"The regulars are coming!"

This past Friday, as a kick-off to Lexington and Concord's annual celebration of Patriot's Day, Minute Man National Historical Park sponsored a re-enactment that dramatized the moments surrounding the capture of Paul Revere by British soldiers, or "regulars". This included a half-hour vignette based on two letters Revere wrote about his ride. The weather was clear and the moon not quite full, much as it was that night of April 19th, 1775.

Revere left Boston by boat at 10:00pm on April 18th and reached the Charlestown shore where he waited for the custodian of the Old North Church to give him the signal. Soon two lights shone in the steeple and Revere rode off on the horse the Colonialists had waiting for him, as he shouted word that "the Regulars are coming". Another rider, William Dawes, had taken the land route south around Boston and the two met on the Bay Road, now known as Battle Road.

Dawes and Revere rode to Lexington where they alerted Hancock and Adams about British movements. While there they ran into Dr. Samuel Prescott who was on his way home after having spent the evening visiting his fiancee. The result of their conversation was that Prescott agreed to join Dawes and Revere on their mission.

Along the Battle Road in Lincoln they were abruptly halted by British soldiers who were out patrolling. While Paul Revere engaged his British captors, Dawes saw an opportunity and made a daring escape on horseback, only to fall off his horse later, preventing him from continuing. Prescott, pulling away before the British had even had a chance to actually capture him, vaulted over the stone wall and galloped away along the route through the woods back to Lexington which he knew because he lived there. Prescott went to ask for help from his brother, who then joined him on the night ride.

Dr. Prescott and his brother would be the only ones to make it to Concord. The British held Paul Revere for about two hours, then released him but kept his horse. Revere walked to Lexington where he arrived before dawn.

I was very impressed by Paul Revere's bravery as well as that of Dawes and Prescott. At the outset of the capture, one of the Redcoats yelled, "Stop or I'll blow your brains out!" In spite of this treatment and even after the British became aware of who they had captured, a Son of Liberty no less, Revere remained confident, even defiant and did not waiver in the least. This re-enactment was based on Revere's representation of the events of April 19th, 1775, and although he may have expected his account would become historical evidence, one thing besides the night air was clear. Paul Revere, along with William Dawes and Samuel Prescott, were true American patriots.



Information was taken from signage at the Paul Revere Capture Site on the Battle Road in Minute Man Historical Park, from the video presentation at the Lincoln Visitors Center, 250 North Great Road and from the re-enactment of Paul Revere's Capture, performed Friday, April 15, 2011 at the Bloody Angle in Lincoln, Massachusetts.

For more information about Minute Man Historical Park visit their website at
http://www.nps.gov/mima/index.htm