Which battle is widely regarded as the first major military action of the American Revolutionary War?

The Battles of Lexington and Concord are widely regarded as the first major military actions of the American Revolutionary War.

The fighting took place on April 19, 1775, in Massachusetts. British troops marched from Boston to seize colonial military supplies at Concord, while Patriot militia assembled at Lexington and nearby communities. The encounters marked the outbreak of open warfare between British forces and colonial resistance.

The first clash occurred at Lexington Common, where a small militia company confronted the advancing British regulars. The British continued to Concord, but colonial forces resisted there and attacked the retreating troops along the road back to Boston.

The phrase “shot heard round the world” is associated with the opening exchange, although the surviving accounts disagree about who fired first. The battles are sometimes treated as one event, but their name properly includes both Lexington and Concord.