![AmericanRevolutionaryWarMon.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/AmericanRevolutionaryWarMon.jpg)
British attempts to disarm the Massachusetts militia in Concord led to open combat and a British defeat on April 19, 1775. Militia forces then besieged Boston, forcing a British evacuation in March 1776, and Congress unanimously appointed George Washington to command the Continental Army.