ABSTRACT
In addition to its major military conflicts, the United States has fought a number of smaller wars. Some, like subduing the Barbary pirates, many of the Indian campaigns, and more recently the action in Grenada, were of such minor extent as not to warrant individual attention here. Three historical cases, however, stand out as being of sufficient significance to merit some detailed discussion: the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and the Spanish-American War.
