Paul Revere. It seems like everyone’s heard of Revere. “Listen my children and you shall hear, of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.” That’s from a poem by Longfellow about Paul’s infamous ride.
Unfortunately, it isn’t terribly accurate. But neither, really, is what we learned in school. Basically, what I learned in school was that Paul Revere rode through the countryside yelling “The British are coming, the British are coming.” Some folk showed up in a place called Lexington Green. A shot was heard around the world. And the Revolutionary War started. That’s pretty much it.
It wasn’t until well into adulthood, when I was at an Appleseed shoot that I began to hear more.
Like Paul Revere didn’t shout “The British are coming.” That would have been silly, since they all considered themselves British citizens. If he yelled, he likely yelled “The Regulars are out.” The Regulars were the Redcoats. When they did marches through the Massachusetts countryside, it was quite unusual for them to be out after dark. And this march was begun after ten at night.
Another thing I heard for the first time was that Revere didn’t make it to his target audience. Sure he made it to Lexington to warn John Hancock and Sam Adams who were staying there at the Rev. Jonas Clarke’s home. After all there was a serious price on the heads of those two men. Warning them was essential. Warning Lexington was essential. But Revere’s target was Concord, another five miles east of Lexington. This was where the Redcoat Army was headed to confiscate their arms and ammunition.
Revere didn’t make it to Concord. He was captured on his way there by a Redcoat patrol. He was later released but his mission was not completed. At least not by him.
Ten points if you know who completed that mission.