Which event began the American Revolutionary War, according to the United States National Park Service’s commonly used chronology?

The Battles of Lexington and Concord began the American Revolutionary War in April 1775.

British regulars marched from Boston toward Concord to seize colonial military supplies. Colonial militia confronted the British at Lexington on April 19, 1775, where the first shots of the conflict were fired. The British continued to Concord, but colonial forces gathered rapidly and attacked them during the retreat toward Boston.

The fighting transformed a political crisis into an armed rebellion. Although the colonies had not yet declared independence, clashes had already occurred between Britain and colonial protesters, including the Boston Massacre in 1770. Lexington and Concord marked the opening of sustained warfare between British forces and colonial troops.

The Battle of Bunker Hill followed in June 1775, while the Declaration of Independence came more than a year later. Yorktown, in 1781, was the war’s decisive final major land campaign, but it was not the beginning of the Revolution.