The “Father of the Steam Navy” Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry was born on April 10, 1794, in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. Perry is best known for modernizing the US Naval Academy and opening friendly relations with Japan.
Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767, in the Waxhaws area near the border between North and South Carolina. America’s seventh president, he was a champion of the common man.
American soldier and politician Sam Houston was born on March 2, 1793, in Rockbridge County, Virginia. He was a hero of the Texas Revolution and the first president of the Republic of Texas.
On November 7, 1811, future president William Henry Harrison clashed with Tecumseh’s warriors at the Battle of Tippecanoe, a precursor to the War of 1812. Harrison claimed victory and became known as “Old Tippecanoe.”
On September 4, 1812, the Siege of Fort Harrison began. It would end 11 days later in the first American land victory of the War of 1812.
Esteemed statesman Henry Clay died on June 29, 1852, after nearly 50 years in politics. Nicknamed “The Great Compromiser,” he orchestrated several important government compromises in the years leading up to the Civil War.
Just 29 years after gaining independence, the United States took on the greatest naval power in the world by declaring war on June 18, 1812, in what would become America’s “Second War of Independence.”
Winfield Scott was born on June 13, 1786, in Dinwiddie County, Virginia. Nicknamed “Old Fuss and Feathers” and the “Grand Old Man of the Army,” he was one of America’s longest-serving military commanders.
James Madison was born on March 16, 1751, in Port Conway, Virginia. One of America’s Founding Fathers and the fourth US president, Madison is considered the “Father of the US Constitution” and led America through the War of 1812.