Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Not sure if I would call it the least known war. I doubt most people outside of Texas would know who we fought in the war with Mexico.
A lot of midwesterners fought in that war, not just Texans so it was well known outside of Texas. In fact I'll bet most of the American combatants were non-Texans. Also, a lot of the action happened outside of Texas.
There are a lot more obscure conflicts in American history such as the Mormon and Blackhawk Wars.
A lot of midwesterners fought in that war, not just Texans so it was well known outside of Texas. In fact I'll bet most of the American combatants were non-Texans. Also, a lot of the action happened outside of Texas.
There are a lot more obscure conflicts in American history such as the Mormon and Blackhawk Wars.
Not sure if I would call it the least known war. .
It would partly depend upon how you are defining an American War.
If limited to the major ones:
Revolutionary
War of 1812
Mexican War
Civil War
Spanish American War
WW 1
WW II
Korea
Vietnam
Gulf War
Iraq/Afghanistan War
....then the Spanish American War probably is the least well known.
If you wish to expand the list to all US military actions, you are then including numerous conflicts with the Indian tribes, the action against Tripoli and the Barbary pirates, the pursuit of Panco Villa in Mexico, the various quickie invasions of Latin American nations to stabilize or replace their governments, the bombing of Libya in the '80's, the bombing of Serbia in the '90's etc etc.
So....assuming the list is the first one, which of our wars is less well known than the Spanish American one?
It would partly depend upon how you are defining an American War.
If limited to the major ones:
Revolutionary
War of 1812
Mexican War
Civil War
Spanish American War
WW 1
WW II
Korea
Vietnam
Gulf War
Iraq/Afghanistan War
....then the Spanish American War probably is the least well known.
If you wish to expand the list to all US military actions, you are then including numerous conflicts with the Indian tribes, the action against Tripoli and the Barbary pirates, the pursuit of Panco Villa in Mexico, the various quickie invasions of Latin American nations to stabilize or replace their governments, the bombing of Libya in the '80's, the bombing of Serbia in the '90's etc etc.
So....assuming the list is the first one, which of our wars is less well known than the Spanish American one?
The Spanish American War was really two wars. The one against Spain and the one against the Aguanaldo and the other Philippine insurgents. I'd say it's a toss-up between the SAW because of Teddy and the Rough Riders and the MAW because of the Alamo. If you break out the War of the Philippines on its own but still consider it in the major category, it's probably the least well known.
"So....assuming the list is the first one, which of our wars is less well known than the Spanish American one?"
Korea. (It was only a "police action...")
I'll agree with you the SA war is not well known. However, in the greater concept that understanding wars that affected the U.S. is important, the civil war in Spain between the nationalists and communists might even be more important. I'm just bustin' chops, not really disagreeing too much.
There are a lot more obscure conflicts in American history such as the Mormon and Blackhawk Wars.
We discussed this some time ago, but one such conflict was the so called Polar Bear Expedition of 1918-1919 when the USA sent 5000 men into Northern Russia as part of an allied intervention to support the White Russians against the Bolsheviks.
The Mexican American War was fought a decade after the Alamo.
And the Alamo battle was fought by a polyglot of Americans, Europeans, American expats, & Tejanos under the rebels' Mexican tricolor with the 1824 (constitution) date sewn on it.
I would say the Mexican War is the least well known. The Spanish-American War had the Maine and Teddy Roosevelt. Many people probably think the Mexican War involved the Alamo.
I would argue the War of 1812 is pretty low on most people's radar as well. I'd probably rank it below the Spanish-American War in terms of public awareness.
Ultimately, the least well known war is the one about which we know the least, which would vary from individual to individual. One way to determine a collective answer might be to ask people to index the war. For example, if it was the Revolutionary War, the average person might list:
Adams
"No taxation without representation!"
Boston Massacre
King George
Tea Party
Paul Revere
Lexington & Concord
Bunker Hill...
......and that is just the first year, the final product would be fairly long.
If it was the War of 1812, we'd probably get:
Impressment
Old Ironsides
"Don't Give Up the Ship!"
"We have met the enemy and they are ours."
Francis Scott Key
Andrew Jackson
New Orleans
Washington burns
Mexican War:
Polk
Old Rough n' Ready
Texas border
Santa Anna
Winfield Scott
Halls of Montezuma
US gains huge chunk of territory
Spanish American War:
Maine blows up
Cuba
Teddy and Rough Riders
Dewey and Manilla Bay
Based on that, my perception is that the war folks know the least about, is the Spanish American one.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
