One of the pitfalls in studying history is the lack of fact-checking. Once an action has been recorded in print, it becomes gospel. A mistake is self-perpetuating. This has been amplified a hundredfold in our age of social media, but it certainly didn’t start there. I would like to take a vote: how many of us have an image of Paul Revere riding gallantly to Concord, yelling, “The British are coming.”? Thus enabling the Patriots to amass a militia to confront the invading Redcoats.
There are two big flaws to this tale: Revere would never have used the word “British.” All of the colonists were British. Revere was British, George Washington previously served in the British Army. Half the households he rode by were known Loyalists (supporters of the King). The second flaw is that British troops had already occupied Boston and the surrounding area for some time. There was no pending “invasion.” We vaguely recall our school history books as saying Revere had been spurred on to his frantic trip by reading a signal lantern in the Boston church tower. “One if by land, two if by sea!”
I was guilty myself of holding onto this patriotic image. When Tracy and I went to Boston and Plymouth to enjoy the New England fall colors and visit historical sites, the tour guides were adamant about correcting this myth. Did Paul Revere ride to Concord and Lexington? Yes, only he did it on April 16, 1775. delivering a message from the Boston Safety Committee. It was a covert mission. Two days later there was a more urgent message to deliver. It was so important that two riders were dispatched. William Dawes and Paul Revere. Dr. Joseph Warren summoned Revere and asked him to ride with news that British regular troops were about to march northwest out of Boston, planning to arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock in Lexington. The troops were also under order to seize the Minutemen’s arsenal at Concord. Paul crossed the Charles River into Charlestown, borrowed a horse from John Larkin at 11 p.m. and arrived at Lexington at 12. He was able to warn Adams and Hancock to flee. These two were prominent traitors to the Crown being hunted for sedition. Capture would have meant execution. William Dawes arrived at Lexington later by a longer route. They met a Dr. Samuel Prescott, who wanted to help spread the word. The three of them — Revere, Dawes and Prescott — agreed to separate and increase the chances that one of them would get through to Concord. Revere was soon captured by a British patrol, detained for a while and released. The Army kept his borrowed horse, however, and he walked back in the dark to Lexington. He never finished the famous ride to Concord! Dawes was the only one of the three to make it to Concord and alert the Minutemen. On April 19, 77 British Regulars arrived at the Concord village green to be greeted by a much greater number of armed insurgents. The Battle of Lexington began open warfare and the fight for American freedom.
By ED PECK | Special to the Herald Times
