Which 1775 event began the American Revolutionary War, according to common historical usage?

The Battles of Lexington and Concord are commonly identified as the 1775 events that began the American Revolutionary War.

The fighting took place on April 19, 1775, in Massachusetts. British troops marched from Boston toward Concord to seize military supplies, but Patriot riders alerted local militia. A brief clash occurred at Lexington before the British continued to Concord, where militiamen confronted them at the North Bridge.

The British expedition then retreated toward Boston under sustained fire from growing numbers of colonial militia. The clashes transformed political resistance into open warfare and helped produce the Siege of Boston. The Second Continental Congress soon created the Continental Army and selected George Washington as its commander.

The event is sometimes described through the phrase “the shot heard round the world,” but that expression does not name the battle itself. Lexington and Concord were a connected series of clashes along the British route, not one isolated engagement.