Inspired by the idea that English history is ‘1066 and all that’; the Battle of Hastings being the most iconic battle in English history, everyone knows the date and roughly what occurred.
What’s the equivalent for the US? A battle everyone knows about and gets all the ink? Gettysburg? The Alamo? Little Bighorn?
Gettysburg is probably a good call, even though it wasn’t that significant in an overarching military sense (the fall of Vicksburg, a day later, was far more damaging to the South).
Everyone knows the words “The Alamo,” but I don’t think many average Americans have much of a feel for what happened there or why it was important. Hell, technically the United States was not even directly involved.
Maybe Lexington and Concord?
1863 (?) Union won?
1846 (?) Texans lost
1877 (?) A glorious win for the good guys.
Given your criteria, I’d have to say Pearl Harbor comes the closest.
The Alamo is a good call, but the one that to me is really iconic is the Battle of San Jacinto.
Twenty minutes long, and as a direct result of it, the USA wound up gaining vast amounts of new territory in the Texas/NewMexico/Arizona areas. It totally changed the western expansion of the USA.
For a single battle, I would have to say Gettysburg. It was the largest battle ever fought in the Americas, and made the Confederacy’s defeat only a matter of time.* (Vicksburg was a siege rather than a single battle, and doesn’t qualify even if it had strategic importance.)
The Alamo and Little Big Horn were legendary battles, but had little strategic importance. And few people could give you the date the occurred. Case in point (unless this was a whoosh):
[QUOTE=Dale Sams]
1846 (?) Texans lost
1877 (?) A glorious win for the good guys.
[/QUOTE]
Alamo: 1836
Little Big Horn: 1876
*Yes, I know it can be argued that the Confederacy’s defeat was always inevitable, but Gettysburg sealed the deal.
I’d say Iwo Jima because it has pictures.
How many people (outside of Texas) do you think could describe what happened in the battle, and give the date?
Reason I picked The Alamo is that it seems like a classic story of a stubborn underdog which everyone loves; I think an iconic battle would also have to have a simple narrative - easy to sum up in one sentence. Lexington and Concord are good choices, Hastings likewise earns its place in English history as the beginning of what’s recognisably England, a genesis.
Do most Americans think of Pearl Harbor as a ‘battle’, as such? I know that by definition it was, but as a sneak attack it seems to fall outside what most people imagine as a battle.
I’d only vaguely heard of this one, but it certainly looks like it warrants study as responsible for the make up of the country today (again, like Hastings did for England).
Doesn’t exactly fit your description, but I’d consider the Battle of Baltimore in 1814. You may think you never heard of it, but it was commemorated in a little song called The Star Spangled Banner. 
It also says something (for good or bad) about how the US sees itself when in conflict, kind of a “They picked on us and we’re getting back at them” mentality, as was also seen at Pearl Harbor, the 9-11 attacks, etc…
By that criterion, the Battles of Saratoga and Yorktown were much more important. Likewise battles during the Mexican War (even though, like San Jacinto, they didn’t take place on US territory).
That’s a good question. I’ll nominate the Battles Lexington & Concord which were the first military engagements of the American Revolution and resulted in a victory for the former colonist. It wasn’t the bloodiest battle, it wasn’t the strongest victory, but it was the “shot heard 'round the world.”
The battle of the Alamo is misrepresented, misunderstood and had no real heroes. It was, in the end, a battle to preserve slavery; it had almost nothing to do with the USA; and by most accounts, it was utterly avoidable - Santa Anna could have simply boxed in the little installation and marched right past.
If that’s representative of the signature US battle, explain why John Wayne was never President. (That’s not a rhetorical question.)
I, too, would say Gettysburg, if not Bunker Hill. Most of the battles in the War for Independence were actually minor skirmishes or extended sieges; Bunker Hill comes closest to being the archetypal “Revolutionary War battle.”
I’d like to nominate Bunker Hill, even though most people guess wrong when asked who won. We ran out of ammo, despite the iconic orders of our generals.
Lexington & Concord. By a mile.
The privately armed and pissed off local rabble (ahem, “minutemen”) defeated England’s professional army and chased them with their tail between their legs back to Boston… . All in defense of their ammo cache.
I mean… seriously. Can it get more American than that?
The Alamo? Piffle. Losing’s for losers.
Agreed. Thinking in terms of “know the date,” I only came up with Pearl Harbor and 9/11, but I figure the second one doesn’t count because (a) that’s cheating and (b) not really a battle at all.
This is a brilliant choice because it coincides with my birthday (not the same year!)
Johnny Horton got a hit record out of the Battle of New Orleans which I personally think ought to be swapped out with the SSB as the national anthem.
I’m not sure even I am understanding the question.
The US may have early battles that set the destiny of the country (leaving out Pearl Harbor), but they were almost all in the Revolutionary War. Most Americans couldn’t tell you how long that lasted, what the dates were…etc…etc. and there’s never been a proper movie done about it. Which is a shame cause I’d love to watch one or watch a mini-series given real treatment. My impression is:
US loses, retreats, camps for the winter, gets the French onboard, get trained by …a German?..and eventually make it not worth the effort for the English. All over 9-11 (?) years.
In terms of A Battle of Hastings, the US can’t compare. They can’t even compare to A Battle of Britain. Or a Stalingrad.
Maybe the Battle of Midway would come close, but the average American couldn’t tell you crap about it.
Edit: The above mentioned Battle of Orleans used to get a lot of press, even though it came after both sides decided they were done. Though schools used to teach the US “won”. Hell, schools used to teach the US “won” every war they fought but Vietnam.
Even more than Trafalgar and Waterloo?
By far, if you ask me. Every British schoolchild knows about the Norman conquest, but not the Napoleonic Wars. I doubt the dates of Trafalgar and Waterloo are as well known as 1066.