Which battles began the American Revolutionary War before the Declaration of Independence?

The Battles of Lexington and Concord began the American Revolutionary War. They took place in Massachusetts on April 19, 1775, more than a year before the Declaration of Independence was adopted.

British troops marched from Boston toward Concord to seize colonial military supplies. Fighting first broke out at Lexington, and the colonial militia then resisted the British retreat along the road back to Boston. The clashes transformed political tension into open war.

The Declaration came later as Congress explained and justified separation from Great Britain. This chronology matters: the war began in 1775, independence was formally declared in 1776, and the conflict continued until the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Lexington and Concord are therefore the opening battles, not the war’s final or decisive engagements.