You’ll recall that the Committees of Correspondence had been created by the colonies to maintain communication amidst the rising conflict between the mother country and its English colonies. Each committee had selected members or other interested patriots to become express riders who would deliver documents to the other colonies, riding north or south as needed.

Perhaps the most famous of those express riders was a silversmith, artist, entrepreneur, and member of the Sons of Liberty named Paul Revere.

The story of his most famous ride was immortalized decades later by one of my favorite narrative poets, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

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.

Longfellow was correct with his date and time, and as he unfolds the story, he recounts the events of that evening; unfortunately, he does not mention the other riders who also sprang into action. Revere remains the most recognizable name, and as exceptional a patriot that he was, the story is larger than the man remembered.

History reminds us that Dr. Joseph Warren had received notice that the British were landing yet another wave of soldiers in Boston, and their intent — their assignment — was to locate the most influential of the Sons of Liberty, arrest both, and return them to the British authorities to stand trial. Their targets: Samuel Adams and John Hancock. Both men were staying outside Boston in the small town of Lexington, and nearby might be the second target for the troops — the gunpowder stores at Concord. One quick military movement might capture the ringleaders of this “rebellious plot” and the means by which the fight might become more than just words exchanged. Warren alerted Revere, and Revere stood ready to sound the alert.

In reality, Warren’s “information” was faulty. No warrant had been issued for the two patriots, although additional troops were indeed to move into the countryside, with perhaps the munitions stores as their primary targets and the intimidation of the residents living around Boston as an added bonus.

It would later be shared that Paul Revere had contacted his friend Robert Newman, sexton at the Christ Church in the North End of Boston, and requested his assistance. The accuracy of the troop movements would help predict their target, and the two men arranged a simple signal — lanterns hung in the church’s tower.

Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light, —
One, if by land, and two, if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm

Revere, in the intervening time, made his way to the North End waterfront, where two friends rowed him across the river to Charlestown. After informing the Charlestown Sons of Liberty of the events unfolding and assuring that they could see the church’s tower and stood ready to help spread the alarm, Revere made ready for his ride. When his friend, Richard Devens, observed that a British patrol was near his planned route, Revere changed course and rode first to Medford and the home of Isaac Hall, local militia captain, who alerted all the houses in Medford and the nearby regions.

Revere arrived in Lexington by midnight and went straight to the house where Adams and Hancock were residing. First denied admission by the guard standing watch, Revere supposedly shouted out, “The regulars are coming!” to which Hancock ordered him into the house. William Dawes, another express rider who had ridden a different route to Lexington while alerting the minutemen along that path, arrived shortly after Revere. Joined by Dr. Samuel Prescott, the three riders galloped off for Concord to help secure the military weapons and munitions. They were intercepted outside Concord; Dawes and Prescott escaped to warn Concord while Revere was detained and his horse seized.

And what was happening back in Boston?

British Lt. Col. Francis Smith had assembled 700 regulars and began deployment to capture or, if necessary, destroy the armories at Concord. Because of the express riders, by the time the British crossed the water, word of their movements had already reached Concord.

The sun would rise on a scene of minutemen, armed and waiting on the town greens.