The British AREN'T Coming??

by Emily Holmes
(Boston, MA, USA)

Did you know that there is no evidence that Paul Revere ever said the "British are Coming"?

Paul did travel by boat and horseback from his home in Boston's North End (today the Paul Revere House museum: http://www.paulreverehouse.org ) all the way to Lexington, MA where he warned John Hancock and Samuel Adams of the approaching troops. The guard on duty protecting the sleeping leaders of the Sons of Liberty reported many years later that Revere told him "the Regulars are out".

On his way to Lexington Revere had also stopped quietly at the homes of a few trusted friends and alerted them of the military movements. These friends and minutemen immediately began to spread the news to more people in the surrounding communities, but luckily Revere did not have to do all of that work himself!

Paul Revere has Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "Paul Revere's Ride" to thank for his international fame - but since it was written in 1860, more than 40 years after Revere's death the patriot had no idea that he would become famous for his "midnight ride".

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