by Laila Khan

Created on: July 06, 2008

When one thinks of the poem "Paul Revere's Ride" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, one thinks of Paul Revere heroically riding from the Old North Church in Boston through fields, farms, and towns, ultimately arriving in Lexington to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that the British were coming because he saw two lanterns in the belfry of the church. While this is a patriotic poem, it is also historically inaccurate. There was another rider that night, who was overlooked because Paul Revere was praised for his role in the Battle of Lexington and Concord. Let us compare and contrast the history of the midnight ride of Paul Revere with the actual historic events in order to gain a greater appreciation of the poem while still accounting for the history.

The first major inaccuracy concerns the lanterns lit in the Old North Church. Historically, Revere was the one to light the lanterns while he was in Boston, not the messenger on the opposite shore that saw the signal. This leads into the second major inaccuracy, that Revere was the only rider. There were actually several different riders that night. William Dawes was the first messenger to see the lanterns and begin his ride. In fact, Revere didn't begin his ride until thirty minutes after Dawes had already left, because Revere was still on the wrong side of the river.

The ride through Concord is yet another inaccuracy. Revere never made it to Concord, as he was stopped by British officers along the way. Dawes and a third rider, Samuel Prescott, were traveling with Revere when he was stopped, but managed to escape from the officers. Prescott was actually the only rider that made it to Concord.

Longfellow knew of these facts when he wrote the poem, because he had access to Revere's writings, but decided to ignore the historical content in favor of prose. Though this makes for a famous and patriotic poem, it is not a historical account. The poem can be appreciated, nonetheless. Longfellow created a hero out of a participant. Though Paul Revere did play a part in the events of the night, he was not the hero he was made out to be.

Learn more about this author, Laila Khan.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.