Who were Paul Revere and the minutemen?
Paul Revere (1735–1818) was a silversmith (one who makes objects from silver) who rode on horseback from Boston, Massachusetts, to nearby Lexington to warn the minutemen—volunteer soldiers ready to fight the British at a “minute’s notice”—about the arrival of British troops. Paul Revere’s ride is considered the start of the American Revolution (1775–83; a conflict in which the American colonies gained independence from Great Britain). This famous event, which was commemorated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882) in the poem “Paul Revere’s Ride” (1863), took place on the night of April 18, 1775. Revere was watching for a lantern signal that was to be flashed from Boston’s Old North Church—one light if the British were approaching by land and two if they were arriving by sea. Although the signal was not being sent to Revere, but instead to his compatriots in…
