The American Revolution was a process that went on for decades. In the midst of the evolving political revolution, a war broke out. The British government was not interested in letting their colonies be self-governed, rebellious, or independent. So, when the "redcoats" rolled out of Boston to capture rebellious legislators and colonial weapons stashes in Concord, Massachusetts, the "minutemen" responded. With actual bullets flying, the American Revolutionary War began. This episode of the podcast looks at the developments that led up to the Battle of Lexington and Concord, through the events that followed, such as the capture of Fort Ticonderoga and the Siege of Boston. Note: In the episode, I mistakenly credit the phrase "the shot heard 'round the world" to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The phrase comes from Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Concord Hymn."