The "shot heard round the world" fired at Lexington, Massachusetts on April 19, 1775 began the War for American Independence. On July 4, 1776 the Continental Congress unanimously declared the independence of the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain, and embarked on the war that ended eight and a half years later on September 3, 1783 with the Treaty of Paris.

Books: Reference

American Eras: The Revolutionary Era, 1754-1783 edited by Robert J. Allison (1998)

Founding the Republic: A Documentary History edited John J. Patrick (1995)