By Todd Andrlik
USA – -(Ammoland.com)- Because of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s famous poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride,” most people think that Revere was critical to the start of the Revolutionary War.
In trying to dispel Longfellow’s myth of a lone hero, modern scholars have portrayed Revere as just one rider among dozens on 18-19 April 1775, and argued that his previous rides for the Patriot cause might have been more important.
A survey of newspapers from 1774 and 1775 shows that in fact those earlier rides had made Revere prominent enough that he did stand out in reports of the fighting at Lexington and Concord, even as Massachusetts authorities kept the extent of his activities quiet.
Paul Revere was a man who wore many hats. He was well known throughout New England for his engravings, his silver work, his Masonic fellowship and his political activity. Plus, in 1774 and early 1775, Revere worked as an express rider for the Boston Committee of Correspondence and the Massachusetts Committee of Safety. He frequently carried letters, newspapers and other important communication between cities, including Boston, Hartford, New York and Philadelphia. Revere’s early dispatches related to some of the biggest American events of the eighteenth century, including the destruction of the tea, the Boston Port Bill and the Suffolk Resolves.
In December 1774, at the age of 39, he rode to Portsmouth to alert local Patriot leaders that the Royal Navy was on its way to seize gunpowder and arms from Fort William and Mary.
Newspaper printers would eagerly print Revere’s tidings, frequently attributing the particular intelligence to being delivered by “Mr. Paul Revere,” and often emphasizing his name in all capital letters. At least 33 New England newspaper issues (from 10 different New England titles) prominently plugged Paul Revere, the express, during the 10-month window between 9 May 1774 and 12 March 1775. Even newspapers in the middle and southern colonies, as well as overseas, frequently re-attributed content from Philadelphia, New York and Boston to Paul Revere’s dispatches.
This extraordinary volume of newspaper coverage certainly cemented Revere’s popular status as the principal Patriot messenger.
Revere’s name also appeared in the newspaper reports of the Battle of Lexington and Concord, but in notably different ways.
Read the entire article and learn the truth about Paul Revere : How Paul Revere’s Ride Was Published And Censored In 1775 : https://tiny.cc/rzdvtx
About Todd Andrlik
Todd Andrlik Todd Andrlik, founder and editor of Journal of the American Revolution, is curator, author and editor of Reporting the Revolutionary War: Before It Was History, It Was News (Sourcebooks, 2012 tiny.cc/pmevtx ), named one of the Best Books of 2012 by Barnes & Noble and Best American Revolution Book of the Year by the New York American Revolution Round Table. Featuring hundreds of high-definition color newspaper images and analysis from three dozen historians, Reporting the Revolutionary War is a one-of-a-kind single volume that lets readers experience the Revolution the way the colonists did—as it unfolded in their very own town newspapers. “This is ‘you are there’ history at its best” -American History magazine. A full-time marketing and media professional, Andrlik has written or ghost-written thousands of published articles on various business topics. His history-related work has been featured by Slate, Huffington Post, Boston Globe, Smithsonian, TIME, NPR, C-SPAN, CNN, MSNBC, Mount Vernon, American Revolution Center, Fraunces Tavern Museum and more. Follow Todd on Twitter @RagLinen, and for more information, please visit beforehistory.com.
About Journal of the American Revolution
Regularly featuring groundbreaking research and perspective from 80 expert writers, Journal of the American Revolution is the leading source of information about the American Revolution and Founding era. In a world of increasing historical illiteracy and apathy, the popular online magazine publishes passionate, creative and smart content intended to make history more palatable to a broad audience. Journal of the American Revolution also produces an annual hardcover volume that features its most resourceful articles. For more information, please visit https://allthingsliberty.com.
anything to minimize heroics and American myths and legends. God bless the country that has heroes. Woe unto the country that needs them.
Well the reason for that might be. Because The Articles of the Constitution weren’t written until December of 1791…