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Born on January 1, 1735 in Boston, Massachusetts to Huguenot parents (French Protestants of the Reform Church), Paul Revere was destined to enter his father's silversmith business. Although by all accounts he was an exceptional silversmith, making such items as silver, copper and molded teeth, he was avidly interested in American liberty. Answering a British call to arms, he served for a short time in the French and Indian War. However, Revere was a patriot through and through, became a member of the "Sons of Liberty", a clandestine revolutionary group. As an active Sons member, he participated in the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773, protesting the British excessive tea tax by dumping ten thousand pounds (British money) of tea into the Boston Harbor. As a skilled horseman, Revere volunteered to transport information for the patriot cause over great distances to warn of British military movement and to deliver other important information. He also organized a spy network throughout Boston to gather information on British movements and activities. His controlled agents walked the streets and British camp areas, relating back to Revere the number of soldiers, equipment, arms, and their supply lines from the harbor. Revere would then report that information in detail to Sam Adams and John Hancock. The revolutionaries assembled secret militia groups in towns and villages throughout Massachusetts. Of course, the other side also had their spies working, attending secret meetings and patriot functions. By 1775, open conflict was not to be avoided. British General Thomas Gage was given direct orders to march into the countryside and seize all arms and military supplies secreted by the patriots. Gage could foresee many problems with his orders, but reluctantly moved forward to complete his task as directed. Revere learned of Gage's orders and plans to launch an offensive through his spy network. He immediately warned Hancock, who left the area to assemble the militia. It was on that night he told William Conant, another patriot living across the Charles River, that he should look for a lantern signal in two nights to relate the method of attack from the British when they leave Boston, the famous "one if by land, two if by sea" signal. Revere and others put out two lanterns to indicate the British were leaving Boston in small boats. Revere was tasked to ride throughout the countryside to sound the alarm. Revere, along with William Dawes, rode through the night stating, "The Regulars are coming out!" It is now believed he never actually called out "The British are coming" as we are taught in early American History, because the Patriots considered themselves British. There is some controversy on what he actually said (it could have been "British troops are coming"), but there is no doubt he conducted the ride (along with others) and called out warnings of the imminent attack. Just outside of Charlestown, two British soldiers stopped him at a roadblock and grabbed the reins of his horse. The roadblocks were to prevent colonists from communicating with each other and to try to capture Hancock and Adams. He kicked one of the soldiers in the face and spurred forward, escaping capture. He arrived in Lexington and warned Hancock and Adams of Gage's offensive movement and plans. He continued his ride on to Concord, where he was to warn the Patriots of the attack. Just outside of Lincoln (before reaching Concord), Revere and Dawes were confronted by another British roadblock. Dawes got away and Revere was captured. During his interrogation by the British, he told the British a lot of information about their own mission, some of which those particular British soldiers didn't even know! He also told them he had been riding around the countryside informing the Patriots of the British plot and that the British were at severe risk if they remained in the vicinity. He was bluffing of course, but with enough truth in his statements to make it very believable. A short time later Revere and his British captors heard a shot. Revere told them that the shot was a signal to alarm the country and the militia will be ready to mount their own attack. A few short minutes after his explanation of the shot, a volley of musketry from the direction of the Lexington meeting house sounded and immediately after that the Lexington town bell began clanging rapidly! This sufficiently scared the British that were holding Revere (they believe his explanation that they were going to be under imminent attack) to let him go and they retreated to a larger component of British forces, leaving Revere to finish his mission (he had to walk to Concord). Revere made it to Concord and delivered his message. In actuality, the single shot was a stroke of luck and aided Revere in his fabrication. The musketry sounding off was undoubtedly due to the discharging of weapons required before entering a tavern (the only way to unload a musket is to discharge it and some taverns did not allow loaded weapons). The ringing town bell was actually clanging to alert the militia that the British regulars were moving, but it was a general alarm and not a specific alarm of imminent threat. These factors definitely assisted Revere in his deception and absolutely assisted in getting him freed to carry out his mission. Revere was in Lexington when the "shot heard 'round the world" was sounded. It has never been decisively determined who fired the first shot as both sides blamed the other, but the result of that shot was eight Patriots and no British killed. Although he continued some espionage activities, he devoted considerable time to the printing of Continental currency, and the seals of America and the state of Massachusetts. Revere died on May 10, 1818 and his famous "ride" was eulogized in a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow titled Paul Revere's Ride. References: |
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