[Beowulf9]

Wow. That looks very weird but is well recited:)

[real saxophonist]

That was pretty cool. Thanks. By ‘animation’, I was expecting a cartoon or CGI of the actual ride, but this was a pleasant surprise.

[Tupelo]

Wonderful poem.
However I have often wondered if Paul Revere actually did call out; “The BRITISH are coming. The BRITISH are coming.”
After all he was and considered himself a British citizen. I think he probably said something like, “The Redcoats are coming.” or maybe “The army is coming.” To me it makes more sense.

[WKUHilltopper]

Interesting...and a great poem!

[agrarianlady]

Longfellow was a poet and a mythologist in the sense that he created wonderful poetry about our history, to create a warm sense of connection with it.

He was not, however, trying to be an accurate historian. This is why Sarah Palin was unfairly mocked after repeating what she’d heard at a historical presentation of Paul Revere’s ride.

My ancestors were John Alden and Priscilla Morrison, so we listened to Longfellow’s “The Courtship of Miles Standish” and enjoyed it very much, but we giggled at the historical outlandishness.

This is a great book:

http://www.amazon.com/Paul-Reveres-David-Hackett-Fischer/dp/0195098315

[BlueLancer]

He saw two lanterns in the North Church Tower
And knew this was to be the fateful hour,
For a man to ride and to alarm
Ev'ry village and ev'ry farm;
To awaken them and call to arms,
It was the ride of Paul Revere.

Ride, ride though the night be cold,
Ride, ride 'til the truth be told,
Ride, ride like that man of old,
Ride like Paul Revere.

In '75, upon an April night,
The air was chilly and the moon shown bright;
They rowed him past the man-o-war,
Landed on the Charlestown shore,
Where the finest steed was ready for
The Ride of Paul Revere.

Ride, ride though the night be cold,
Ride, ride 'til the truth be told,
Ride, ride like that man of old,
Ride like Paul Revere.

He knew the British had the road patrolled,
Set out for Cambridge with a spirit bold;
He met two Regulars face-to-face,
Turned about at a lightning pace,
Until those men gave up the chase
And on rode Paul Revere.

Ride, ride though the night be cold,
Ride, ride 'til the truth be told,
Ride, ride like that man of old,
Ride like Paul Revere.

Arrived in Medford Town at 12 o'clock
And there alerted Adams and Hancock;
Ev'ry house, didn't miss a one,
Was aroused on that midnight run,
All the way to Lexington
On the ride of Paul Revere.

Ride, ride though the night be cold,
Ride, ride 'til the truth be told,
Ride, ride like that man of old,
Ride like Paul Revere.

But there were many who remained in bed
And, in history, their names are dead;
When faith and freedom within you die,
And when you hear the midnight cry,
And hoofbeats cross the moonlit sky,
Will you ride with Paul Revere?

Ride, ride though the night be cold,
Ride, ride 'til the truth be told,
Ride, ride like that man of old,
Ride like Paul Revere.

[AnAmericanMother]

He got busted by the Brits and they stole his horse . . . which was borrowed.

But he did sneak back and help John Hancock escape arrest.

[saminfl]

How old do you have to be to even know this happened?

[Verginius Rufus]

Of course it should be called "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Dr. Samuel Prescott."

Easter was on April 16th that year so the moon would have been a bit past full. Easter is always on the Sunday after the first full moon of spring (Northern hemisphere anyway), but that means full moon could have been any night from April 9 to April 15. It could have been just past full or already past third quarter by April 18th--in the latter case it wouldn't have risen until around midnight.

[Liberty Valance]

Paul Revere

- Arguably the first FReeper - he didn't even have dial-up but he had a horse and lantern and made historic use of both.