1. The Battle of Fort Recovery occurred on July 3, 1794, in present-day Mercer County, Ohio, just across the Indiana border. The battle was a decisive victory for American forces led by Major General Anthony Wayne over Native American tribes who opposed American expansion in the Northwest Territory.

2. On July 3, 1816, Indiana became the 19th state to join the Union. The state's first capital was the town of Corydon, and its current capital is Indianapolis.

3. One of Indiana's most famous native sons, Eugene Debs, was born on July 3, 1855, in Terre Haute. Debs was a labor leader and socialist who ran for president five times on the Socialist Party ticket. He was also a vocal opponent of World War I and was sentenced to 10 years in prison for speaking out against the draft.

4. The USS Indiana, a battleship commissioned in 1895, was named in honor of the state. The ship participated in the Spanish-American War and later served as a training vessel before being decommissioned in 1916. A new USS Indiana was commissioned in 2018 and is a Virginia-class submarine.

5. The Indiana Dunes National Park was established on July 3, 2019, making it the country's newest national park. The park encompasses 15 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, as well as sand dunes, wetlands, and forests, and is home to a diverse array of plant and animal species.