fort commemorates the bitter conflict between Chiricahua Apaches and the U.S. military - a lasting monument to the bravery and endurance of U.S. soldiers in paving the way for settlement.It provides insight into a "clash of cultures," a young nation in pursuit of "manifest...
Fort Bridger, Wyoming
Established by Jim Bridger and Louis Vasquez in 1843, this frontier fort served as an emigrant supply stop along the Oregon Trail.It was obtained by the Mormons in the early 1850s, and then became a military outpost in 1858. In 1933, the property was dedicated as a Wyoming Historical Landmark and...
Brownsville, Texas
Established in 1846 as the first U.S. military post in Texas, Gen. Zachary Taylor arrived at the site in March 1846 to occupy territory that was claimed by both the United States and Mexico.The initial fort was an earthen fortification constructed by Taylor's troops and called "Fort Texas....
Ogden, Utah
Located on an 84-acre river tract of land near the Weber River, the fort symbolizes a period of western history that was the transition from nomadic ways of the Indian tribes.One of the most fascinating periods in Western American folklore is the mountain man era. At Fort Buenaventura, located just...
Williston, North Dakota
Fort Buford was a United States Army base established in 1866 at the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers in North Dakota. It is named for John Buford, a Union Army cavalry general from the Civil War. It served an essential role as a sentinel on the northern plains for twenty-nine...
Jacksonville, Florida
Fort Caroline memorializes the short-lived French presence in sixteenth century Florida.The need to compete with their ocean-spanning 16th-century rivals, the Spanish, chased the French across the Atlantic to Fort Caroline, where they made their first attempt at establishing a permanent settlement...
Casper, Wyoming
This site is a reconstructed 1865 military post located at a major river crossing on the Oregon, California, Mormon Pioneer, Pony Express, and transcontinental telegraph trail corridor.Here visitors explore central Wyoming's regional history museum, featuring exhibits on prehistoric peoples, Plains...
Bowling Green, Florida
The fort was built in the interim between the Second and Third Seminole Wars to defend against Native American attacks.During the 1840s, tensions between the settlers and Seminole Indians prompted authorities to establish a trading post in Florida´s interior, away from settlements. Built in...
Charlotte Amalie, Virgin Islands (U.S.)
The Danish built this fort in the 17th century and named it after their king. It now serves as the town center and houses the Museum of Saint Thomas.Governor Jørgen Iversen led the second expeditionary force from Denmark to St. Thomas, where he arrived on May 25, 1672; there, he...
Silver Springs, Nevada
This Nevada fort was established for the protection of those Americans who pushed west towards the Pacific Ocean in the 19th century.Fort Churchill was once an active U.S. Army fort. Built in 1861 to provide protection for early settlers. It was abandoned nine years later, and today the ruins are...
Fernandina Beach, Florida
Although no battles were fought here, the fort was garrisoned during both the Civil and Spanish-American Wars.Although no battles were fought here, the fort was garrisoned during both the Civil and Spanish-American Wars.
Fort Clinch's northeastern location caused the soldiers stationed there during...
Inverness, Florida
The Second Seminole War drove soldiers in 1836 to seek refuge and a strong defensive position in central Florida, and they found it in Fort Cooper.Located in what is today Fort Cooper State Park, visitors can tour the fort, traverse the nature paths, and learn the life-or-death history of one of...
Miami, Florida
This served as the slave quarters on the plantation of William English from 1844 until its appropriation by the U.S. Army in 1849, at which point it was used in the Second Seminole War.Located in Miami's Lummus Park, Fort Dallas and the William Wagner House offer unique insights into southeastern...
Fort Davis, Texas
A key post in the defense system of western Texas, Fort Davis played a major role in the history of the Southwest.From 1854 until 1891, troops stationed at the post protected emigrants, freighters, mail coaches, and travelers on the San Antonio-El Paso Road. Today, Fort Davis is considered one of...
Prairie du Rocher, Illinois
This site marks the location of the last of three successive forts named “de Chartres” built by the French during their eighteenth-century colonial occupation of what is today Illinois.This fort served as the French seat of government and its chief military installation in the Illinois Country. In...
Delaware City, Delaware
A Union fortress which dates to 1859 is the main attraction at this state park, one of Delaware's first.Established as a Delaware State Park in 1951, Fort Delaware State Park is on an island that visitors reach by ferry. Once there they explore the fort, which was originally built to protect...
Delta, Utah
This fort was erected in 1865 in defense against the Pahvant Indians in the Black Hawk War.The fort was constructed of adobe mud and straw in only 18 days by 98 men. It was 550' square with walls 10' high, 3' wide at the base and 1 1/2' thick at the top, resting on a lava rock foundation. Located...
Fort Dodge, Kansas
Long before Dodge City was a hustling, bustling cattle town, Fort Dodge was established to protect railroad workers and travelers on the Santa Fe Trail from the Plains Indians.Situated on a site once used as a camping ground by wagon trains, Fort Dodge was a supply depot and base of operations...
Fort Douglas, Utah
The fort overlooks Salt Lake City and was originally built both for protection against Indians and to monitor the incipient Mormon community below.The 1862 fort was built to protect telegraph and railroad lines from the Indian populations that the U.S. government feared would would act...
Capon Bridge, West Virginia
The Fort Edwards visitor center offers insight into the history of the fort and its role in the French and Indian War. In addition, the site is now home to several archaeological digs.The Fort Edwards site is located along the northern boundary of Capon Bridge, in what is now West Virginia just...
Douglas, Wyoming
This fort, constructed in 1867 by the US Army, served as a major jumping-off point for the start of several major military expeditions against warring Native American tribes.As an outpost of civilization on the Western frontier, the fort represented protection and a haven to travelers. During the...