no mention of Dawes here, or did I skip it?
No, you didn't miss it - in a rush to trash Revere, Dawes was flushed down the memory hole. If they acknowledged Dawes, then they'd have to agree that Paul Revere did ride that night.
The premise that Revere was a composite is ridiculous. There is plenty of evidence that he played an important role that night. Now, perhaps it was just sloppy writing or editing, and what J. L. Bell meant was that the poem was the composite. Otherwise, he'd be saying that Paul Revere was a fictional character.
Plenty of unsung heroes played an important role on those historic days in April 1775. But it is hardly Paul Revere's fault that they went unsung. Why must they take it out on him?
My choice for headline would have been "Bissell got swept under the rug"