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Paul Revere's Ride
Paul Revere's midnight ride is a legendary event in American history - yet it has been largely ignored by scholars, and left to patriotic writers and debunkers. Now one of the foremost American historians offers the first serious study of this event - what led to it, what really happened, what followed - uncovering a truth more remarkable than the many myths it has inspired. In Paul Revere's Ride, David Hackett Fischer has created an exciting narrative that offers new insight into the coming of the American Revolution. From research in British and American archives, the author unravels a plot that no novelist would dare invent - a true story of high drama and deep suspense, of old-fashioned heroes and unvarnished villains, of a beautiful American spy who betrayed her aristocratic British husband, of violent mobs and marching armies, of brave men dying on their doorsteps, of high courage, desperate fear, and the destiny of nations. The narrative is constructed around two thematic lines. One story centers on the American patriot Paul Revere; the other, on British General Thomas Gage. Both were men of high principle who played larger roles than recent historiography has recognized. Thomas Gage was not the Tory tyrant of patriot legend, but an English Whig who believed in liberty and the rule of law. In 1774 and 1775, General Gage's advice shaped the fatal choices of British leaders, and his actions guided the course of American events. Paul Revere was more than a "simple artizan, " as his most recent biographer described him fifty years ago. The author presents new evidence that revolutionary Boston was a world of many circles - more complex than we have known. Paul Revere and his friend Joseph Warren ranged more widely through those circles than any other leaders. They became the linchpins of the Whig movement. On April 18th, 1775, Paul Revere played that role in a manner that has never been told before. He and William Dawes were not the only midnight riders to ca
445 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1861
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About the author
David Hackett Fischer
19 books494 followersDavid Hackett Fischer is University Professor of History Emeritus at Brandeis University and one of America’s most influential historians. His work spans cultural history, economics, and narrative nonfiction, with major titles including Albion’s Seed, The Great Wave, Paul Revere’s Ride, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington’s Crossing. Educated at Princeton and Johns Hopkins, Fischer has combined scholarly depth with accessible storytelling throughout his career. His Champlain’s Dream further showcased his skill for biographical history, earning international recognition. Honored with the Pritzker Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing, he is celebrated for both his groundbreaking research and his dedication to teaching.
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April 24, 2025
Paul Revere still rides through the American imagination, the hoofbeats of his horse pounding out a drumbeat for liberty. My father used to tell me about how, when he was a grade-school student at Sacred Heart (a Catholic school in Washington, D.C.), he and the other students would be called upon to recite, “Listen, my children, and you shall hear/Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere…” And while Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s 1860 poem “Paul Revere’s Ride” may not be the elementary-school staple it once was, it still holds an influence in American culture, and it may well have inspired the title of David Hackett Fischer’s 1995 book Paul Revere’s Ride.
Fischer, an emeritus professor of history at Brandeis University, has made a name for himself as an historian whose work combines academic rigour with an engaging sense of the drama of history, and of history’s ongoing impact on the present. It is for that reason that books like Albion’s Seed (1989), Fischer’s exploration of how the influence of four distinct cultural groups from the British Isles persists in American life and culture to this day, have gained a wide and appreciative readership. Paul Revere’s Ride shares with Albion’s Seed exhaustive research, the results of which are set forth with a strong narrative edge and a flowing, graceful writing style.
The early passages of Paul Revere’s Ride introduce the reader to a colonial New England setting in which heavy-handed actions by the British Government are increasing the determination of New England colonists to assert their rights as Englishmen, even if force becomes necessary. Against that background, Paul Revere emerges not only as a skilled silversmith but also a leader in the incipient patriot cause.
In one of the book’s many helpful appendices, “Paul Revere’s Role in the Revolutionary Movement,” Fischer suggests that “the revolutionary movement in Boston was more open and pluralist than scholars have believed. It was not a unitary organization, but a loose alliance of many overlapping groups. That structure gave Paul Revere and Joseph Warren a special importance, which came from the multiplicity and range of their alliances” (p. 301). This passage provides a characteristic example of how Fischer illuminates new dimensions of a story that might already have seemed familiar to many Americans.
A highlight of Paul Revere’s Ride is, of course, Fischer’s account of Paul Revere’s ride. The colonists had anticipated that the British would move westward from Boston toward the village of Concord. Once the British forces’ intentions were clear, Robert Newman and Captain John Pulling – respectively the sexton and a vestryman for Christ Church – painstakingly ascended the 154 steps to the top of the steeple of Old North Church. Whigs across the way in Charlestown, watching the steeple very closely for the designated signal, soon saw that “two faint yellow lights were burning close together, high in the tower of the church. It was the signal that Revere had promised to send if British troops were leaving Boston by boat across the Back Bay to Cambridge” (p. 103).
One if by land, two if by sea. It is a moment that has taken on mythic significance in the American consciousness, as is Revere’s westward ride that followed.
Revere’s task was to warn patriot leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock, at Lexington, that both men had been targeted for capture as leaders of the American “rebellion.” The Charlestown Whigs found Revere a horse, and he began his westward journey.
Fischer is clearly having a grand time chronicling “the midnight ride of Paul Revere.” Moreover, I get the sense that Fischer must be an equestrian himself, given the way he describes how the earlier, calmer stages of Revere’s journey must have gone, once he had left Boston and Charlestown:
Then he turned west on the road to Lexington, and kicked his horse into an easy canter on the moonlit road. He always savored that moment – a feeling that any horseman will understand. Psychologists of exercise tell us that there is a third stage of running, which brings euphoria in its train. There is also a third stage of riding, called the canter. After the tedium of the walk and the bone-jarring bounce of the trot, the animal surges forward in an easy rolling rhythm. Horse and rider become one being, more nearly so than in any other gait. The horse moves gracefully over the ground with fluent ease, and the rider experiences a feeling of completeness, serenity, and calm. Paul Revere’s language [from his recollections] tells us that such a feeling came to him as he cantered along the Lexington Road. Even at the vortex of violent events that were swirling dangerously around him, he experienced a sensation of quiet and inner peace. (p. 107)
Not all of the midnight ride was cantering and inner peace, of course. Revere was spotted and accosted by British regulars, and in response Revere spurred his horse to a gallop, took a long detour (one that may have saved him from capture), and safely reached Lexington, where Adams and Hancock were lodging with a local clergyman. The warning had come in time, and the two patriot leaders were not captured.
After mentioning that Revere told a sharp-tongued American militia sergeant that “The Regulars are coming out!”, Fischer states that “The alert reader will note what Paul Revere did not say. He did not cry, ‘The British are coming’” – and the very good reason for his not doing so is that “In 1775, the people of Massachusetts still thought that they were British” (pp. 109-10) – that they were Britons in the colonies, fighting for the same rights that Britons enjoyed at home. The Declaration of Independence was still more than 14 months in the future when Paul Revere made his ride.
Another highlight of Paul Revere’s Ride is Fischer’s account of the battles of Lexington and Concord on 19 April 1775. At Lexington Common, the battle seems to have started almost by accident – many of the Americans seemed unsure whether or not to obey the British order to lower their weapons and disperse – but British troops fired en masse, and their actions shocked the Americans. Suddenly, Americans found themselves counting battlefield casualties that had been inflicted not by Frenchmen from Canada, or by hostile Indigenous Americans, but rather by British troops that were nominally in Massachusetts to “protect” American colonists.
Fischer captures well the emotions of shock and anger running through the minds of the people of Lexington as they mourned their newly dead fellow-townsmen and family members. As for militia commander Captain John Parker, he mustered his company, and ordered them to move toward nearby Concord. “The men were no longer in doubt about what to do. They were ready to give battle again, but on different terms” (p. 201).
At Concord Bridge, the story was indeed quite different. The American militia were well-prepared, and knew what to expect from the British. “The New England muskets rang out with deadly accuracy….The Americans aimed carefully and fired low. Many appeared to have drawn a bead on the British officers….The Regulars found themselves caught in a trap” (pp. 213-14).
Troop dispositions and tactics were with the Americans, and it was under those circumstances that the Battle of Concord took a turn that might once have seemed unthinkable to the colonists: “[T]o the amazement of American militia, the Regulars suddenly turned and ran for their lives. It was a rare spectacle in military history. A picked force of British infantry, famed for its indomitable courage on many a field of battle, was broken by a band of American militia” (p. 214).
This was the “shot heard round the world” immortalized in poetry by Ralph Waldo Emerson in “Concord Hymn” (1837):
By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.
Paul Revere’s Ride is meticulously accurate as history, and it captures the drama of history exceptionally well. I took this book along with me, on a conference trip to Boston; and once the conference was over, I found that Fischer’s book constituted a wonderful companion text for my walks along Boston’s Freedom Trail, and for a tour of the Minute Man National Historical Park at Lexington and Concord.
And Fischer’s book, like any great work of history, continues to inform conversations in the present day, long after the battle smoke from “the shot heard round the world” dissipated. When former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who was then a prominent Republican Party politician, visited Lexington and Concord in 2011, she claimed that Revere made his ride to let the British know “that they weren’t going to be taking away our arms” – that, in effect, the British Army’s march on the two villages amounted to an exercise in Democratic Party-style gun control.
Palin’s attempt to link Paul Revere’s ride with Republican Party politics of the time drew the immediate attention of fact-checkers, who were quick to cite Fischer’s book as evidence that the primary purpose of the British raid on Lexington and Concord, as stated above, was to apprehend Adams and Hancock as “rebel” leaders; the seizure of stores of colonial arms was a secondary goal. I remember that, on sites like the comments page of The Washington Post, conservative and pro-Palin readers would respond to citations of Fischer’s book with sarcastic comments like “Way to carry the water for the Democrats”; but no one could gainsay the rigour of Fischer’s research or the accuracy of his conclusions.
With the recent commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord, I anticipate that Paul Revere’s Ride is finding more readers from a new generation of history enthusiasts. That is exactly as it should be. This book is one of the best historical studies that I have ever read.
Fischer, an emeritus professor of history at Brandeis University, has made a name for himself as an historian whose work combines academic rigour with an engaging sense of the drama of history, and of history’s ongoing impact on the present. It is for that reason that books like Albion’s Seed (1989), Fischer’s exploration of how the influence of four distinct cultural groups from the British Isles persists in American life and culture to this day, have gained a wide and appreciative readership. Paul Revere’s Ride shares with Albion’s Seed exhaustive research, the results of which are set forth with a strong narrative edge and a flowing, graceful writing style.
The early passages of Paul Revere’s Ride introduce the reader to a colonial New England setting in which heavy-handed actions by the British Government are increasing the determination of New England colonists to assert their rights as Englishmen, even if force becomes necessary. Against that background, Paul Revere emerges not only as a skilled silversmith but also a leader in the incipient patriot cause.
In one of the book’s many helpful appendices, “Paul Revere’s Role in the Revolutionary Movement,” Fischer suggests that “the revolutionary movement in Boston was more open and pluralist than scholars have believed. It was not a unitary organization, but a loose alliance of many overlapping groups. That structure gave Paul Revere and Joseph Warren a special importance, which came from the multiplicity and range of their alliances” (p. 301). This passage provides a characteristic example of how Fischer illuminates new dimensions of a story that might already have seemed familiar to many Americans.
A highlight of Paul Revere’s Ride is, of course, Fischer’s account of Paul Revere’s ride. The colonists had anticipated that the British would move westward from Boston toward the village of Concord. Once the British forces’ intentions were clear, Robert Newman and Captain John Pulling – respectively the sexton and a vestryman for Christ Church – painstakingly ascended the 154 steps to the top of the steeple of Old North Church. Whigs across the way in Charlestown, watching the steeple very closely for the designated signal, soon saw that “two faint yellow lights were burning close together, high in the tower of the church. It was the signal that Revere had promised to send if British troops were leaving Boston by boat across the Back Bay to Cambridge” (p. 103).
One if by land, two if by sea. It is a moment that has taken on mythic significance in the American consciousness, as is Revere’s westward ride that followed.
Revere’s task was to warn patriot leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock, at Lexington, that both men had been targeted for capture as leaders of the American “rebellion.” The Charlestown Whigs found Revere a horse, and he began his westward journey.
Fischer is clearly having a grand time chronicling “the midnight ride of Paul Revere.” Moreover, I get the sense that Fischer must be an equestrian himself, given the way he describes how the earlier, calmer stages of Revere’s journey must have gone, once he had left Boston and Charlestown:
Then he turned west on the road to Lexington, and kicked his horse into an easy canter on the moonlit road. He always savored that moment – a feeling that any horseman will understand. Psychologists of exercise tell us that there is a third stage of running, which brings euphoria in its train. There is also a third stage of riding, called the canter. After the tedium of the walk and the bone-jarring bounce of the trot, the animal surges forward in an easy rolling rhythm. Horse and rider become one being, more nearly so than in any other gait. The horse moves gracefully over the ground with fluent ease, and the rider experiences a feeling of completeness, serenity, and calm. Paul Revere’s language [from his recollections] tells us that such a feeling came to him as he cantered along the Lexington Road. Even at the vortex of violent events that were swirling dangerously around him, he experienced a sensation of quiet and inner peace. (p. 107)
Not all of the midnight ride was cantering and inner peace, of course. Revere was spotted and accosted by British regulars, and in response Revere spurred his horse to a gallop, took a long detour (one that may have saved him from capture), and safely reached Lexington, where Adams and Hancock were lodging with a local clergyman. The warning had come in time, and the two patriot leaders were not captured.
After mentioning that Revere told a sharp-tongued American militia sergeant that “The Regulars are coming out!”, Fischer states that “The alert reader will note what Paul Revere did not say. He did not cry, ‘The British are coming’” – and the very good reason for his not doing so is that “In 1775, the people of Massachusetts still thought that they were British” (pp. 109-10) – that they were Britons in the colonies, fighting for the same rights that Britons enjoyed at home. The Declaration of Independence was still more than 14 months in the future when Paul Revere made his ride.
Another highlight of Paul Revere’s Ride is Fischer’s account of the battles of Lexington and Concord on 19 April 1775. At Lexington Common, the battle seems to have started almost by accident – many of the Americans seemed unsure whether or not to obey the British order to lower their weapons and disperse – but British troops fired en masse, and their actions shocked the Americans. Suddenly, Americans found themselves counting battlefield casualties that had been inflicted not by Frenchmen from Canada, or by hostile Indigenous Americans, but rather by British troops that were nominally in Massachusetts to “protect” American colonists.
Fischer captures well the emotions of shock and anger running through the minds of the people of Lexington as they mourned their newly dead fellow-townsmen and family members. As for militia commander Captain John Parker, he mustered his company, and ordered them to move toward nearby Concord. “The men were no longer in doubt about what to do. They were ready to give battle again, but on different terms” (p. 201).
At Concord Bridge, the story was indeed quite different. The American militia were well-prepared, and knew what to expect from the British. “The New England muskets rang out with deadly accuracy….The Americans aimed carefully and fired low. Many appeared to have drawn a bead on the British officers….The Regulars found themselves caught in a trap” (pp. 213-14).
Troop dispositions and tactics were with the Americans, and it was under those circumstances that the Battle of Concord took a turn that might once have seemed unthinkable to the colonists: “[T]o the amazement of American militia, the Regulars suddenly turned and ran for their lives. It was a rare spectacle in military history. A picked force of British infantry, famed for its indomitable courage on many a field of battle, was broken by a band of American militia” (p. 214).
This was the “shot heard round the world” immortalized in poetry by Ralph Waldo Emerson in “Concord Hymn” (1837):
By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.
Paul Revere’s Ride is meticulously accurate as history, and it captures the drama of history exceptionally well. I took this book along with me, on a conference trip to Boston; and once the conference was over, I found that Fischer’s book constituted a wonderful companion text for my walks along Boston’s Freedom Trail, and for a tour of the Minute Man National Historical Park at Lexington and Concord.
And Fischer’s book, like any great work of history, continues to inform conversations in the present day, long after the battle smoke from “the shot heard round the world” dissipated. When former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who was then a prominent Republican Party politician, visited Lexington and Concord in 2011, she claimed that Revere made his ride to let the British know “that they weren’t going to be taking away our arms” – that, in effect, the British Army’s march on the two villages amounted to an exercise in Democratic Party-style gun control.
Palin’s attempt to link Paul Revere’s ride with Republican Party politics of the time drew the immediate attention of fact-checkers, who were quick to cite Fischer’s book as evidence that the primary purpose of the British raid on Lexington and Concord, as stated above, was to apprehend Adams and Hancock as “rebel” leaders; the seizure of stores of colonial arms was a secondary goal. I remember that, on sites like the comments page of The Washington Post, conservative and pro-Palin readers would respond to citations of Fischer’s book with sarcastic comments like “Way to carry the water for the Democrats”; but no one could gainsay the rigour of Fischer’s research or the accuracy of his conclusions.
With the recent commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord, I anticipate that Paul Revere’s Ride is finding more readers from a new generation of history enthusiasts. That is exactly as it should be. This book is one of the best historical studies that I have ever read.
February 26, 2022
Before reading this book, I assumed the story of Paul Revere's Midnight Ride was overblown. A small story that over the years had taken on a life of it's own. After reading Fischer's book, I now realize Revere's story has been undersold, and that the myth has covered over how interesting and important Revere was in his time.
The book is broken down into three parts:
1) Paul Revere and his time. This is a great view of Boston in the time leading up to Revolution, and an even better portrait of who Paul Revere was. He is not like most of the Revolutionary era people we read about. He was by no means a Founding Father. He wasn't a writer. He wasn't a statesman. He wasn't a leader in any way. He was just an ordinary, local guy from Boston who was ready to do his part for the cause.
In this section Fischer compares Revere with Thomas Gage, the man who led the British side as the war began. Two really interesting parts came from that. One, a comparison of their different accents. Gage had what we think of as an aristocratic British accent. I just kind of assumed everybody in America sounded that way at the time, but even in the 1770s Bostonians like Revere were already talking in what we think of as a Boston (Bawston, dropped r's, etc) accent! We know that from the way Revere and his contemporaries there wrote.
The other interesting part was the family history of the Gages. For generations they always seemed to find themselves on the wrong side of history.
2) The midnight ride, Lexington, Concord. I knew about all of this, but only vaguely. Fischer gives the whole story - the lanterns in the Old North Church (one of them still exists in the Concord Museum), the ride (Revere was briefly captured!), the first shots, the first battle, and how the news spread in the aftermath. It's all well told but the most interesting part of this section to me were the events that sparked all those - the Portsmouth Alarm and the Salem Alarm. I had never heard of those and they were the best stories in the book.
3) Revere's story across history. Don't skip the appendixes! Here Fischer tracks how Americans have evolved Revere's story over the years to fit their times. A patriotic rallying point during the Civil War. A “peace-loving common man, ready to rise to great events” during World War 2. A capitalist during the battle against communism. A treacherous villain during the Vietnam war.
I did this as an audiobook but wouldn’t recommend it that way. The paperback has lots of great pictures and maps.
I really want to go to Boston now.
The book is broken down into three parts:
1) Paul Revere and his time. This is a great view of Boston in the time leading up to Revolution, and an even better portrait of who Paul Revere was. He is not like most of the Revolutionary era people we read about. He was by no means a Founding Father. He wasn't a writer. He wasn't a statesman. He wasn't a leader in any way. He was just an ordinary, local guy from Boston who was ready to do his part for the cause.
In this section Fischer compares Revere with Thomas Gage, the man who led the British side as the war began. Two really interesting parts came from that. One, a comparison of their different accents. Gage had what we think of as an aristocratic British accent. I just kind of assumed everybody in America sounded that way at the time, but even in the 1770s Bostonians like Revere were already talking in what we think of as a Boston (Bawston, dropped r's, etc) accent! We know that from the way Revere and his contemporaries there wrote.
The other interesting part was the family history of the Gages. For generations they always seemed to find themselves on the wrong side of history.
2) The midnight ride, Lexington, Concord. I knew about all of this, but only vaguely. Fischer gives the whole story - the lanterns in the Old North Church (one of them still exists in the Concord Museum), the ride (Revere was briefly captured!), the first shots, the first battle, and how the news spread in the aftermath. It's all well told but the most interesting part of this section to me were the events that sparked all those - the Portsmouth Alarm and the Salem Alarm. I had never heard of those and they were the best stories in the book.
3) Revere's story across history. Don't skip the appendixes! Here Fischer tracks how Americans have evolved Revere's story over the years to fit their times. A patriotic rallying point during the Civil War. A “peace-loving common man, ready to rise to great events” during World War 2. A capitalist during the battle against communism. A treacherous villain during the Vietnam war.
I did this as an audiobook but wouldn’t recommend it that way. The paperback has lots of great pictures and maps.
I really want to go to Boston now.
December 30, 2011
I wish that David Hackett Fisher wrote a book about every subject I was interested in. He writes the way my mind works--following every rabbit down its hole and yet finds a way of not loosing track of what he's talking about in the midst of all that exploration. He flushes out his subjects and events so completely that you can see them from angles you've never looked at them before, which makes his approach holistic in a way very few history books are.
Paul Revere's Ride is no exception to this assessment. When I was at Bunker Hill this summer, I noticed one of the Rangers reading this book at the information counter. So I asked her how it was because it had been on my 'To Read' list a long time. She looked up at me, and, a bit exasperated, said, "Paul Revere was really only in the first chapter. Now he keeps talking about all these other guys." I said, "Does he tell you about all the different militias, and who was fighting where and when?!" She said, "Yeah. You'll love it if you're into that stuff..."
Well, love it I did.
I've read a lot on the Revolution, I've visited Lexington and Concord, I've toured the historic sites in the area, and still this book was full of fresh information that made me appreciate the events of April 19 in a new way that was, admittedly, a bit horrifying. The battles that day were an organized bloodbath against the British Army. This book shocked me, and I loved it for it.
If you want to revisit an old subject in a new way, take this book off your "To Read" list and start it today.
Paul Revere's Ride is no exception to this assessment. When I was at Bunker Hill this summer, I noticed one of the Rangers reading this book at the information counter. So I asked her how it was because it had been on my 'To Read' list a long time. She looked up at me, and, a bit exasperated, said, "Paul Revere was really only in the first chapter. Now he keeps talking about all these other guys." I said, "Does he tell you about all the different militias, and who was fighting where and when?!" She said, "Yeah. You'll love it if you're into that stuff..."
Well, love it I did.
I've read a lot on the Revolution, I've visited Lexington and Concord, I've toured the historic sites in the area, and still this book was full of fresh information that made me appreciate the events of April 19 in a new way that was, admittedly, a bit horrifying. The battles that day were an organized bloodbath against the British Army. This book shocked me, and I loved it for it.
If you want to revisit an old subject in a new way, take this book off your "To Read" list and start it today.
November 23, 2025
In the winter of 1774-1775 Thomas Gage, British military commander in North America and royal governor of Massachusetts, with the intent to suppress resistance to and rebellion against His Majesty’s government, began seizing stores of powder and arms in New England towns with mixed results. After an embarrassing failure at Salem, increasingly exasperated by American patriots, in April 1775 he organized a large raid in force to seize the powder and cannon at Concord and to arrest Sam Adams & John Hancock in the process. This book is a meticulously researched and detailed narrative of the alarm organized and spread by Paul Revere and his associates that alerted the countryside surrounding Boston, and of the subsequent running battle of Lexington and Concord. The author does an excellent job of placing the readers in the midst of the unfolding action, making for a fascinating and graphic recounting of the events that ignited full blown revolutionary war from simmering rebellion. The perspectives of patriots and loyalists are explored. This is history that comes alive and is a pleasure to read. Highest recommendation.
January 18, 2023
This is an extremely readable account of Paul Revere’s Ride and the battles and skirmishes that followed at Lexington and Concord.
I read this book because the author, David Hackett Fischer, also wrote Washington’s Crossing which is on my favorites shelf and the best book I’ve read about the Revolutionary War. Fischer did not disappoint with this one either. It is a manageable 295 pages, complete with maps and illustrations located on the pages that are relevant. Fischer has the ability to communicate the details of this critical event in United States history without bogging the reader down in academic prose. He is one of the authors that has a knack of making history read like a novel and I highly recommend his work.
It begins like a biography of Paul Revere but upon the famous midnight ride the story becomes something much bigger than Revere and the classic Longfellow poem. The author describes the colonial warning system and how the word got out. Yes, social media in 18th century New England was a guy on horseback yelling something like “Town out…Regulars” but he didn’t yell “The British are coming” as in the iconic poem. Revere was like a spark in a tinder box. He was captured along his route with another rider and detained for a bit. A third rider escaped. It didn’t matter. The damage was done and word spread through Colonial America like a variant of the Corona Virus, even reaching a hunting camp in Kentucky which today is known as Lexington. The militias of New England (roughly 30% were minutemen) started to form and march toward Lexington and Concord and in the rear of the British force, threatening to cut it off from its base.
Here, the story morphs into a chronology of the shot heard round the world on the Lexington Green and the battles and skirmishes that followed from Lexington to Concord and back to Lexington again and all the way back to Boston. The 800 man force of grenadiers and light infantry was nearly swallowed up in the New England countryside by the militias that marched from far and wide. Luckily for the British, General Gage sent out a 1,200 man relief force with artillery to come to the aid of and rescue the original strike force. Together, they made a very formidable reinforced brigade of roughly 2,000 regulars from storied regiments. But somehow these regulars underestimated the pluck of the New England Militia. The Brits didn’t think to bring a wagon of ammunition until General Gage sent one after the fact. This wagon of precious ammunition was captured and these men were running dangerously low during their running fight back to Boston.
The book dispels a popular myth or misconception that I had that only smaller, company sized units and bushwhackers engaged the British but this is not the case. The author explains that The New England militias, from Concord back to Lexington stood against the British force in large formations at least 8 times. Six of those confrontations led to fighting, four at close quarters. Twice the British infantry was broken, at Concord Bridge and again west of Lexington Green. Fischer called it …an extraordinary display of courage, resolve, and discipline by citizen-soldiers against regular troops.
It was sometime during the retrograde movement between Lexington and Boston that a militia General named William Heath appeared on the scene. He employed something called a circle of skirmishers around the British brigade. Fischer writes that …New England produced a remarkable generation of self-taught military commanders who trained themselves by systematic study. They had virtually no military experience, but two of them, Nathanial Green and Henry Knox, would be among the most able generals on the American side. Another, the brilliant turncoat Benedict Arnold, would become arguably the most able general on both sides. William Heath was another of these….
It is not exactly clear to me why they did this. It seems like the militia had the ability to encircle and wipe the regulars out but General Heath chose not to. Were they afraid of the artillery or was it because they wanted another kind of victory? This was the first of many times that the colonists would fight a war of attrition that the British could never hope to win. The author argues that The men who led the New England militia were experienced in this sort of war. Equally important, they were also practical politicians who understood that in an open society a bloody victory can be worse than a defeat..
This leads to another important point. The Committee of Safety and the officers of the militia understood the importance of a public relations victory that today we are beginning to realize once again can be more important than victory on the field. Fischer explains that Lexington Concord was a small setback for the British and a minor victory for the militia but it turned into a huge public relations victory for the future United States.
The word got out that irregular troops, hastened together in a moments notice and with half the number were able to drive a brigade of veterans 17 miles and and not lose 1/3 the men that they were able to have killed. The colonists saw this as providence and proof that the “hand of God” had intervened in their favor. Whig printers fired up the printing presses and got the story out. Clergy were recruited to preach from their pulpits. The Committee of Safety, within four days of the battle, mobilized the justices of the peace and systematically collected sworn testimony from eyewitnesses. When word got out that General Gage was preparing his report of events for the King, the Committee of Safety hired a fast schooner and able Captain to secretly smuggle nearly 100 of these depositions with a cover letter from Dr. Warren addressed to the “Inhabitants of Great Britain” to the Lord Mayor of London who was known to be sympathetic to the American cause. The word got out in the British press causing quite the sensation. A particular deposition from a mortally wounded British officer who was a captive, supported the colonists account proved very persuasive in the press. The colonists beat the British to the punch and won a great victory in the public relations war at home and abroad. Thus, even back in the days of the Colonial America, the public relations war was understood to be as critical as the actual combat. It was wins like this that delivered liberty to The United States of America. Great Britain did not make a gun large enough to combat this type of warfare.
Enjoy the book and to those sixty or so militia that first stood in the face of the weight of the great British Empire on Lexington Green, I’d like to say, thank you for your service.
I read this book because the author, David Hackett Fischer, also wrote Washington’s Crossing which is on my favorites shelf and the best book I’ve read about the Revolutionary War. Fischer did not disappoint with this one either. It is a manageable 295 pages, complete with maps and illustrations located on the pages that are relevant. Fischer has the ability to communicate the details of this critical event in United States history without bogging the reader down in academic prose. He is one of the authors that has a knack of making history read like a novel and I highly recommend his work.
It begins like a biography of Paul Revere but upon the famous midnight ride the story becomes something much bigger than Revere and the classic Longfellow poem. The author describes the colonial warning system and how the word got out. Yes, social media in 18th century New England was a guy on horseback yelling something like “Town out…Regulars” but he didn’t yell “The British are coming” as in the iconic poem. Revere was like a spark in a tinder box. He was captured along his route with another rider and detained for a bit. A third rider escaped. It didn’t matter. The damage was done and word spread through Colonial America like a variant of the Corona Virus, even reaching a hunting camp in Kentucky which today is known as Lexington. The militias of New England (roughly 30% were minutemen) started to form and march toward Lexington and Concord and in the rear of the British force, threatening to cut it off from its base.
Here, the story morphs into a chronology of the shot heard round the world on the Lexington Green and the battles and skirmishes that followed from Lexington to Concord and back to Lexington again and all the way back to Boston. The 800 man force of grenadiers and light infantry was nearly swallowed up in the New England countryside by the militias that marched from far and wide. Luckily for the British, General Gage sent out a 1,200 man relief force with artillery to come to the aid of and rescue the original strike force. Together, they made a very formidable reinforced brigade of roughly 2,000 regulars from storied regiments. But somehow these regulars underestimated the pluck of the New England Militia. The Brits didn’t think to bring a wagon of ammunition until General Gage sent one after the fact. This wagon of precious ammunition was captured and these men were running dangerously low during their running fight back to Boston.
The book dispels a popular myth or misconception that I had that only smaller, company sized units and bushwhackers engaged the British but this is not the case. The author explains that The New England militias, from Concord back to Lexington stood against the British force in large formations at least 8 times. Six of those confrontations led to fighting, four at close quarters. Twice the British infantry was broken, at Concord Bridge and again west of Lexington Green. Fischer called it …an extraordinary display of courage, resolve, and discipline by citizen-soldiers against regular troops.
It was sometime during the retrograde movement between Lexington and Boston that a militia General named William Heath appeared on the scene. He employed something called a circle of skirmishers around the British brigade. Fischer writes that …New England produced a remarkable generation of self-taught military commanders who trained themselves by systematic study. They had virtually no military experience, but two of them, Nathanial Green and Henry Knox, would be among the most able generals on the American side. Another, the brilliant turncoat Benedict Arnold, would become arguably the most able general on both sides. William Heath was another of these….
It is not exactly clear to me why they did this. It seems like the militia had the ability to encircle and wipe the regulars out but General Heath chose not to. Were they afraid of the artillery or was it because they wanted another kind of victory? This was the first of many times that the colonists would fight a war of attrition that the British could never hope to win. The author argues that The men who led the New England militia were experienced in this sort of war. Equally important, they were also practical politicians who understood that in an open society a bloody victory can be worse than a defeat..
This leads to another important point. The Committee of Safety and the officers of the militia understood the importance of a public relations victory that today we are beginning to realize once again can be more important than victory on the field. Fischer explains that Lexington Concord was a small setback for the British and a minor victory for the militia but it turned into a huge public relations victory for the future United States.
The word got out that irregular troops, hastened together in a moments notice and with half the number were able to drive a brigade of veterans 17 miles and and not lose 1/3 the men that they were able to have killed. The colonists saw this as providence and proof that the “hand of God” had intervened in their favor. Whig printers fired up the printing presses and got the story out. Clergy were recruited to preach from their pulpits. The Committee of Safety, within four days of the battle, mobilized the justices of the peace and systematically collected sworn testimony from eyewitnesses. When word got out that General Gage was preparing his report of events for the King, the Committee of Safety hired a fast schooner and able Captain to secretly smuggle nearly 100 of these depositions with a cover letter from Dr. Warren addressed to the “Inhabitants of Great Britain” to the Lord Mayor of London who was known to be sympathetic to the American cause. The word got out in the British press causing quite the sensation. A particular deposition from a mortally wounded British officer who was a captive, supported the colonists account proved very persuasive in the press. The colonists beat the British to the punch and won a great victory in the public relations war at home and abroad. Thus, even back in the days of the Colonial America, the public relations war was understood to be as critical as the actual combat. It was wins like this that delivered liberty to The United States of America. Great Britain did not make a gun large enough to combat this type of warfare.
Enjoy the book and to those sixty or so militia that first stood in the face of the weight of the great British Empire on Lexington Green, I’d like to say, thank you for your service.
November 2, 2023
Wow! Longfellow's famous tribute to the most iconic of the minutemen, Paul Revere, is brought to life with Christopher Bing's inspired and vivacious illustrations.
I have tried to include an example of one of these illustrations, but it seems as though I'm not permitted.
(My daughter thought it was super weird that I felt the need to read it while standing on the couch).
One, if by land, and two, if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm
For the country folk to be up and to arm.
I have tried to include an example of one of these illustrations, but it seems as though I'm not permitted.
(My daughter thought it was super weird that I felt the need to read it while standing on the couch).
One, if by land, and two, if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm
For the country folk to be up and to arm.
October 13, 2015
Fischer describes how ordinary citizens rose up against the British army to begin the American Revolution. Paul Revere, a Boston silversmith, was one of many who served as messengers to warn the people of the royal army’s movement enabling the colonists to secure their weapons and organize resistance. General Thomas Gage, the British forces Commander in Chief and Royal Governor of Massachusetts, wanted to avoid conflict, but could not tolerate the defiance of his authority. He recognized many of the strengths of the local militias but like other British officers underestimated their discipline and the ability of their leaders.
Gage was given instructions from London to bring the “peasants” to heel. Their obstruction to British laws and policies had crossed the line in the eyes of King George. The King looked upon their disobedience as one of many rebellions that his troops regularly put down, be it in Ireland, Scotland or East Anglia where the Massachusetts colonist’s ancestors had originally come from. He was confident this situation would be handled as easily by his troops. Gage ordered his soldiers to confiscate the weapons and ammunition that the “provincials” had been accumulating. One of these missions targeted Concord and precipitated the first battle of the War. This was the occasion for Paul Revere’s famous ride, largely forgotten until immortalized by Longfellow’s famous poem over 85 years later. Other men also carried the message of the British army’s departure from their base, but their names didn’t rhyme with “hear”.
The speed and thoroughness with which the warning was spread to all the surrounding towns allowed the colonists to collect and organize their forces. These people readily answered the call of their own free will. They believed in their cause. The sons and daughters of Puritans who had left England because of oppression, they were not going to submit in their new home. They had been through one war after another, only twelve years earlier, The French and Indian War. But this war was different. These Puritans had a sense of history. They looked on their lives as an extension of their forefathers and as a foundation for future generations. They were close to their own mortality and the meaning of their lives in history. They were ready to risk it all.
The battles of Lexington and Concord ensued. The British should have taken the “peasants” more seriously. Many had military experience and they knew the terrain and how to use it to their advantage. Town militias had been a mainstay of New England life for over 100 years. Every able bodied man was expected to participate in the common defense, be it against the Indians, the French or now the King’s army. While the British Regulars were well trained, many had never seen combat. Fischer gives us the blow by blow of the battles. We see the how skillful tactics and steadfastness of the rebels enabled them to defeat the Regulars.
Fischer portrays the lives of many of the combatants to make the story human. He cites numerous individual acts of heroism and foolishness, of patriotism and treason, of kindness and brutality. His book is meticulously documented and as he did in Washington’s Crossing he follows with a wonderful historiography. One gets a feel for the times, the uncertainty, the danger, the anger, the fervor. Fischer delivers an engaging narrative and a valuable one for understanding the people who started the American Revolution.
Gage was given instructions from London to bring the “peasants” to heel. Their obstruction to British laws and policies had crossed the line in the eyes of King George. The King looked upon their disobedience as one of many rebellions that his troops regularly put down, be it in Ireland, Scotland or East Anglia where the Massachusetts colonist’s ancestors had originally come from. He was confident this situation would be handled as easily by his troops. Gage ordered his soldiers to confiscate the weapons and ammunition that the “provincials” had been accumulating. One of these missions targeted Concord and precipitated the first battle of the War. This was the occasion for Paul Revere’s famous ride, largely forgotten until immortalized by Longfellow’s famous poem over 85 years later. Other men also carried the message of the British army’s departure from their base, but their names didn’t rhyme with “hear”.
The speed and thoroughness with which the warning was spread to all the surrounding towns allowed the colonists to collect and organize their forces. These people readily answered the call of their own free will. They believed in their cause. The sons and daughters of Puritans who had left England because of oppression, they were not going to submit in their new home. They had been through one war after another, only twelve years earlier, The French and Indian War. But this war was different. These Puritans had a sense of history. They looked on their lives as an extension of their forefathers and as a foundation for future generations. They were close to their own mortality and the meaning of their lives in history. They were ready to risk it all.
The battles of Lexington and Concord ensued. The British should have taken the “peasants” more seriously. Many had military experience and they knew the terrain and how to use it to their advantage. Town militias had been a mainstay of New England life for over 100 years. Every able bodied man was expected to participate in the common defense, be it against the Indians, the French or now the King’s army. While the British Regulars were well trained, many had never seen combat. Fischer gives us the blow by blow of the battles. We see the how skillful tactics and steadfastness of the rebels enabled them to defeat the Regulars.
Fischer portrays the lives of many of the combatants to make the story human. He cites numerous individual acts of heroism and foolishness, of patriotism and treason, of kindness and brutality. His book is meticulously documented and as he did in Washington’s Crossing he follows with a wonderful historiography. One gets a feel for the times, the uncertainty, the danger, the anger, the fervor. Fischer delivers an engaging narrative and a valuable one for understanding the people who started the American Revolution.
August 8, 2023
A historical poem published for the first time in 1860, this one tells a partly fictionalized story about one of the folk heroes of the American revolution. A wealthy silversmith in Boston by the time the revolution started, Revere's midnight ride to alert the colonial militia in April 1775 to the approach of British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord made him famous. And years and years after, Longfellow's poem made him even greater.
"You know the rest. In the books you have read,
How the British Regulars fired and fled,—
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farmyard-wall..."
Simple, clear and concise, that's history in verses...
"You know the rest. In the books you have read,
How the British Regulars fired and fled,—
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farmyard-wall..."
Simple, clear and concise, that's history in verses...
August 6, 2025
There are several illustrators that have put pen and color to Longfellow's famous poem, but Ted Rand's stands out to me. His illustrations are beautiful, life-like and telling. The images stick with you wonderfully and bring the poem alive.
Definitely recommend this one!
We just visited Boston and saw several historical sites mentioned in the book: watch my reel!
Ages: 4 - 8
Content Considerations: nothing to note.
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I have an Instagram account that’s pretty bookishly unique too!
Definitely recommend this one!
We just visited Boston and saw several historical sites mentioned in the book: watch my reel!
Ages: 4 - 8
Content Considerations: nothing to note.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide Content Considerations, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
If you’re considering a book or looking for a new title to read, check out my highly categorized shelves, read my reviews and Friend or Follow me to spiff up your feed with clean, wholesome, living books.
I have an Instagram account that’s pretty bookishly unique too!
September 1, 2022
Recent GR reviews of this book written by 2 of my GR friends caught my attention and led to my purchase of the book. So I'd like to thank my friends Jim and David for their interesting insights and after reading the book I must now say that I totally agree with their assessments.
The book is relatively short, 295 pages of text, 47 pages of notes, and extensive follow up material and a detailed bibliography so there is plenty to satisfy just about any history buff or casual reader and I'm probably a little of both. As my friend Jim commented in his review of this book I too thought the Midnight Ride and the confrontations at Lexington and Concord while significant were also rather minor events in our Revolutionary history. This book corrected that notion and caused me to wonder how April 19, 1775 hasn't become even more significant as it is truly the day the blood started to flow in our Revolution and can be said to be the first day of the Revolution.
While titled Paul Revere's Ride it is more than simply the story of that patriot's activities in the late evening and early morning of April 18 and 19 of 1775. The book is a fair but cursory biography of Revere that informs us that he was a whole lot more than a patriotic messenger. His revolutionary activity made him the go to guy for getting things done and made him a well known troublemaker to the Loyalists and British Army in Boston. Revere seemed to be the kind of person we have all known in the community groups we may have been members of. He was the guy that was never the chairperson or the president but always showed up and showed up early to help arrange things and filled gaps and solved unforeseen problems. Revere was one of those indispensable men that never got attention or praise but without whom things probably would have fallen apart. It is a shame he is only known in history for his much mythologized Midnight Ride because he did a lot more than that.
Beside covering and demythologizing Revere's ride the author gives an in-depth treatment of the events of the entire day of April 19, 1775. The events of that day were not limited to minor shoot outs at Lexington and Concord. In the author's correct assessment that day was a major military engagement between significant elements of the British Army and an even more significant presence of state militia forces from numerous surrounding towns and villages. Most of the day involved a running battle between the British Army and state militia forces from Lexington to Concord and then from Concord all the way back to Cambridge. During this moving battle the British realized that the locals were not a disorganized rabble but a well trained and tenacious military force that were not going to be easily defeated. British casualties suffered during their retreat from Concord to Cambridge were beyond serious and prevented further British ventures beyond Boston until they were reinforced sufficiently to launch their attack on Bunker Hill 2 months later but that's another story and another sad lesson for the British.
Over all this was a very good history of a single day in our history that deserves much more attention that it has received thus far. Enjoy.
The book is relatively short, 295 pages of text, 47 pages of notes, and extensive follow up material and a detailed bibliography so there is plenty to satisfy just about any history buff or casual reader and I'm probably a little of both. As my friend Jim commented in his review of this book I too thought the Midnight Ride and the confrontations at Lexington and Concord while significant were also rather minor events in our Revolutionary history. This book corrected that notion and caused me to wonder how April 19, 1775 hasn't become even more significant as it is truly the day the blood started to flow in our Revolution and can be said to be the first day of the Revolution.
While titled Paul Revere's Ride it is more than simply the story of that patriot's activities in the late evening and early morning of April 18 and 19 of 1775. The book is a fair but cursory biography of Revere that informs us that he was a whole lot more than a patriotic messenger. His revolutionary activity made him the go to guy for getting things done and made him a well known troublemaker to the Loyalists and British Army in Boston. Revere seemed to be the kind of person we have all known in the community groups we may have been members of. He was the guy that was never the chairperson or the president but always showed up and showed up early to help arrange things and filled gaps and solved unforeseen problems. Revere was one of those indispensable men that never got attention or praise but without whom things probably would have fallen apart. It is a shame he is only known in history for his much mythologized Midnight Ride because he did a lot more than that.
Beside covering and demythologizing Revere's ride the author gives an in-depth treatment of the events of the entire day of April 19, 1775. The events of that day were not limited to minor shoot outs at Lexington and Concord. In the author's correct assessment that day was a major military engagement between significant elements of the British Army and an even more significant presence of state militia forces from numerous surrounding towns and villages. Most of the day involved a running battle between the British Army and state militia forces from Lexington to Concord and then from Concord all the way back to Cambridge. During this moving battle the British realized that the locals were not a disorganized rabble but a well trained and tenacious military force that were not going to be easily defeated. British casualties suffered during their retreat from Concord to Cambridge were beyond serious and prevented further British ventures beyond Boston until they were reinforced sufficiently to launch their attack on Bunker Hill 2 months later but that's another story and another sad lesson for the British.
Over all this was a very good history of a single day in our history that deserves much more attention that it has received thus far. Enjoy.
January 8, 2014
This book provides a rock solid biography of Paul Revere focused around his famous “Midnight Ride” that set the stage for America’s Revolutionary War. Author David Hackett Fischer provides a vivid historical account that deviates from simplistic popular myth and his story grasps ones attention just as much. Revere did not possess the power of Santa Claus to touch every home and community northwest of Boston in areas such as Carlisle, Acton and Wayland. Rather the heroic messenger for freedom had valuable assistance from loyal comrades. Fischer paints a very clear picture of the culture and terrain in Massachusetts back in 1775. I enjoyed drifting back to a time when low tides in Boston harbor were as noticeable as any other eastern shore location and the Charles River was surrounded by muddy marsh banks.
Having spent many years in and around Boston, Lexington and Concord I have always had an appreciation for this piece of history. In middle school our class toured Revere’s home and I still have the souvenirs that I purchased. I had not considered that the Old North Church had Tory allegiance. In 1976 I was at the church to hear Queen Elizabeth II speak. I will place this book in my library beside my treasured 1865 three volume set of “The Life and Public Service of Samuel Adams”.
Having spent many years in and around Boston, Lexington and Concord I have always had an appreciation for this piece of history. In middle school our class toured Revere’s home and I still have the souvenirs that I purchased. I had not considered that the Old North Church had Tory allegiance. In 1976 I was at the church to hear Queen Elizabeth II speak. I will place this book in my library beside my treasured 1865 three volume set of “The Life and Public Service of Samuel Adams”.
June 25, 2021
If you'd asked me prior to reading this book what I knew/remembered about Paul Revere, it would have been pretty thin. When I was a kid I learned that he rode... somewhere, to warn the people that "the British are coming," and there was something about lights in a church steeple, "one if by land, two if by sea." Later on I think a very condescending teacher said Revere never actually made it to where he was going, and they took his horse and boots and made him walk home barefoot.
Paul Revere was a well-known Boston silversmith in 1775 when frustrations with England and her leaders in America came to a head. While not a leader on the same level as Samuel Adams and John Hancock, Revere was highly regarded and in the middle of the growing Revolution. He had friends and associates all over the area and was usually the one who communicated with the other town councils. As the Colonists discovered that the troops were being secretly sent to confiscate the guns and gunpowder from Lexington and Concord, Revere was one of many who actually spread the word to the towns and surrounding countryside (those he warned also spread the word into other parts, so there were actually many riders). But he was pretty much the one who organized the alarm, and while he was indeed stopped and detained by soldiers the message still got through to the towns. And the signal in the church tower was arranged by him. No, they didn't take his boots, but they did steal his horse (which was borrowed, and subsequently ridden to death!) and he didn't say "the British are coming," since everyone pretty much considered themselves British, but instead said "the Regulars are coming," referring to the King's "regular" troops. He was also the one who saved Adams and Hancock from being captured.
David Hackett Fisher gives a very in depth account of what happened in the battles of Lexington and Concord and it's much more than just Revere's substantial role in the beginning of the Revolutionary War. He also covers Thomas Gage, the British governor of Massachusetts, quite thoroughly. There is a lot of information here that you won't find in other books, and it was never dull. Fisher has pages and pages of data and appendixes, and explains the history of Paul Revere's legend and why he was so well known to schoolchildren, but he also explains all the ways the story has been twisted to meet political objectives over the years. For example, Longfellow's poem The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere takes liberties and makes Revere the only hero of the story (written on the eve of the Civil War). But Revere also came in for a lot of bashing when anti-American historians wanted to denigrate the nation (such as during Vietnam).
One thing I found especially interesting and relevant to today was the issue of the British seizing the Colonist's guns and arms. Reading this, you can understand why the 2nd Amendment was so important to people then, and why many are so protective of it today. Another was the different concepts of liberty and freedom compared with today. To them, liberty carried a responsibility toward the rest of society, whereas today we think of it as freedom from any outside responsibility. Fisher even openly doubts that we would have the backbone to accomplish what they did. Although I haven't read anything about the American Revolution in years, I felt like I needed something inspiring for the trying times we're going through as a nation now and this excellent book was just what I needed.
Paul Revere was a well-known Boston silversmith in 1775 when frustrations with England and her leaders in America came to a head. While not a leader on the same level as Samuel Adams and John Hancock, Revere was highly regarded and in the middle of the growing Revolution. He had friends and associates all over the area and was usually the one who communicated with the other town councils. As the Colonists discovered that the troops were being secretly sent to confiscate the guns and gunpowder from Lexington and Concord, Revere was one of many who actually spread the word to the towns and surrounding countryside (those he warned also spread the word into other parts, so there were actually many riders). But he was pretty much the one who organized the alarm, and while he was indeed stopped and detained by soldiers the message still got through to the towns. And the signal in the church tower was arranged by him. No, they didn't take his boots, but they did steal his horse (which was borrowed, and subsequently ridden to death!) and he didn't say "the British are coming," since everyone pretty much considered themselves British, but instead said "the Regulars are coming," referring to the King's "regular" troops. He was also the one who saved Adams and Hancock from being captured.
David Hackett Fisher gives a very in depth account of what happened in the battles of Lexington and Concord and it's much more than just Revere's substantial role in the beginning of the Revolutionary War. He also covers Thomas Gage, the British governor of Massachusetts, quite thoroughly. There is a lot of information here that you won't find in other books, and it was never dull. Fisher has pages and pages of data and appendixes, and explains the history of Paul Revere's legend and why he was so well known to schoolchildren, but he also explains all the ways the story has been twisted to meet political objectives over the years. For example, Longfellow's poem The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere takes liberties and makes Revere the only hero of the story (written on the eve of the Civil War). But Revere also came in for a lot of bashing when anti-American historians wanted to denigrate the nation (such as during Vietnam).
One thing I found especially interesting and relevant to today was the issue of the British seizing the Colonist's guns and arms. Reading this, you can understand why the 2nd Amendment was so important to people then, and why many are so protective of it today. Another was the different concepts of liberty and freedom compared with today. To them, liberty carried a responsibility toward the rest of society, whereas today we think of it as freedom from any outside responsibility. Fisher even openly doubts that we would have the backbone to accomplish what they did. Although I haven't read anything about the American Revolution in years, I felt like I needed something inspiring for the trying times we're going through as a nation now and this excellent book was just what I needed.
August 1, 2009
I love it when a book is well-organized. This one started with some brief background on Paul Revere and General Gage, and then went through an extremely detailed (yet not at all tiresome) play-by-play of the ride of April 18, 1775. Then, an interlude for some information about the state of the militias at that time, followed by another extensive outline, this time of the Lexington and Concord battles, and retreat to Boston on April 19. You get a great sense of Paul Revere's personality: the man who never met a club he didn't join. He's a patriot after my own heart, his reputation for leadership seems to have sprung from his willingness to take on club committee assignments, and actually do them. If you have ever been involved with club management of any sort, this might bring tears to your eyes.
Best bonus part: A brief yet brilliant appearance by John Hancock, the Michael Scott of the American Revolution -- the guy who fancies himself a step ahead, but is in reality two steps behind.
Grade: A+
Recommended: To anyone who likes American history, and if you live in the Greater Boston area, you should consider yourself obligated to read this.
Best bonus part: A brief yet brilliant appearance by John Hancock, the Michael Scott of the American Revolution -- the guy who fancies himself a step ahead, but is in reality two steps behind.
Grade: A+
Recommended: To anyone who likes American history, and if you live in the Greater Boston area, you should consider yourself obligated to read this.
October 4, 2023
This highly recommended book by Goodreads friends helped distract my mind from my body. I spent n expected eight ay all expense paid vacation at .our local , I underwent successful surgery to relieve a blockage in my small intestine. All things went well, and I had top-notch care. I was without wifi, and my listening was somewhat curtailed. Paul Revere's ride is so well-researched and documented. I'll never think of Longfellow and his famous poem without understanding the real truth. Our country may have a few wild legends, but most are based on the outstanding characteristics of a hardy cast of ordinary people doing their best to bring about change. Without them, we would still be putting luggage in the boot of our cars and driving on the opposite lanes of traffic.
February 6, 2022
This rating is for the edition illustrated by Paul Galdone.
June 28, 2009
David Hackett Fischer strips myth from history in Paul Revere's Ride. All sorts of fables, poems, and stories have been written about the event, which has become embedded in American culture. Any school child can tell at least something of the midnight ride and the lanterns. Fischer's book is the first scholarly treatment in two hundred years. He has discovered all sorts of information that make Revere a much more seminal participant in the Revolution than had previously been suspected.
One reason for historians', neglect of Paul Revere may be that the only creature less fashionable in academe than "a dead white male is a dead white male on a horse." Less jocularly, Fischer suspects it has to do with historians' emphasis on monographic treatises and reluctance to study any event that can't be graphed or put in a table. Fortunately for us, Fischer has eschewed this tradition and returned to the narrative form of historical reporting that was in vogue during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when history was alive and well and enjoyed. His book covers the eight-month period from September 1774 through April 1 775, beginning with the powder alarms through the first battles at Lexington and Concord up to the bloody events of 1775.
Paul Revere was the son of a French immigrant silversmith. He grew up in Boston, at that time a town of 15,000 that more resembled a medieval village. Virtually an island at high tide, Boston greeted strangers crossing the "neck" of land to enter town with the unsettling vision of a gallows. Strangers were not generally welcome; certainly they were regarded with great suspicion. It was also a major seaport, and sailors reported that "no town of its size could turn out more whores than this town could."
Revere had lots of children (16) his first was born shortly after his first marriage, a common event in the eighteenth century, when perhaps 35% of couples were expecting at the time of their formal marriage. His first wife died shortly after their eighth child was born, and he married his second wife shortly thereafter.
The principles of working together were pounded into the children from a young age. Cotton Mather, a famous preacher of the day, used the metaphor of rowing a boat with two oars. Pull on one oar only and the boat will simply go around in circles. Both oars together make great progress.
Revere was a genius at collective action. It turns out there were more than sixty riders out that night. He was a major organizer and instigator. He helped organize the Sons of Liberty, a terrorist group that included many Freemasons and used numerous secret signs and cryptic codes to communicate. They were organized into "cells" where the members only knew the leader, not each other, a structure copied by many underground and terrorist organizations later on. Their violence was tempered and organized, however. During the famous Tea Party, the locks on the tea chests were carefully replaced after the tea was dumped into the harbor, and one of the participants was severely chastised for stealing some of the tea rather than dumping it. Their careful symbolism was lost to the British, however.
It's important to remember that the Americans considered themselves British. This was really a civil war at the beginning. The riders did not cry out "the British are coming," which would have been like saying, "We are coming" but rather, "the Regulars are coming," meaning the regular British troops.
Revere became the "messenger" for the rebels. He made numerous rides of several hundred miles each to carry messages between the Bostonians and the Continental Congress meeting in New York. These were difficult rides at a time when roads were rough, if they existed at all, yet he made them with extraordinary speed.
He was not the leader of the revolutionary movement, rather a doer and actor. He was able to get things done, partly because he knew so many people and his trustworthiness crossed many class boundaries.
General Gage was not a simpleton - unlucky perhaps as had been most of his ancestors - but he was handicapped in his plans for the attack on Concord by having his most intimate plans ferreted out by the Whigs almost as soon as he made them. Only Dr. Joseph Warren, who was respected by both sides, knew this secret spy and ally to the Americans. He never revealed who the spy was, but Fischer suspects it was Gage's wife, an American very sympathetic to the American cause. Gage himself had cause to suspect her, and after the Concord fiasco, sent her to England.
The army's march on Concord is told in fascinating detail. The regulars wore the most impractical clothes: snow white breeches that had to be kept immaculate upon pain of flogging; tall frir hats that were intended to make the men seem taller, but required additional caps to protect them from the weather; coats worn very tight, that were supposed to be preshrunk, but which continued to get smaller in the rain and often became so tight men could barely move their arms; and shoes not made for right or left, but square toed so they could be worn on either foot and were switched from right to left every day so as not to get overworn on one side. Officers' coats were scarlet, (unlike the red of the men) dyed from the dried bodies of female cochineal insects. That meant they did not fade (unlike the uniforms of the soldiers) and they made outstanding targets. They also wore a highly polished gorget just below the neck that provided an excellent bullseye.
Fischer has appended a most interesting historiographical section at the end of the book that discusses how the various Revere myths became cemented into American folklore. Much of it stems from the Whigs themselves, who wished to reveal as little as possible of their complicity in antagonizing the British to act. It was very important that the British fire the first shot and that the Americans be seen as innocent victims in order to garner as much support as possible. In fact, Revere's first written account was suppressed by the Whigs as he refused to acknowledge it was the British who fired first, and his report of all their activities prior to the event made it obvious how the conspirators had orchestrated many of the events. His deposition was not found until 1891 among his private papers. But it was Longfellow's poem that solidified Revere's ride as a solitary event. Great poem but short on historical verity Fischer notes in several short essays how the crosscurrents of American political thought have tempered the Revere legend and myth and used it to reflect their own perspective of American history. Fascinating.
One reason for historians', neglect of Paul Revere may be that the only creature less fashionable in academe than "a dead white male is a dead white male on a horse." Less jocularly, Fischer suspects it has to do with historians' emphasis on monographic treatises and reluctance to study any event that can't be graphed or put in a table. Fortunately for us, Fischer has eschewed this tradition and returned to the narrative form of historical reporting that was in vogue during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when history was alive and well and enjoyed. His book covers the eight-month period from September 1774 through April 1 775, beginning with the powder alarms through the first battles at Lexington and Concord up to the bloody events of 1775.
Paul Revere was the son of a French immigrant silversmith. He grew up in Boston, at that time a town of 15,000 that more resembled a medieval village. Virtually an island at high tide, Boston greeted strangers crossing the "neck" of land to enter town with the unsettling vision of a gallows. Strangers were not generally welcome; certainly they were regarded with great suspicion. It was also a major seaport, and sailors reported that "no town of its size could turn out more whores than this town could."
Revere had lots of children (16) his first was born shortly after his first marriage, a common event in the eighteenth century, when perhaps 35% of couples were expecting at the time of their formal marriage. His first wife died shortly after their eighth child was born, and he married his second wife shortly thereafter.
The principles of working together were pounded into the children from a young age. Cotton Mather, a famous preacher of the day, used the metaphor of rowing a boat with two oars. Pull on one oar only and the boat will simply go around in circles. Both oars together make great progress.
Revere was a genius at collective action. It turns out there were more than sixty riders out that night. He was a major organizer and instigator. He helped organize the Sons of Liberty, a terrorist group that included many Freemasons and used numerous secret signs and cryptic codes to communicate. They were organized into "cells" where the members only knew the leader, not each other, a structure copied by many underground and terrorist organizations later on. Their violence was tempered and organized, however. During the famous Tea Party, the locks on the tea chests were carefully replaced after the tea was dumped into the harbor, and one of the participants was severely chastised for stealing some of the tea rather than dumping it. Their careful symbolism was lost to the British, however.
It's important to remember that the Americans considered themselves British. This was really a civil war at the beginning. The riders did not cry out "the British are coming," which would have been like saying, "We are coming" but rather, "the Regulars are coming," meaning the regular British troops.
Revere became the "messenger" for the rebels. He made numerous rides of several hundred miles each to carry messages between the Bostonians and the Continental Congress meeting in New York. These were difficult rides at a time when roads were rough, if they existed at all, yet he made them with extraordinary speed.
He was not the leader of the revolutionary movement, rather a doer and actor. He was able to get things done, partly because he knew so many people and his trustworthiness crossed many class boundaries.
General Gage was not a simpleton - unlucky perhaps as had been most of his ancestors - but he was handicapped in his plans for the attack on Concord by having his most intimate plans ferreted out by the Whigs almost as soon as he made them. Only Dr. Joseph Warren, who was respected by both sides, knew this secret spy and ally to the Americans. He never revealed who the spy was, but Fischer suspects it was Gage's wife, an American very sympathetic to the American cause. Gage himself had cause to suspect her, and after the Concord fiasco, sent her to England.
The army's march on Concord is told in fascinating detail. The regulars wore the most impractical clothes: snow white breeches that had to be kept immaculate upon pain of flogging; tall frir hats that were intended to make the men seem taller, but required additional caps to protect them from the weather; coats worn very tight, that were supposed to be preshrunk, but which continued to get smaller in the rain and often became so tight men could barely move their arms; and shoes not made for right or left, but square toed so they could be worn on either foot and were switched from right to left every day so as not to get overworn on one side. Officers' coats were scarlet, (unlike the red of the men) dyed from the dried bodies of female cochineal insects. That meant they did not fade (unlike the uniforms of the soldiers) and they made outstanding targets. They also wore a highly polished gorget just below the neck that provided an excellent bullseye.
Fischer has appended a most interesting historiographical section at the end of the book that discusses how the various Revere myths became cemented into American folklore. Much of it stems from the Whigs themselves, who wished to reveal as little as possible of their complicity in antagonizing the British to act. It was very important that the British fire the first shot and that the Americans be seen as innocent victims in order to garner as much support as possible. In fact, Revere's first written account was suppressed by the Whigs as he refused to acknowledge it was the British who fired first, and his report of all their activities prior to the event made it obvious how the conspirators had orchestrated many of the events. His deposition was not found until 1891 among his private papers. But it was Longfellow's poem that solidified Revere's ride as a solitary event. Great poem but short on historical verity Fischer notes in several short essays how the crosscurrents of American political thought have tempered the Revere legend and myth and used it to reflect their own perspective of American history. Fascinating.
October 13, 2024
In American History, nothing compares to the American Revolution. And Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride is one of the most mythologized events of the revolution. Who doesn’t know the famous saying, “the British are coming, the British are coming”
David Hackett Fischer’s Paul Revere’s Ride is a masterful and richly detailed examination of this iconic event. However, Fischer’s work goes beyond merely retelling this famous story, providing readers with a comprehensive exploration of the social, political, and military landscape of colonial America and shedding light on the broader significance of this pivotal event.
This is narrative history at its best. One of Fischer’s greatest achievements is his ability to make the history come alive. His writing is not only meticulous in its scholarship but also highly engaging. The book moves at a brisk pace, immersing the reader in the tension and drama of the events leading up to and following Revere’s ride. Fischer skillfully interweaves narrative and analysis, making the book accessible to both academic historians and general readers alike.
Fischer’s places Paul Revere’s ride within the broader context of the Revolutionary struggle. He does not simply focus on Revere as a lone hero but instead carefully reconstructs the complex web of colonial resistance, British military planning, and the ideological forces that were pushing the American colonies toward rebellion. Through detailed analysis, Fischer reveals that Revere’s ride was not a spontaneous act, but the product of careful planning and coordination by a well-organized network of Patriots. The stage is set prior to the midnight ride with a detailed narrative around the powder alarm, stamp act, Boston massacre etc.
This is a nuanced portrayal of Revere, who emerges as a far more complex and capable figure than the mythologized silversmith popularized by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s famous poem. Rather than being a solitary rider, Revere is shown to be a key player in a sophisticated intelligence network. His ride is part of a larger collective effort to mobilize the militias and protect Patriot leaders from British capture, which Fischer describes with precision.
Similarly, Fischer provides a balanced and empathetic portrayal of General Thomas Gage, the British commander in Boston. Gage is often depicted in popular history as a harsh, unyielding leader, but Fischer offers a more sympathetic view, depicting Gage as a competent but cautious commander caught between the impossible demands of his superiors in London and the volatile situation in the colonies. Fischer’s examination of Gage’s internal conflicts humanizes him and adds depth to the British perspective on the events leading up to Lexington and Concord.
The story goes through to the aftermath of the battle of Lexington and Concord with a detailed overview of the various battles that took place on that day in April 1975.
One of the central themes of Paul Revere’s Ride is the idea of collective action. While the title suggests a focus on a single man, Fischer emphasizes that Revere’s ride was part of a larger revolutionary effort, involving dozens of other riders, militia members, and local leaders. Fischer’s exploration of the grassroots nature of the American Revolution highlights the importance of ordinary people in shaping the course of history. The mobilization of the militias in response to Revere’s warning is shown to be the result of years of preparation and organization by local communities, rather than a sudden uprising.
Fischer also stresses the importance of intelligence and communication in the Revolutionary struggle. Revere’s role as a messenger and intelligence operative is presented as crucial to the Patriots’ success, demonstrating the significance of information networks in 18th-century warfare. The meticulous planning of the revolutionary leadership in organizing a warning system for British movements stands in contrast to the relative inflexibility of the British command structure.
For anyone remotely interested in how the revolution came about, this is a great history to add to your bookshelf.
David Hackett Fischer’s Paul Revere’s Ride is a masterful and richly detailed examination of this iconic event. However, Fischer’s work goes beyond merely retelling this famous story, providing readers with a comprehensive exploration of the social, political, and military landscape of colonial America and shedding light on the broader significance of this pivotal event.
This is narrative history at its best. One of Fischer’s greatest achievements is his ability to make the history come alive. His writing is not only meticulous in its scholarship but also highly engaging. The book moves at a brisk pace, immersing the reader in the tension and drama of the events leading up to and following Revere’s ride. Fischer skillfully interweaves narrative and analysis, making the book accessible to both academic historians and general readers alike.
Fischer’s places Paul Revere’s ride within the broader context of the Revolutionary struggle. He does not simply focus on Revere as a lone hero but instead carefully reconstructs the complex web of colonial resistance, British military planning, and the ideological forces that were pushing the American colonies toward rebellion. Through detailed analysis, Fischer reveals that Revere’s ride was not a spontaneous act, but the product of careful planning and coordination by a well-organized network of Patriots. The stage is set prior to the midnight ride with a detailed narrative around the powder alarm, stamp act, Boston massacre etc.
This is a nuanced portrayal of Revere, who emerges as a far more complex and capable figure than the mythologized silversmith popularized by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s famous poem. Rather than being a solitary rider, Revere is shown to be a key player in a sophisticated intelligence network. His ride is part of a larger collective effort to mobilize the militias and protect Patriot leaders from British capture, which Fischer describes with precision.
Similarly, Fischer provides a balanced and empathetic portrayal of General Thomas Gage, the British commander in Boston. Gage is often depicted in popular history as a harsh, unyielding leader, but Fischer offers a more sympathetic view, depicting Gage as a competent but cautious commander caught between the impossible demands of his superiors in London and the volatile situation in the colonies. Fischer’s examination of Gage’s internal conflicts humanizes him and adds depth to the British perspective on the events leading up to Lexington and Concord.
The story goes through to the aftermath of the battle of Lexington and Concord with a detailed overview of the various battles that took place on that day in April 1975.
One of the central themes of Paul Revere’s Ride is the idea of collective action. While the title suggests a focus on a single man, Fischer emphasizes that Revere’s ride was part of a larger revolutionary effort, involving dozens of other riders, militia members, and local leaders. Fischer’s exploration of the grassroots nature of the American Revolution highlights the importance of ordinary people in shaping the course of history. The mobilization of the militias in response to Revere’s warning is shown to be the result of years of preparation and organization by local communities, rather than a sudden uprising.
Fischer also stresses the importance of intelligence and communication in the Revolutionary struggle. Revere’s role as a messenger and intelligence operative is presented as crucial to the Patriots’ success, demonstrating the significance of information networks in 18th-century warfare. The meticulous planning of the revolutionary leadership in organizing a warning system for British movements stands in contrast to the relative inflexibility of the British command structure.
For anyone remotely interested in how the revolution came about, this is a great history to add to your bookshelf.
July 7, 2020
I love history, and I love American history. Yet, even with those biases I can recognize a truly great work of American history, a book which stands apart from its companions. Paul Revere's Ride is such a book. With a topic like Paul Revere's ride, David Hackett Fischer could have intellectually and lazily leaned exclusively on disrupting American folk tales and myths about the event, but he goes so far beyond playing a game of "gotcha!" with gullible elementary students. He presents in this book an amazingly detailed, moving, and invigorating narrative of a pivotal moment in American history, while at the same time bringing me closer to the men and women who played key roles in that moment than I have probably ever been before.
One of the great intellectual flaws of our time is presentism, which is to "[rely] on current perspectives and culture to criticize official or personal actions in the past" (Dallin H. Oaks). David Hackett Fischer does no such thing. He doesn't take for granted that with the passage of time comes the inevitable shifting of values, language, and societal mores. He doesn't condemn. He expertly contextualizes the persons and places of colonial America. He recognizes the irony or the humor in events, but he doesn't modernize them. He presents the American colonists as they were in their historical context, including: their nationality, their language, their political philosophy, their perfidy, and even the clothes they wore and the food they ate. His nearly inexhaustible attention to detail is a master class in exposition, yet it never felt overbearing or redundant.
Our titular hero, Paul Revere, of course enjoys a prominent place in this book, but the story of his midnight ride belies the solitary figure we've seen in our patriotic works of art. His role was definitely crucial, but it was commensurate with the vast network of friends and confederates he amassed leading up to that auspicious night. I was moved, even inspired, by the collective action of the American colonists leading up to and during that pivotal night. Paul Revere not only proves that "no man is an island," but that you can't achieve much by being one—certainly not a revolution to change the course of human history. When detailing Paul Revere, his friends, his family, but especially his enemies, the author provides an exceptional look into the lives of real people, rather than historical artifacts.
I think a book like Paul Revere's Ride is an indispensable addition to any American history lover's library because its focus is remarkably narrow. Yes—the author provides background information on the key players, as is the modus operandi for most history authors, but his focus on Paul Revere's mission of warning allows him to seemingly detail some of the most fascinating and intimate bits of colonial life. What were people feeling on that evening? Who fled? Why? Very, very few historical moments that I have read about have received this kind of fastidious treatment. Furthermore, reading about not only Revere's mission but the key facts that informed its importance, its immediate aftermath, including the battle that catalyzed the revolution, enthralled me.
It doesn't require a lot for me to get excited about American history, but this book reinvigorated my passion for the subject matter. As surprising as it was familiar, this book reminds you that may not know everything you think you know. Paul Revere's Ride is a masterpiece—essential reading, as far as I'm concerned. With complete aplomb David Hackett Fischer has given the interested reader a contextualized, meticulous, and inspiring work of pure American history.
https://thethousanderclub.blogspot.com/
One of the great intellectual flaws of our time is presentism, which is to "[rely] on current perspectives and culture to criticize official or personal actions in the past" (Dallin H. Oaks). David Hackett Fischer does no such thing. He doesn't take for granted that with the passage of time comes the inevitable shifting of values, language, and societal mores. He doesn't condemn. He expertly contextualizes the persons and places of colonial America. He recognizes the irony or the humor in events, but he doesn't modernize them. He presents the American colonists as they were in their historical context, including: their nationality, their language, their political philosophy, their perfidy, and even the clothes they wore and the food they ate. His nearly inexhaustible attention to detail is a master class in exposition, yet it never felt overbearing or redundant.
Our titular hero, Paul Revere, of course enjoys a prominent place in this book, but the story of his midnight ride belies the solitary figure we've seen in our patriotic works of art. His role was definitely crucial, but it was commensurate with the vast network of friends and confederates he amassed leading up to that auspicious night. I was moved, even inspired, by the collective action of the American colonists leading up to and during that pivotal night. Paul Revere not only proves that "no man is an island," but that you can't achieve much by being one—certainly not a revolution to change the course of human history. When detailing Paul Revere, his friends, his family, but especially his enemies, the author provides an exceptional look into the lives of real people, rather than historical artifacts.
I think a book like Paul Revere's Ride is an indispensable addition to any American history lover's library because its focus is remarkably narrow. Yes—the author provides background information on the key players, as is the modus operandi for most history authors, but his focus on Paul Revere's mission of warning allows him to seemingly detail some of the most fascinating and intimate bits of colonial life. What were people feeling on that evening? Who fled? Why? Very, very few historical moments that I have read about have received this kind of fastidious treatment. Furthermore, reading about not only Revere's mission but the key facts that informed its importance, its immediate aftermath, including the battle that catalyzed the revolution, enthralled me.
It doesn't require a lot for me to get excited about American history, but this book reinvigorated my passion for the subject matter. As surprising as it was familiar, this book reminds you that may not know everything you think you know. Paul Revere's Ride is a masterpiece—essential reading, as far as I'm concerned. With complete aplomb David Hackett Fischer has given the interested reader a contextualized, meticulous, and inspiring work of pure American history.
https://thethousanderclub.blogspot.com/
November 26, 2014
The beauty of this book lies not in the poem, which many American children have heard (Listen my children and you shall hear, of the midnight ride of Paul Revere) . The beauty for me was in this specific edition copy, illustrated by Christopher Bing.
Opening the hardcover book I was greeted with beautiful period artwork, showing items laying on the desk, old reading glasses, a quill pen, letter sealing wax with a stamp, and ink pot, and wait...what is this? Right inside the cover is a folded letter, an attachment to the book, which I carefully unfolded and read. The letter is written by Thomas Gage, instructing Lieut. Colonel Smith to have his troops go to Concord to destroy all artillery, ammunition, provisions, tents, small arms and all military stores whatever.
Turning the page, I find a historic map of Boston, Lexington and Concord, with details of the Plan for the Secret Expedition to Concord.
Then the poem begins. Beautiful illustrations accompany each verse, drawing the reader into the feelings of the events.
At the end of the book, we are given the historic story of Paul Revere's ride, and the historical inaccuracies of the poem, which was written long after the event, are explained. We are then given another map, showing the routes that all of the riders of the alarm took, also showing where Paul Revere was captured, and where Dr. Samuel Prescott continued on without him to warn the people of Concord and the towns beyond.
In closing, the back page of the book contains another inserted letter, neatly folded and sealed for us to open, giving the historic written deposition of Paul Revere, which was prepared for the Massachusetts Provincial Congress.
A BEAUTIFUL copy, a beautiful historic piece of reading. I would highly recommend this specific copy for anyone looking for a book on The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.
Opening the hardcover book I was greeted with beautiful period artwork, showing items laying on the desk, old reading glasses, a quill pen, letter sealing wax with a stamp, and ink pot, and wait...what is this? Right inside the cover is a folded letter, an attachment to the book, which I carefully unfolded and read. The letter is written by Thomas Gage, instructing Lieut. Colonel Smith to have his troops go to Concord to destroy all artillery, ammunition, provisions, tents, small arms and all military stores whatever.
Turning the page, I find a historic map of Boston, Lexington and Concord, with details of the Plan for the Secret Expedition to Concord.
Then the poem begins. Beautiful illustrations accompany each verse, drawing the reader into the feelings of the events.
At the end of the book, we are given the historic story of Paul Revere's ride, and the historical inaccuracies of the poem, which was written long after the event, are explained. We are then given another map, showing the routes that all of the riders of the alarm took, also showing where Paul Revere was captured, and where Dr. Samuel Prescott continued on without him to warn the people of Concord and the towns beyond.
In closing, the back page of the book contains another inserted letter, neatly folded and sealed for us to open, giving the historic written deposition of Paul Revere, which was prepared for the Massachusetts Provincial Congress.
A BEAUTIFUL copy, a beautiful historic piece of reading. I would highly recommend this specific copy for anyone looking for a book on The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.
July 25, 2014
This is the kind of book that I would write, and that's both good and bad. The first third of the book was a biographical sketch of Paul Revere, which I really enjoyed (5 stars). The problem was that I was expecting the entire book to be about Revere, and I found myself bored by the rest of the book, which is essentially a blow-by-blow replay of the events of Lexington and Concord (2 stars).
Fischer isn't retelling the story of Lexington and Concord merely for the sake of doing so, though. He goes into such painful detail because he is using the events of story as evidence for the overarching argument of the book. As it happens, I'm completely sold on that argument - that the beginning of the American Revolution, as illustrated in miniature by the events at Lexington and Concord, was a highly organized and collaborative yet decentralized movement. I find Fischer's style of argumentation satisfying and comfortably familiar, progressing neatly from evidence (to more evidence, to even more evidence) to conclusion like a senior thesis. (Like my senior thesis. Note to self: make your writing less boring.) So Fischer's laborious argument was effective. I simply didn't find it particularly enjoyable.
Fischer isn't retelling the story of Lexington and Concord merely for the sake of doing so, though. He goes into such painful detail because he is using the events of story as evidence for the overarching argument of the book. As it happens, I'm completely sold on that argument - that the beginning of the American Revolution, as illustrated in miniature by the events at Lexington and Concord, was a highly organized and collaborative yet decentralized movement. I find Fischer's style of argumentation satisfying and comfortably familiar, progressing neatly from evidence (to more evidence, to even more evidence) to conclusion like a senior thesis. (Like my senior thesis. Note to self: make your writing less boring.) So Fischer's laborious argument was effective. I simply didn't find it particularly enjoyable.
July 23, 2008
I read this book in graduate school quite some time ago, but I still remember it as being one that I was fascinated with. It is amazing how little we actually know about Paul Revere. His importance to the Revolution goes far beyond the Midnight Ride. He was a major player in the Boston rebellion and one of the great organizers of the Committees of Correspondence. This book details Revere's life and also goes into the specifics of the Midnight Ride and the entire events around Lexington and Concord. While getting bogged down in the details at time, I thought this book was very well researched and I recommend to all.
March 22, 2022
I listened to the audio version of this book and was blown away by the detailed treatment of Paul Revere’s life and accomplishments. The author provided many vantage points of the events surrounding Revere’s midnight ride. He also clarified and corrected many of the misconceptions or misinterpretations of the midnight ride that have crept into historical books. It was a long but enjoyable book.
July 15, 2010
This particular version is illustrated in a way that makes a four-year-old and that child's mama think maybe we can tackle it now.
My son noticed that the British soldiers were identical. "What's his name? And his name?" We talked about soldiers remaining nameless and identical and how that makes it easier not to think of them as people.
He then noticed that the soon-to-be Americans were not identical and in fact were not even soldiers. I couldn't resist. I told him not that it was because we always humanize our side, but that we weren't soldiers. We were just a bunch of hippies, activist farmers, fighting for what we believed in.
The poem of course didn't really keep him too absorbed, with all those big words. I explained the story first. That helped. I also had him clap out a hoofbeat while I read it, explaining that the poem was supposed to sound like Paul Revere riding.
The illustrations of soldiers from later American wars at, "through all our history, to the last" made me well up. There is a patriotic fool inside me and this illustrator brought it out even after I've grown used to the poem.
The kid liked it and I liked it so I say it was a winning read.
My son noticed that the British soldiers were identical. "What's his name? And his name?" We talked about soldiers remaining nameless and identical and how that makes it easier not to think of them as people.
He then noticed that the soon-to-be Americans were not identical and in fact were not even soldiers. I couldn't resist. I told him not that it was because we always humanize our side, but that we weren't soldiers. We were just a bunch of hippies, activist farmers, fighting for what we believed in.
The poem of course didn't really keep him too absorbed, with all those big words. I explained the story first. That helped. I also had him clap out a hoofbeat while I read it, explaining that the poem was supposed to sound like Paul Revere riding.
The illustrations of soldiers from later American wars at, "through all our history, to the last" made me well up. There is a patriotic fool inside me and this illustrator brought it out even after I've grown used to the poem.
The kid liked it and I liked it so I say it was a winning read.
November 15, 2019
A thoughtful, lavishly detailed, and very deeply researched book that performs several functions. It's a halfway-decent biography of Revere himself, and of his principal adversary, Thomas Gage. More importantly, the author maps out the network of Revolutionary societies to which Revere belonged, and which helped sustain the imperial resistance movement in Boston. Fischer also describes the system of communications and alarms which connected the rebels in occupied Boston to the rebel-controlled towns in the countryside, and which allowed the Patriots to muster several thousand militia - the future nucleus of the Continental Army within hours of the battles of Lexington and Concord. His description of those battles, and of the ensuing slaughter of British soldiers on "Battle Road" as they returned to Boston, is, finally, masterfully done.
Fischer allegedly sold the film rights to this book for $500,000. Asked by a colleague whether he worried if the future movie would take too many liberties with history, Fischer said, "I put my kids through college with that money; they can make him Pauline, for all I care!"
Fischer allegedly sold the film rights to this book for $500,000. Asked by a colleague whether he worried if the future movie would take too many liberties with history, Fischer said, "I put my kids through college with that money; they can make him Pauline, for all I care!"
January 25, 2025
Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere
The classic poem by Longfellow, with incredible artwork donw by Charles Santore.
Exciting pictures tell the story of the struggle of early America, as an attack by the British needed the townspeople near great Boston to know where to defend:
One, if by land, and two, if by sea
Solid 5* for the art, and a 5* poem telling kids memorable history.
I only had a minor gripe that the poem rhyme pattern needs specific lines to be grouped, and sometimes the grouping below the awesome prints needed this to be broken-up visually.
For parents/teachers/siblings reading this to kids - it is good to practice this poem to help the emphasis of the rhyme scheme.
Fun short book. I've got multiple more books from this illustrator checked out from my local library that I look forward to reading/viewing.
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere
The classic poem by Longfellow, with incredible artwork donw by Charles Santore.
Exciting pictures tell the story of the struggle of early America, as an attack by the British needed the townspeople near great Boston to know where to defend:
One, if by land, and two, if by sea
Solid 5* for the art, and a 5* poem telling kids memorable history.
I only had a minor gripe that the poem rhyme pattern needs specific lines to be grouped, and sometimes the grouping below the awesome prints needed this to be broken-up visually.
For parents/teachers/siblings reading this to kids - it is good to practice this poem to help the emphasis of the rhyme scheme.
Fun short book. I've got multiple more books from this illustrator checked out from my local library that I look forward to reading/viewing.
April 19, 2021
Read for Patriot's Day, April 19th, "The Shot Heard Round the World."
June 18, 2022
This took me so long partially because of the interesting footnotes. A former coworker, Rick Crawford, suggested this and I’m so grateful! It is amazing how much seemed relevant to the hearings going on concurrently, the January 6, 2021 Select Committee hearings. Paul Revere would have utterly despised the traitorous charlatan who promoted that insurrection! In any case, this is going to fascinate historians, more than a causal reader. Revere was, as the author put it (note lack of quote marks, using my memory!) more than a messenger but less than a diplomat. The Revere ride was the start of a well prepared network of riders. As Revere galloped into one town, there would be several riders leaving to spread the word. This happened in the several towns he notified starting a complicated network that spread the news very efficiently! He also participated indirectly in the battles, while working with someone else to save important paperwork of John Hancock connected to the uprising. Hancock, btw, came off quite poorly in this book as an indecisive leader who tried to order his fiancé around. She retorted that she wasn’t his property yet! Highly recommended if you have a deep interest in American history and don’t miss the chapter on historiography!
May 21, 2021
Wonderful writing and a fascinating part of history!!
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January 26, 2019In the popular history, or public memory of the Revolution, numerous details are altered or deleted for the sake of providing a more streamlined and acceptable history for the emerging nation.
David Hackett Fischer takes a similar approach to Alfred F. Young, but addresses the historiography of Paul Revere and the numerous myths that have since emerged regarding the events of April 18-19, 1775. Fischer finds alarming, if not appalling, inconsistencies among the history of Paul Revere’s “ride” and the actually event. Furthermore, Hackett finds evidence that many of the liberties that historians, artists, poets, and other figures have taken are done so consciously. For example, iconic poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is guilty of recasting Paul Revere’s ride in a light that suggests the patriotic and valorous merits of one man serving a good cause. In lieu of his poem’s 1861 publication date, and his clear altering of facts, it is probable the Longfellow is indeed using Revere’s episode to conjure support of the Union-Abolitionist cause. Hackett’s historiography shows a patterned trend of revisions of Paul Revere that fit flush with certain time periods: filiopietistism during the Age of Imperialism, Anglophilism during World War I, cynicism and debunking during the 1920’s, democratic crusade during World War II, capitalist democracy during the Cold War, and pessimistic anti-Americanism dating to the Vietnam War. In all of these accounts of Paul Revere’s role in sounding the alarm against the British regulars, it can’t be possible that so many writers are interested in Revere. Rather, they are using the American Revolution as an outlet to tell their own allegorical versions of contemporary events. This must remind one of legacy of Thomas Jefferson.
While cognitive psychologist Daniel L. Schacter was possible the last scholar I expected to find quoted in a history book, perhaps more attention should be paid between the connections between history and cognition. On one level Young is absolutely write to view the memoir genre with critical scrutiny. On a larger scale, however, these two authors are warning us to research detailed historiographies as far back as possible. In an unchecked setting, the potential for decay of accurate history—seemingly caused mostly by irresponsible popular culture and self-serving political organizations—is quite capable of leaving behind a dearth of valid scholarship. I’m sure we all know not to get our history from Mel Gibson, but the realization that there were irresponsible ‘Gibsons’ writing books, poems, songs, and forging artworks in the 19th century is noteworthy.
David Hackett Fischer takes a similar approach to Alfred F. Young, but addresses the historiography of Paul Revere and the numerous myths that have since emerged regarding the events of April 18-19, 1775. Fischer finds alarming, if not appalling, inconsistencies among the history of Paul Revere’s “ride” and the actually event. Furthermore, Hackett finds evidence that many of the liberties that historians, artists, poets, and other figures have taken are done so consciously. For example, iconic poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is guilty of recasting Paul Revere’s ride in a light that suggests the patriotic and valorous merits of one man serving a good cause. In lieu of his poem’s 1861 publication date, and his clear altering of facts, it is probable the Longfellow is indeed using Revere’s episode to conjure support of the Union-Abolitionist cause. Hackett’s historiography shows a patterned trend of revisions of Paul Revere that fit flush with certain time periods: filiopietistism during the Age of Imperialism, Anglophilism during World War I, cynicism and debunking during the 1920’s, democratic crusade during World War II, capitalist democracy during the Cold War, and pessimistic anti-Americanism dating to the Vietnam War. In all of these accounts of Paul Revere’s role in sounding the alarm against the British regulars, it can’t be possible that so many writers are interested in Revere. Rather, they are using the American Revolution as an outlet to tell their own allegorical versions of contemporary events. This must remind one of legacy of Thomas Jefferson.
While cognitive psychologist Daniel L. Schacter was possible the last scholar I expected to find quoted in a history book, perhaps more attention should be paid between the connections between history and cognition. On one level Young is absolutely write to view the memoir genre with critical scrutiny. On a larger scale, however, these two authors are warning us to research detailed historiographies as far back as possible. In an unchecked setting, the potential for decay of accurate history—seemingly caused mostly by irresponsible popular culture and self-serving political organizations—is quite capable of leaving behind a dearth of valid scholarship. I’m sure we all know not to get our history from Mel Gibson, but the realization that there were irresponsible ‘Gibsons’ writing books, poems, songs, and forging artworks in the 19th century is noteworthy.
May 8, 2023
Upping this to 5 stars - just spend a day at Concord and Lexington and this book was *invaluable* to understanding Minute Man National Historic park. Standing in the wooded road imagining what the British Regulars were thinking as they fled from North Bridge - outstanding!! I re-listened to some of the audio as I went along the 6 mile trail. Thanks to this book I knew as much as the NPS rangers (not kidding.)
Does exactly what the title says: a few brief chapters on the background of Paul Revere, General Gage and the actions that lead then Gov. Francis Bernard to request troops to be quartered in Boston, leading to additional tension / Boston massacre / Boston Tea Party and the enactment of the Intolerable Acts and then complete military occupation by General Gage. The majority of the book is an hour by hour retelling of Revere's (and others!) ride (and capture) as he alerted the countryside to Gage's plan to take seize their weapons and then the battles of Lexington and Concord.
And I do mean an hour by hour narration of April 9, 1775 !
At first I thought this was a mind numbing amount of information about 1 day - but now that I've gone to Minuteman National Park, North Bridge & Lexington I am SO THANKFUL I read this!! This is well researched, written and engaging - if you care about the opening battles. [Did really enjoy the chapter on what each division of British troops were wearing.] Audiobook - listened at 1.2
Does exactly what the title says: a few brief chapters on the background of Paul Revere, General Gage and the actions that lead then Gov. Francis Bernard to request troops to be quartered in Boston, leading to additional tension / Boston massacre / Boston Tea Party and the enactment of the Intolerable Acts and then complete military occupation by General Gage. The majority of the book is an hour by hour retelling of Revere's (and others!) ride (and capture) as he alerted the countryside to Gage's plan to take seize their weapons and then the battles of Lexington and Concord.
And I do mean an hour by hour narration of April 9, 1775 !
At first I thought this was a mind numbing amount of information about 1 day - but now that I've gone to Minuteman National Park, North Bridge & Lexington I am SO THANKFUL I read this!! This is well researched, written and engaging - if you care about the opening battles. [Did really enjoy the chapter on what each division of British troops were wearing.] Audiobook - listened at 1.2
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