Road To Liberty: The Ride of Paul Revere (What Really Happened)

Paul Revere, a Boston silversmith and committed patriot, was a member of The Sons of Liberty, which among other things, gathered intelligence and tracked British military movements. Working with Dr. Joseph Warren, Revere passed vital information to Patriot groups to protect their supplies and leaders from British raids.

On the night of April 18, 1775, Dr. Warren learned that British troops planned to march to Concord, Massachusetts to disrupt the American colonists’ plans and destroy their supplies. Revere sprang into action to warn his fellow Patriots of the impending British action.

Revere created a simple signal system using lanterns in the steeple of Boston’s Old North Church to warn local Patriots: one lantern if the British came by land, two if by sea. That night, two lanterns were hung.

Revere’s famous ride covered more than twelve miles. Along the way, he alerted a network of riders and key Patriots, helping ensure the militia was ready the next day at Lexington and Concord. Though Revere was briefly captured by British troops towards the end of his famous ride, he was released after being questioned and fortunately, he had already accomplished his mission to warn colonists that “the British are coming” prior to being detained.

While several riders played roles that night, Paul Revere’s swift warning and legendary ride became a symbol of American resistance and helped spark the first battles of the Revolutionary War. His bravery was memorialized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s famous poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride,” which became a rallying call for liberty and equality for all at the start of the Civil War.