The Battles of Lexington and Concord are considered the opening battles of the American Revolutionary War commemorated by America250.
The fighting began on April 19, 1775, in the Massachusetts towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, and Menotomy. British regulars marched from Boston to seize colonial military supplies, while colonial militia mobilized to oppose them.
The first clash occurred on Lexington Common, where the circumstances of the opening shots remain historically disputed. At Concord, colonial forces confronted the British at the North Bridge. During the British retreat to Boston, militia units repeatedly attacked along the road.
The engagements did not immediately create an independent United States, but they transformed political resistance into open war. The Battle of Bunker Hill followed near Boston on June 17, 1775, while Saratoga and Yorktown came later in the conflict.