For America250, which 1775 engagement is widely regarded as the first battle of the American Revolutionary War?

The Battles of Lexington and Concord are widely regarded as the first battles of the American Revolutionary War, making them an essential starting point for America250 history. They took place on April 19, 1775, in Massachusetts.

British troops marched from Boston toward Concord to seize military supplies and arrest colonial leaders. Colonial militia confronted the British at Lexington, where the first shots were exchanged, and then resisted them at Concord and along the route back to Boston.

The fighting transformed a political crisis into an open war. Militia from surrounding communities gathered around Boston, beginning the Siege of Boston and setting the stage for the Battle of Bunker Hill.

The events are often shortened to “Lexington and Concord,” although the fighting involved several locations, including Menotomy, now Arlington. The phrase “shot heard round the world” comes from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s later poem, not from a contemporary battlefield report.