Paul Revere’s Other Riders

March 28, 2025

Myth:

“Alerted by signal lanterns, express riders Paul Revere and William Dawes eluded British patrols and spurred their horses toward Lexington along separate routes to warn Hancock and Adams.”¹

“When Revere and fellow patriot William Dawes saw two lights shine, they set off on horseback. Using two different routes out of Boston, they sounded the alert.”²

Busted:

Neither Paul Revere nor William Dawes received news of the Regulars’ advance by signal lanterns. In his classic “Paul Revere’s Ride,” published in 1861, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow exercised considerable poetic license with his legendary “One if by land, two if by sea” drama.

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In colonial America, taverns were commonplace throughout Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area. But these early American taprooms were much more than just watering holes. They served an important purpose in the community as a place for townsfolk to gather and plan. This proved especially important in the years leading up to the Revolution. Taverns became Patriot refuges, where decisions were made about separation from the Crown and what a more democratic form of government would look like. As British-colonial relations finally boiled over, taverns became meeting spots for Patriot militias to assemble and prepare for battle.