3. The Ellwood Beach Attack
While the Japanese certainly gained attention for their attack on Pearl Harbor, it generally goes unmentioned that they were active on the West Coast during WWII as well. For example, in 1942, they launched a submarine attack near Santa Barbara, California.
Despite Japanese submarines and American ships agitating each other in the Pacific ocean, no real bombardments occurred on land. That was until Commander Kozo Nishino, the skipper of the I-17, decided to go after America’s oil fields and halt fuel production. In February 1942, he brought the I-17 to surface, shooting off the cannon in obvious battle mode.
Overall, the Japanese crewmen inflicted little damage on the Ellwood oil field, along with its surrounding areas. However, the surprise attack did shock California, who were rarely engaged in battle of any sort up until that point.
2. The Thornton Affair
As the US was still beginning to form, Mexico was fighting for more of North America as well. And when, in the 1840s, the US annexed Texas into its territory to gain more land, Mexico was less than thrilled with this predicament. After all, Mexico claimed territory near the Rio Grande – yet the US was making their own claims on the area.
While tensions increased, President James K. Polk ordered US troops to settle near the Rio Grande, alerting the Mexicans to a possible attack. Before finding themselves steamrolled, a Mexican infantry force also crossed into the US, ready for battle.
Needing eyes on the situation, Seth Thornton commanded US scouts on horseback to explore the Texas countryside, where they eventually collided with Mexican forces. The Americans were vastly outnumbered by Mexicans, with only 70 scouts facing an estimated 2,000 Mexicans. In the brief assault that ensued, 16 scouts fell to their deaths.
These results angered US officials, and Congress declared war on Mexico for killing Americans on their own soil. Whether the battle actually was carried out on US territory remains a mystery, but this incident eventually led to the Mexican-American War, which later shaped the history of the western United States.