How did the American Revolutionary War break out?

British Major John Pitcairn ordered the outnumbered Patriots to disperse, and after a moment's hesitation the Americans began to drift off the green. Suddenly, the “shot heard around the world” was fired from an undetermined gun, and a cloud of musket smoke soon covered the green. read more

France entered the American Revolution on the side of the colonists in 1778, turning what had essentially been a civil war into an international conflict. After French assistance helped the Continental Army force the British surrender at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781, the Americans had effectively won their independence, though fighting would not formally end until 1783. read more

Major Campaigns of the American Revolutionary War On April 18, 1775, 700 troops were sent to confiscate militia ordnance stored at Concord. Fighting broke out, forcing the regulars to conduct a fighting withdrawal to Boston. read more