Where were the first battles of the American Revolution fought?

• A. Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts
• B. Yorktown, Virginia
• C. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• D. Boston, Massachusetts

Answer: (A)

The first battles happened in Massachusetts, when colonial militiamen and British troops clashed on April 19, 1775, at Lexington and Concord. These early encounters mark the start of the American Revolution, with the “shot heard round the world” signaling the moment when fighting began. The fighting spread as the British moved back toward Boston, and the colonists' resistance at Concord helped turn small skirmishes into a larger conflict. The other places are important for later moments—Yorktown is where the war ended, Philadelphia hosted the Continental Congress, and Boston is where tensions and earlier actions set things in motion—but the very first battles occurred at Lexington and Concord.