July 4, 1776, is a date that every American knows is special. It was the day when the Continental Congress, representing the 13 American colonies, issued the Declaration of Independence, officially severing ties with Great Britain to form the United States of America. For nearly two and a half centuries, we’ve celebrated that day with parades and picnics and fireworks. But the Revolutionary War began over a year before, on April 19, 1775, near Boston, with “the shot heard round the world.” The night before, Paul Revere had made his famous “midnight ride”
