Which battle on April 19, 1775, opened the American Revolutionary War?

The Battles of Lexington and Concord opened the American Revolutionary War on April 19, 1775.

British regulars marched from Boston toward Concord to seize colonial military supplies. Colonial riders, including Paul Revere and William Dawes, helped spread the warning that troops were moving into the countryside. At Lexington Green, fighting broke out between British soldiers and Massachusetts militia. The British continued to Concord, where colonial forces confronted them and forced their retreat toward Boston.

The events were the first military engagements between the colonies and Great Britain in the war that led to American independence. The phrase “shot heard round the world” later became associated with the opening exchange, especially through Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poem, although the exact first shot remains disputed.

The battles did not settle the conflict. Colonial militia surrounded Boston, the Continental Congress created a unified army, and George Washington assumed command. The war continued for eight years before the 1783 Treaty of Paris recognized the United States.