History note: Paul Revere didn't warn anybody of anything. He was arrested

[Recursion]

Longfellow basically made that whole thing up.

EDIT: Good catch by Manny: the arrest was in Lincoln, east of Concord, not Watertown, west of Boston. So he did warn about half of Middlesex.

[MannyGoldstein]

1. Uh... No.

Better check again.

But if he was stuck in Watertown, I'd hope that he nosed on sushi from Super Fusion, and picked up some prepared Armenian foodstuffs for the road from Sevan.

[Recursion]

3. Well, he would have warned people in Cambridge (then New Town) and Watertown

But it was Dawes that made it out to Concord.

[MannyGoldstein]

4. Uh... No.

IIRC, they both got to Lexington and Concord, although they technically didn't warn the Concordians because when they reached Lexington, fresh men were sent ahead to go to Concord while Revere and Dawes rested.

A great book on the subject is Paul Revere's Ride. His ride turns out to be one of his least remarkable acheivements.

[Recursion]

5. Yeah. There's a little plaque where it happened

Dawes, Prescott, and Revere got detained by a patrol. Prescott and Dawes escaped, and Revere spent the night in the custody of the army.

[MannyGoldstein]

6. Then he was captured out by Lexington/Concord, not Watertown

Then released a short time later, whereupon he did his job. From Wikipedia:

Revere, Dawes, and Prescott were detained by a British Army patrol in Lincoln at a roadblock on the way to Concord.[41] Prescott jumped his horse over a wall and escaped into the woods; he eventually reached Concord. Dawes also escaped, though he fell off his horse not long after and did not complete the ride.[50]

Revere was captured and questioned by the British soldiers at gunpoint. He told them of the army's movement from Boston, and that British army troops would be in some danger if they approached Lexington, because of the large number of hostile militia gathered there. He and other captives taken by the patrol were still escorted east toward Lexington, until about a half mile from Lexington they heard a gunshot. The British major demanded Revere explain the gunfire, and Revere replied it was a signal to "alarm the country". As the group drew closer to Lexington, the town bell began to clang rapidly, upon which one of the captives proclaimed to the British soldiers "The bell's a'ringing! The town's alarmed, and you're all dead men!"[51] The British soldiers gathered and decided not to press further towards Lexington but instead to free the prisoners and head back to warn their commanders.[52] The British confiscated Revere's horse and rode off to warn the approaching army column. Revere walked to Rev. Jonas Clarke's house, where Hancock and Adams were staying. As the battle on Lexington Green unfolded, Revere assisted Hancock and his family in their escape from Lexington, helping to carry a trunk of Hancock's papers.[53]

[Recursion]

7. Huh, Lincoln? OK, so he would have also warned about half of Middlesex. Correcting OP.

Fair enough. He didn't make it to the Adamses, at any rate. I guess my sleep-deprived brain is misremembering where the plaque was.

[MannyGoldstein]

8. There's no good Armenian grub in Weston. Remember that.

The Wikipedia article says that he specifically *did* warn Adams.

Also, he was one of many riders. He was one of the first, but they had a system where riders would notify other riders, and so forth, so they'd fan out all over.

[Recursion]

9. My larger point was that Longfellow idolized one out of dozens of people

and the one he picked was the one who ended up getting caught by the regulars.

[MannyGoldstein]

10. Do yourself a favor - read the book I recommended

I'll be happy to send my copy.

I get your point, and is ironic. But after you read the book, you'll curse Longfellow for making Revere famous for only one accomplishment.

[Recursion]

12. Will do; I find Revere and the Adamses fascinating

I've worked at historic sites in the southern theater of the Revolution, but the northern theater always had a better cachet.

[MannyGoldstein]

14. Let me know if you come up Boston way

I'll show you the sights. I'm a history buff myself.

DU mail me your address if you'd like me to send the book.

[MADem]

2. You remember Watertown? The place where the good citizens were "tools" for allowing the

cops to look for the Boston bomber, and were mocked on this very board for helping the police in their search for the guy.

Ya gotta consider the source around here, I fear.

[William769]

11. Next someone is going to tell me George Washington was not the first President.

I fucking give up!

[cali]

13. Methinks you miss the point. n/t