During Paul Revere’s ride he was stopped and questioned by British soldiers: he describes this encounter in a 1789 letter maintained by the Massachusetts Historical Society, included here.
Thank you.
Even more interesting, perhaps, is the story of an ancestor of mine, Israel Bissell. Standing with Revere, Bissell’s job was to ride, non-stop to Philadelphia and inform the Continental Congress of the British invasion. This he did in 19 hours, killing two horses in the effort.
Upon his word, the gathered Congress began signing the Declaration of Independence.
And so it began...
Good book on “The Day”
The Day the American Revolution Began: 19 April 1775 Paperback, 2001, by William H. Hallahan (Author)
The events you describe are also in here, in detail.
A good read.
Actually Revere was an ancestor of Longfellow (great grandfather) so he got the credit
The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere is the ONLY poem that I ever truly enjoyed.
Will people ever tire of nitpicking great works of poetry and painting because “that’s not really what happened?” Recall Aristotle’s definition of all art, that it must not only imitate reality while at the same time transcending it. One of the glories of American art (even though it was painted in Germany) is the famous painting of Washington crossing the Delaware River to attack the Hessian contingent in Trenton, New Jersey. I’ve read so-called historically accurate articles ripping Emmanuel Leutze’s masterpiece as impossibly naive because the boat was too short, it was pitch-black dark and sleeting, who stands up in a boat, etc. But it wasn’t meant to be an illustration - it was meant to be a great painting. It both imitated reality (Washington and his army really did cross the Delaware) but transcended it by becoming a depiction of Washington’s boldness and desperation heading into a do-or-die battle.
It doesn’t take much historical research to learn “the facts” of Paul Revere’s ride. But like Leutze, Longfellow’s poem wasn’t about just the facts of that night but rather using those facts as a basis for an inspiring poem which sought to capture the drama of the situation as well as the patriotism of the men who lived it.
We can easily nitpick the nitpickers but why bother? Stand in front of the painting and/or read the poem and be as inspired as the artist and writer hoped you would be. People act on emotion and justify it later with fact. So be moved to action by the emotion great works of art and literature and music inspire and let lesser men “pick the nits.”
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/218989.The_Minute_Men
Excellent little book by General Bernard Galvin about Lexington and Concord.
The horse’s name is believed to have been named “Brown Beauty” loaned to Revere by the Reverend John Larkin. It was a Narragansett Pacer. The one if by land, two if by sea signal was made from the Old North Church.
Post #4 by FReeper "NFHale "
"The Day" the American Revolution Began: 19 April 1775 Paperback, 2001, by William H. Hallahan (Author)
The events you describe are also in here, in detail.
A good read.
Post #13 by FReeper "skepsel"
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/218989.The_Minute_Men
Excellent little book by General Bernard Galvin about Lexington and Concord.
Also, follow some of the posting comments: some comedy, mostly serious and informative.
Thank you for posting this.
Good post.
I once had Paul Revere’s statue up on my FR page because he told the “country folk to be up and to arm.”
It got taken down, probably by the owner of the photograph, since I didn’t have permission to use it.
Dr Prescott made the call at my ancestral home. Hence my Free Republic handle!thanks for posting!
Revere had the better publicist.
Very important in today’s world.
Revere EARNED his poem! Read David Hackett Fischer's Paul Revere's Ride. His service to the Revolution was way more than his alarm ride on the 19th (18th, actually) of April, 1775.