"Paul Revere's Ride" is an American poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that commemorates the actions of American patriot Paul Revere on 18 April, 1775. The poem was written on April 19, 1860 and first published in The Atlantic Monthly in January of 1861. It was later published in Longfellow's Tales of a Wayside Inn in 1863. Longfellow's poem is credited with creating the national legend of Paul Revere, a previously little-known Massachusetts silversmith.

Historic event

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Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott kept watch in Boston for the approach of British troops the day before the Battle of Lexington and Concord at the outset of the American Revolution. A system had been set up whereby an outlook in the bell tower of the Old North Church would hang one lantern to indicate that the British advance was by land over Boston Neck, or two lanterns to indicate that the British advance was by water across the Charles River to Charlestown. From his location in Charlestown, Revere saw the signal, two lanterns that meant the British were rowing across the river. Revere set out riding on the road to Lexington warning citizens to prepare for battle. Dawes had taken a different road and met up with Revere at Lexington. After stopping at a house where Samuel Adams and John Hancock were staying, Revere and Dawes rode west on the road to Concord where they met Dr. Samuel Prescott who was riding back to his home in Concord after visiting his girl friend.

After leaving Lexington on the road to Concord, the three men were stopped by British soldiers. Prescott escaped and continued to Concord. Dawes escaped soon after but got lost in the dark on the unfamiliar road. Revere was held for questioning and then taken at gun point to Lexington by two British officers. Revere's horse was confiscated and he walked back to Lexington with the two officers where he was released. Prescott arrived at Concord in time to warn the people there. Maps showing the routes on which Revere, Dawes, and Prescott rode can be found at this web site:

On April 19th the British sent a second brigade from Boston to reinforce the first column at Lexington. This prompted General Joseph Palmer, a member of the Massachusetts Committee of Safety, to send a second post rider Israel Bissell from Watertown, Massachusetts to warn Philadelphia by a chain of messages that detailed the Lexington battle.

Historical criticisms and inaccuracies

Many twentieth century historians have criticized that Longfellow's poem overstates the role of Revere in the night's events, often citing the ride of Israel Bissell, who traveled 345 miles compared to Revere's nineteen. There was also a young woman Sybil Ludington who made a similar ride of 40 miles from Danbury, Connecticut in 1777, who was not mentioned in Longfellow's poem.

In response to this argument, other critics reply that Longfellow's purpose was not historic accuracy, but instead to create an American legend. Of the various riders that night, Revere seemed more marketable for this purpose than Dawes, Prescott, or Bissell. Dawes got lost in the dark. Prescott died in prison two years later. But Revere survived the war and did complete the first part of his mission to warn Adams and Hancock. So Longfellow chose Revere to be the hero in his poem.

Others note that the line attributed to Revere, "The British are coming!", is probably not what he actually yelled as he rode through the towns. Most colonists of the time considered themselves British, and it is far more likely that Revere yelled something like "The regulars are coming out!".

Literary analysis

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William Butler Yeats once commented of Longfellow's style that "^* tells his story or idea so that one needs nothing but his verses to understand it." Many critics believe that this style, exemplified by "Paul Revere's Ride", was a key facet of Longfellow's popularity.

Among the most famous lines in American poetry are contained in opening stanza of this poem:

''Listen my children and you shall hear
''Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
''On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
''Hardly a man is now alive
''Who remembers that famous day and year.

Historical impact

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When written in 1860, America was on the verge of Civil War. In light of this, Longfellow created a stirring patriotic legend to remind New Englanders of the patriotism in the story of the country's founding. He warns at the end of the poem of a coming "hour of darkness and peril and need", implying the break up of the Union, and suggests that the "people will waken and listen to hear" the midnight message again.

References

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American poems | 1860 works