FDLP Resource Guides: Military History: American Conflicts and Wars: Home

Overview

The United States of America has engaged in several military conflicts, of which only eleven have been formally declared as wars by the U.S. Congress.¹ The other "types of military engagements have included military combat authorized by Congress (without a formal declaration of war) or authorized by the United Nations Security Council Resolutions and funded by Congress."² This guide provides U.S. Government resources about the conflicts and wars from the War of Independence to the present.

(Image sources clockwise from left: NAID: 301682, NAID: 300264, NAID: 542315, NAID: 6632557, NAID: 531225, and NAID: 12013172)

¹There were eleven times for five wars : War of 1812, Mexican-American War, Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II. (Sources: Congressional Research Service(a), Congressional Research Service(b), U.S. House of Representatives, and U.S. Senate)

²U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

U.S. Government Resources

Click on the tabs of this box to find more U.S. Government information, including publications, museums, cemeteries, and research centers.

Below are featured U.S. Government publications and records.

	Congressional Research Service Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-2023
	GovInfo Congressional Serial Set By Topic: Indians of North America - Wars Mexican-American War 1846-1848 Spanish-American War, 1898 World War, 1914-1918 World War, 1939-1945 Korean War, 1950-1953 Vietnam War, 1961-1975
	Library of Congress American State Papers (1789–1838) Veterans History Project
	U.S. Army Center of Military History Women in Army History
	U.S. Department of State Foreign Relations of the United States
	U.S. National Archives and Records Administration Military Records Research By Branch: Air Force Records Army Records at the National Archives Department of the Navy Records Marine Corps Records United States Coast Guard Records
	U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs America’s Wars