CHAPTER ONE THE MIDNIGHT RIDE OF PAUL REVERE Paul Revere mounted his horse just before midnight on April 18 1775 Revere was a patriot He opposed British rule He thought the American colonies should be independent Revere rode from Boston to Lexington Massachusetts He needed to warn fellow patriots John Hancock and Samuel Adams that British soldiers were coming for them His ride lasted into the early hours of the next morning Paul Revere borrowed the horse he rode during his midnight ride from a fellow patriot named John Larkin
Revere called out to the colonists as his horse galloped He warned them that British forces from Boston were about to arrive The soldiers were looking for weapons the colonists were stockpiling The British are coming Revere is said to have yelled Revere is now seen as one of the most PAUL REVERE'S RIDE Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a New England poet He told Revere's story in his poem Paul Revere's Ride Longfellow wrote it 80 years after the event Historians say Longfellow was trying to inspire men He wanted them to join the Union army at the start of the Civil War 1861 1865 But the poem became a source of misinformation for future generations important figures of American history His warning kept the British from gaining the upper hand in the coming war Revere's ride was a key part in starting the American Revolutionary War 1775 1783 This war won the colonists their independence from Great Britain It also led to the creation
of the United States But the story about Revere is one of many tales from the time that include as much fiction as fact In 1775 the American colonists saw themselves as British So Revere would not have called the soldiers British He likely warned that the regulars were coming This was what the colonists called the British soldiers Colonists nicknamed them this because the British soldiers were in the regular British Army Revere also did not make his famous journey alone William Dawes and Samuel Prescott also helped These men were just a few of the many people who spread the important message It is true that Revere played a key role in this major event In addition to his ride he thought of a secret way to warn minutemen These were volunteers who fought for the colonies They were ready to fight at a minute's notice But even minutemen needed warning time to defend themselves Revere told them to watch
