Paul Revere is most noted for alerting the militia of the British intentions prior to the battles at Lexington and Concord, but his impact on the American Revolution goes much deeper than one horse ride.
Paul Revere joined the Sons of Liberty in 1765 and started to plant the seeds of covert operations to undermine British rule and authority over the next 10 years. As a skilled blacksmith, his business was hit hard by the economic downturn that followed the French and Indian War, and he turned to engraving to help spread anti-British sentiment. His most notable piece was “The Bloody Massacre perpetrated in King Street,” an engraving used to shape public opinion about the massacre in Boston.
Leading up to the Revolutionary war, Revere was a courier for the Boston Committee of Correspondence, riding communications to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia and between Boston and New York, where he quickly learned the importance of timely and accurate intelligence. He was involved in developing and expanding a network of covert signals and people by participating in meetings at the Green Dragon Tavern with fellow couriers who also doubled as spies, gathering key information on British occupation and movements in and around the Boston area.
In September 1774, the British seized gunpowder stored in Somerville, Massachusetts. However, the failed response by the Colonials only helped improve “The Powder Alarm” network developed in part by Paul Revere, and when the British attempted another seizure of arms and gunpowder, the courier network and alarm system was well rehearsed.
The “One, if by land, and two, if by sea” phrase by the American poet, Henry W. Longfellow in his poem, showcased the story of Paul Revere’s greatest contribution to the American Revolution.
The two lanterns placed in the Old North Church Steeple signaled to the surrounding militia the British would be crossing the Boston Harbor instead of approaching by land. This warning and subsequent victory at the Battle of Concord in April 1775, inspired Americans and marked the start of the American Revolution.
Paul Revere stood for his principles and so should you by signing the Article V Convention of States petition to stop federal government overreach, fiscal spending and to add term limits!
