Did they? I remember studying about that in Elementary school. Maybe most people forget history from Elementary school I suppose? We went over the Civil War and the World Wars for quite a while in Elementary school.
We also studied the War of 1812. It was a crushing, symbolic defeat in battle for the fledgling nation, although it didn't make much difference in total.
Lots of interesting battles too. I live in the corridor between Detroit and Toronto. Battles all up and down those lakes