The first shots fired at the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, were triggered by ongoing tensions between colonial militias and British troops. The immediate cause was the British Army's attempt to seize colonial military supplies stored in Concord, Massachusetts.
Concerned about the growing revolutionary sentiment and armed resistance among the colonists, British General Thomas Gage ordered a detachment of troops to march to Concord to confiscate the weapons and arrest revolutionary leaders such as Samuel Adams and John Hancock.
As British troops approached Lexington, they encountered a small group of colonial militia, known as Minutemen. A confrontation ensued, and amidst the standoff, a shot was fired—often referred to as "the shot heard 'round the world." This shot marked the beginning of open conflict between the American colonies and British forces, igniting the American Revolutionary War.
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