Although eyewitnesses disagree on how it happened and who fired first, the first shot of the Revolutionary War was fired at the Battle of Lexington, in the early orning of April 19, 1775.The 'battle" was actually a skirmish when British soldiers enroute to Concord came across armed colonial militiamen. After a brief exchange of fire, the Americans dispersed. It was not until later in the day that Minutemen, warned by Revere, Dawes, and others, routed a force of Redcoats at the Battle of Concord. These separate battles are often considered as a whole as the first open conflict in the war.