As part of America 250, I thought it would be right and just to go back through history and look at the battles from our wars/armed conflict where our brave service members expended the most amount of blood to protect our way of life here in the homeland. Starting with the American Revolutionary War in 1775 and ending with the War on Terror in 2021, these battles are among the bloodiest in our nation's short but storied history.

The American Revolutionary War

The Battle of Long Island:

Fought in modern day Brooklyn, New York on August 27, 1776, the Battle of Long Island was the largest battle of the Revolutionary War. It featured some 20,000 British soldiers under the command of General William Howe and 10,000 American soldiers under the command of General George Washington. With over 2,000 casualties suffered (including 300 killed in action), the Battle of Long Island was the bloodiest battle of the Revolutionary War for the United States, with Washington's army only just escaping complete destruction.

The Indian Wars

The Battle of the Wabash River:

Arguably the greatest defeat in the history of the United States Army, the U.S. forces under Arthur St. Clair were soundly beaten by those of Little Turtle and his Northwestern Confederacy allies in the Northwest Indian War. Fought in modern Ohio on November 4, 1791, the battle saw 935 U.S. soldiers become casualties of war (to include over 600 killed in action).

The War of 1812:

The Battle of Lundy's Lane:

Fought on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls on July 25, 1814, the British army under the command of Gordon Drummond and the American army under Jacob Brown fought one another to a stand still. The U.S. lost a total of 853 men, of which 174 were killed in action.

The Mexican American War:

The Battle of Buena Vista:

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Fought from February 22-23, 1847, between the forces of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and those of General Zachary Taylor, the United States Army proved itself victorious in what was the bloodiest battle of the Mexican-American War. The U.S. suffered 660 combined casualties, of which 267 were killed in action. Taylor's victory at Buena Vista would catapult him to the White House just under two years later.

The American Civil War

The Battle of Gettysburg:

The Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War. Fought from July 1-3, 1863, between the armies of General George G. Meade and General Robert E. Lee, the two sides suffered a combined 51,000 total casualties, of which 7,863 were killed in action. The battle, a Union victory, was a major turning point in the war.

The Spanish-American War

The Battle of San Juan Hill:

Fought on July 1, 1898, outside of Santiago, Cuba, between the Spanish forces of Arsenio Linares y Pombo and the American forces of William Shafter and Joseph Wheeler, the battle was made famous by the Rough Riders of Colonel Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt. While an American victory, U.S. losses were high with 1,240 total casualties - of which 144 were killed in action.

World War I

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive:

While forgotten by most of the general public at large, the Meuse-Argonne Offensive of September 26-November 11, 1918, was the largest and bloodiest battle ever fought by the forces of the United States. The U.S. First Army under the command of General John J. Pershing fielded 1.2 million men in the battle and suffered over 122,000 total casualties in the fighting. Of that number, some 26,277 were killed in action. The offensive ultimately ended in victory, with the German Empire signing an armistice ending the First World War on November 11, 1918.

World War II

The Battle of the Bulge:

The largest and bloodiest battle of the Second World War for the United States featured a plethora of U.S. and British commanders under General Dwight D. Eisenhower, fighting against the forces of Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt from December 16, 1944-January 28, 1945. Between 500,000 and 600,000 American soldiers saw action in the battle, of which 81,000 of those were made casualties, with some 19,000 paying the ultimate sacrifice.

The Korean War

The Battle of the Pusan Perimeter:

With their backs to the literal wall in the summer of 1950, the U.S. forces under the overall command of General Douglas MacArthur held back the forces of the KPA under the command of General Choi Yong-kun long enough for the U.S. to counterattack at Inchon in the second week of September 1950. The cost for U.S. forces was high, however, as some 3,642 Americans were killed in the fighting around Pusan from August 4-September 18, 1950.

Vietnam War

The Battle of Khe Sanh

Fought from January 21-July 9, 1968, the Battle of Khe Sanh was one of the longest battles every fought by the U.S. Marine Corps. Over the almost nine months of combat, some 45,000 American and South Vietnamese forces saw action against upwards of 40,000 men of the NVA and Viet Cong. For the Americans, some 274 servicemen were killed in action with a further 2,541 wounded. Both sides claimed victory after the battle.

The Persian Gulf War

Battle of Khafji:

Iraqi forces invaded Saudi Arabia and captured the town of Khafji on January 29, 1991. Coalition forces, including the U.S. 3rd Marine Regiment, move in for a counterattack the following day and retook the city on January 31. Of the 148 Americans killed during the Persian Gulf War, 25 occurred at Khafji, with 11 of those being the result of a friendly fire incident involving an A-10 Warthog.

The War on Terror

The 2nd Battle of Fallujah:

Fought from November 7-December 23, 2004, the 2nd Battle of Fallujah is the bloodiest battle fought by American forces in the 21st Century to date. The action saw some 655 Americans become casualties of war, with 95 of that number killed in action. The battle, waged against insurgent forces under the overall command of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was a Coalition victory.