What were the first major battles of the American Revolutionary War?

The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first major battles of the American Revolutionary War.

The fighting took place in Massachusetts on April 19, 1775. British soldiers marched from Boston toward Concord to seize colonial military supplies, while colonial militia mobilized in response. The first clash occurred on Lexington Common, where the circumstances surrounding the opening shots remain debated. Fighting continued at Concord and along the British retreat toward Boston.

The battles followed years of tension over taxation, representation, trade regulation, and the presence of British troops in Boston. They were not the first violent confrontations between colonists and British authorities—the Boston Massacre occurred in 1770—but they marked the outbreak of open warfare between the colonies and the British army.

The news spread rapidly through the colonies and helped bring delegates together for the Second Continental Congress. The conflict later expanded into a global war involving Britain, France, Spain, and the Dutch Republic. The first battles therefore connected local resistance in Massachusetts with the larger struggle for American independence.