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The Story of Paul Revere’s Ride Still Holds Significance — 250 Years On



The legendary poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “Paul Revere’s Ride,” opens with the line, “Listen, my children…”

Indeed, we have long recounted to our children and ourselves the dramatic events of April 1775, where the renowned silversmith alerted the countryside to the advancing British troops, marking the true beginning of the American Revolution.

As with all great historical tales, Paul Revere’s Ride and the Battles of Lexington and Concord are layered with myth.

It is unlikely that Revere shouted, “The British are coming!” (since we still identified as British); he did not ride solo and didn’t reach Concord (where he was briefly detained by British forces); also, the celebrated Minutemen’s role is often exaggerated in popular narratives, as most colonial forces were standard militia.

Regardless of these details, the historic day of April 19, 1775, merits celebration in both prose and poetry, remaining every bit as remarkable as we learned in our childhood, even as our interpretations of history and heroes have shifted.

To maintain secrecy, the British dispatched troops at night from Boston to seize suspected caches of weapons in Concord.

They were quickly detected—the “one if by sea, two if by land” lanterns in the Old North Church were indeed real—and a race ensued.

This episode is among the most thrilling in American history: Paul Revere and others hurriedly alerting the countryside while British troops marched through the night, uncertain of their mission amid the sounds of alarm bells and gunfire.

Lexington lay ahead.

The militia gathered as a show of strength, not seeking conflict.

The identity of the person who fired “the shot heard ‘round the world” remains unknown; it could have been an accidental discharge.

Following this, the British fired volleys and charged with bayonets, resulting in the deaths of eight militiamen.

Concord was now fully mobilized.

Yet again, a standoff ensued, and once more, someone fired.

During this clash at North Bridge, the British fired a volley, but the colonists retaliated with deadly precision, leading to a shocking British retreat.

As their ranks grew, the colonial forces pursued the Regulars along the narrow Battle Road during their withdrawal to Lexington, with intense fighting areas named the Bloody Angle and Parker’s Revenge.

Contrary to popular belief, the militia did not primarily act on their individual impulses; they were effectively led.

The Americans consistently held their formation against British regulars throughout the day.

“It was an extraordinary display of courage, resolve, and discipline by citizen soldiers against regular troops,” historian David Hackett Fischer observes.

The subsequent, dispersed fighting along the Battle Road was also a strategic colonial decision—to avoid direct confrontation with a now bolstered and more numerous British force.

By the time the British returned to Boston, they had incurred substantial losses, with approximately 300 casualties compared to just 100 for the colonial forces.

The Americans ensured the news spread swiftly, creating an electrifying effect.

Thomas Paine, who had recently arrived in America, noted that “the country, into which I had just set my foot, was set on fire about my ears.”

John Adams remarked that Lexington “changed the instruments of War from the pen to the sword.”

While Lexington and Concord may have been minor engagements in the grand scheme, their consequences were monumental.

They signaled that an unyielding American populace could not be easily subdued.

Wadsworth concluded his poem with the following lines:

Through all our history, to the last,

In the hour of darkness and peril and need,

The people will waken and listen to hear

The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,

And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

May it always be so.

Twitter: @RichLowry



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