The ride of Paul Revere and companions

1775 American Revolutionary War: Paul Revere, accompanied by William Dawes and Samuel Prescott, rode from Charlestown to Lexington, Massachusetts, to warn American militiamen of the advancing British forces, and of the impending arrests of Samuel Adams and John Hancock and seizure of weapons. Dawes and Prescott are relatively forgotten by history because the famous poem, 'Paul Revere's Ride' by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, glorified the Bostonian as a lone rider.

Dawes and Revere took separate routes to get to Lexington so the intelligence about the British would arrive safely. Dawes avoided a group of British guards by jumping over a wall. He reached Lexington at about 12:30 am on April 19, about half an hour after Revere. At 1:00 am they rode on together to go to Concord and were joined by Samuel Prescott. Later on, at Lincoln, they were detained by British guards, and Revere was escorted at gunpoint by three British officers back towards Lexington, but Dawes and Prescott escaped. While escaping, Dawes was thrown from his horse, which ran off; Dawes had to walk back to Lexington. Prescott made it to Concord, thus being the only one to finish 'Paul Revere's Ride' ...

Categories: usa, history