(tense music) - On 19 April, 1775, the Revolutionary War began.

General Thomas Gage, the British Governor of Massachusetts, received orders to seize all weapons and gunpowder stores accessible to the colonials.

He ordered the British troops to march against the Patriot arsenal at Concord, and capture the Patriot leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock, known to be hiding at Lexington.

As the British advanced, Paul Revere and his famous ride warned the Patriots the force was on its way.

In reality, the Battle of Lexington was a small skirmish, but the British destroyed the cache.

But it allowed the militia men to congregate at Concord in a sizeable force.

At Concord, the British found themselves outnumbered and surrounded.

As the British retreated back to Boston, the colonials harassed their retreat.

The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first battles of the American Revolution, and seven years later, the United States of America was born.