Which battles on April 19, 1775, began the American Revolutionary War?

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

British troops marched from Boston toward Concord to seize military supplies and arrest Patriot leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock. Local riders and warning networks alerted colonial militias, allowing them to gather before the British expedition reached its objective.

The first fighting occurred at Lexington, where British regulars and Massachusetts militiamen exchanged fire at sunrise. The British continued to Concord, but Patriot forces confronted them at the Old North Bridge. During the withdrawal to Boston, additional militia units attacked the British column from the surrounding countryside.

The event is closely associated with the phrase “the shot heard round the world.” A frequent mistake is naming Bunker Hill as the war’s opening battle; that engagement occurred later, on June 17, 1775.