Asian Americans, who are Americans of Asian descent, have fought and served on behalf of the United States since the American Revolutionary War. During the American Civil War Asian Americans fought for both the Union and the Confederacy. Afterwards Asian Americans served primarily in the U.S. Navy until the Philippine–American War.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Asian Americans began to attend U.S. military academies, and the first Asian Americans were awarded the Medal of Honor. World War I saw Asian Americans serving as "non-whites" in the National Army. After World War I, Asian American service fell into obscurity until World War II when significant contributions by Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, and Korean Americans were documented.

With the desegregation of the U.S. military in 1948, segregated Asian American units ceased to exist, and Asian Americans served in integrated armed forces. Asian American combatants in the Korean and Vietnam conflicts were awarded the Medal of Honor, and Asian Americans have continued to serve into the present day.

18th century American Revolutionary War

Historian Daniel Sieh states that Asian Americans during the American Revolutionary War, while few, were fairly widespread throughout the colonies, numbering at least a hundred during the 1770s and 1780s. Asian Americans during the Revolution largely served as "sailors, servants, and enslaved people." In the diaries of American naval captain John Paul Jones, Malays were listed as one of the ethnicities who were part of the crew of the USS Bonhomme Richard during the Battle of Flamborough Head in 1779.

Another four Asian Americans, who are well-documented, are also known to have fought in the American Revolution (two serving with the American Continentals and two with the British).

19th century

War of 1812

During the War of 1812, General Andrew Jackson recorded that "Manilamen" had fought under his general command in defense of New Orleans, under the direct command of Jean Baptiste Lafitte. Following the war, at least one Filipino American, Augustin Feliciano, continued to serve in the U.S. Navy. From the end of the War of 1812 to the beginning of the American Civil War, Asian Americans were not recorded in the annals of U.S. military history.

American Civil War

Many more Asian Americans served in the forces of both sides of the Civil War, being born in various places including Amoy, Batavia, Bombay,The city of Bombay was, and under its modern name of Mumbai. During the British Raj, it was the seat of government of the Bombay Presidency. It is possible that "Bombay" in the source refers not only to the city itself, but also to that much larger region which made up the presidency. Borneo, Burma, Calcutta, Canton,Canton has multiple meanings. The source is unspecific, but only two of the meanings relate to Asia (more precisely, to China). Those are the old romanized names of the city of Canton (modern Guangzhou), which was the capital of the province of Canton (modern Guangdong). It is unclear whether the narrower or the broader meaning was intended. Changchow,There are two cities, both in China, whose names were at one time romanized as Changchow: Changzhou in Jiangsu Province and Zhangzhou in Fujian Province. Both are sizable port cities. The source does not say which one, or both, was meant. Ceylon, China, East Indies, Goa, Kingdom of Hawaii, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Java, Lahore, Manila, Malaya, Mauritius, Moulmein, the Philippines, Siam, Singapore, and Sumatra.

Indian-American Charles J. Simons, an Anglo-Indian, was awarded the Medal of Honor, for his actions during the American Civil War in the Battle of the Crater in 1864.

Below is listed in alphabetical order.

Burmese Americans William C. Lutter, born in Moulmein, Burma circa 1840, enlisted in New York for one year as a United States Navy sailor in September 1862. He served onboard the USS Mohican.

Chinese Americans

In 1861, a Chinese American by the name of John Tomney joined the New York Infantry, eventually dying of wounds received at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863.

Joseph Pierce (his chosen name) was brought to the U.S. from China by his adoptive father, Connecticut ship captain and Far East trader Amos Peck. Pierce enlisted on 26 July 1862 and was mustered into the Fourteenth Regiment, Company F of the Connecticut Volunteer Infantry that became part of the Second Brigade of the Third Division, Second Army Corps of the Army of the Potomac. From 1862 to 1865, Pierce fought in pivotal battles of the war, fighting in major campaigns from Antietam to Gettysburg to Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House. Pierce achieved the highest rank of any Chinese American to serve in the Union Army, reaching the rank of corporal. Pierce's picture hangs in the Gettysburg Museum. In 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution honoring the actions of Pierce and other Asian-Pacific Islander soldiers of the Civil War.

Edward Day Cohota was born in Shanghai, China, and was "adopted" by the captain of the merchant ship Cohota, Sargent S. Day. He served in the 23rd Massachusetts Infantry during the American Civil War. After the war, he rejoined the Army and served for 30 years. Cohota believed he was a U.S. citizen by virtue of having served in the Union Army, but his service had not automatically conferred citizenship upon him, and the passing of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 kept him from becoming a naturalized citizen.

William Ah Hang, a Chinese American, became one of the first Asian Americans to enlist in the U.S. Navy in 1863. In total more than 50 Chinese Americans fought, on both sides, in the Civil War. Of those who served, only a handful received recognition of their service in the form of pension, benefits, or citizenship. An exception was Ching Lee, who took the alias Thomas Sylvanus and served in the 81st Pennsylvania Regiment.

Filipino Americans

Filipino American, Felix Cornelius Balderry, served in the Union's Michigan 11th Infantry. Other Filipino Americans served in the U.S. Navy aboard the Little Ada, the Conemaugh, and other ships.

There are accounts of Filipino Americans serving in Louisiana with the Confederacy during the Civil War; one served aboard the C.S.S. Alabama, and some served in the Louisiana Zouaves.

More than a hundred documented Native Hawaiians also served in the Civil War, however due to poor record keeping of non-white combatants, the origin of some participants like Prince Romerson have been claimed by both the Filipino and Native Hawaiian communities as many are listed under anglicized names such as "John Boy" with no other information other than as being from "The Sandwich Islands" with dark eyes, hair and complexion.

Indian Americans A number of individuals from India and the Indian subcontinent served during the American Civil War.

Anthony F. Gomez, who was born in Lahore in 1837 as Conjee Rustumjee Cohoujee Bey to an aristocratic Parsi family, joined the United States Navy in 1863 after settling in Brooklyn, New York and converting to Christianity, serving during the Civil War. After the Civil War, he moved to San Francisco in 1867, married a local woman, and worked for the Navy until his death in 1911 from pneumonia.

Charles J. Simons, born in Bombay, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of the Crater. He enlisted as a sergeant in 1861 and was assigned to Company A, 9th New Hampshire Infantry Regiment in 1862. He was promoted to Second Lieutenant in 1864 and First Lieutenant in early 1865. He died in 1914 in Chicago, Illinois.

Indonesian Americans A number of individuals from Indonesia served during the American Civil War.

John Brown, a 27 year old from Java enlisted three years with Company F, 40th New York Infantry Regiment in 1861. He was discharged for disability in April 1862.

Thai Americans The famous "Siamese Twins", Chang and Eng Bunker, owned slaves and a farm in Mount Airy, N.C. Their oldest sons — cousins Christopher Wren Bunker and Stephen Decatur Bunker, born to Chang and Eng, respectively — joined the 37th Virginia Cavalry Battalion. In 1864, Christopher Bunker was captured and imprisoned at Camp Chase, where he caught smallpox. After the war, both Christopher and Stephen settled in Mount Airy.

George Dupont migrated to the US from Siam in 1860 and served in Company B, 13th New Jersey Infantry Regiment during the Civil War. He saw action at the Battles of Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Sherman's March to the Sea. He became a naturalized American citizen after the war and moved back to Thailand to become a drill master for the then newly-created Royal Siamese Army. He received a pension for an injury he received post-war. He died in 1900 in Siam and was buried in the Bangkok Protestant Cemetery in Bangkok, Thailand.

Antone Henry served in the United States Navy as an ordinary seaman from 1864 for three years. He was born in 1844 in either Roto (near Guam) or Siam. He served on the USS Ohio and the USS Colorado.

19th century Asian American military academy graduates

In the late 1860s, Asians were accepted into the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. Matsumura Junzo was the first to graduate in 1873. Matsumura was a foreign national, and like the other Asian graduates who attended around this time who went on to serve their own nations' militaries, upon graduation he served in the Imperial Japanese Navy, eventually reaching the rank of captain. Nearly forty years passed before the first Asian American U.S. nationals followed in the footsteps of these foreign nationals and were accepted into the various U.S. military academies.

Spanish–American War

Another lull in recordings of Asian American service followed the end of the Civil War until the Spanish–American War. When the sank in Havana Harbor, seven of the casualties were Japanese Americans and one was a Chinese American. Later in the war it was recorded that Japanese Americans served aboard U.S. warships in the Battle of Manila Bay; the Philippine–American War, previously known as the Philippine Insurrection, followed.

20th century

Philippine–American War and Moro Rebellion

In 1901, the Philippine Constabulary and Philippine Scouts were initially founded to assist the U.S. against the forces of the First Philippine Republic and the insurgency that followed after its collapse. That same year President William McKinley signed an executive order to allow 500 Filipinos to enlist in the U.S. Navy. From these routes of enlistment came the first Asian American recipients of the Medal of Honor. Private Jose Nisperos, a Philippine Scout, protected his party from Moros; for this action, he received the Medal of Honor in 1911. In 1915, Fireman Second Class Telesforo Trinidad, along with Ensign Robert Webster Cary, was awarded the Medal of Honor for saving fellow crewmembers when the boiler of the exploded. and As of 2011, Trinidad has been the only Asian American recipient of the naval version of the Medal of Honor. During the Presidency of William Howard Taft, Filipino Stewards began to serve in the White House, a practice that would continue into the end of the 20th Century, to include during the Presidency of Bill Clinton.

20th century Asian American military academy graduates

Vicente Lim was one of the first Asian Americans to graduate. A Filipino American and U.S. national from the Philippines, Lim graduated from West Point in the class of 1914 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Philippine Scouts. He was the first of a handful of Filipinos accepted into West Point under a quota system that required one Filipino to be appointed in each class, with no more than four being enrolled at any one time.