Paul Revere’s contributions before and during the American Revolution were so important that without them the history of the United States could be very different today. As a member of the Sons of Liberty and founder of the “Mechanics”, Revere was successful employing propaganda, code and cipher, and an early warning system to aid colonists in the defeat of the British. However, it is Paul Revere’s midnight ride, warning of the British advance on Lexington and Concord, that he is most remembered for. And Revere’s contributions as the “first intelligence operative” supported the success of the colonists before and during the American Revolution. But what if Paul Revere never took that midnight ride? How would the lack of intelligence resources affected the result of the first battle of the American Revolution? The paper will examine how the outcome of the American Revolution would have changed without Paul Revere’s actions and contributions of intelligence and intelligence assets.
The Battle of Lexington and Concord
On the night of 18 April 1775, hundreds of British troops set off from Boston toward Concord, Massachusetts, to seize weapons and ammunition stockpiled by American colonists. Early the next morning, an advance guard of nearly 240 British soldiers reached Lexington. Paul Revere’s famous ride ahead of the British departure from Boston alerted a group of nearly 70 minutemen along the route from Lexington through to Concord. When the British finally arrived the
He believed that they needed about 20k soldiers to scare the colonists in to obeying their rule. Whig leaders knew that Massachusetts should remain defensive. Then General Gage ordered “the troops… marched over the people’s land—some where their grain sown—and gardens; broke down their fences, walls.” Then the Battle of Lexington and Concord took place. “An assault on unresisting militiamen at Lexington common, a military confrontation at Concord’s North Bridge, and a classic guerrilla action by ill-disciplined provincials, drawing on Indian fighting experience to harry the Britain retreat to Charles-town on the bloody Battle Road.” Americans then met the British soldiers at the east end of the bridge. Shots’ begin to ring off killing Abner Hosmer and Isaac Davis. The battle was about two to three minutes
Paul Revere was famous for the warning of british troops on April 18, 1775. Sadly, this is just a poem. “Paul Revere’s Ride,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is a poem incorrectly depicting the events of the fateful night.We’ll look at the Belknap Letter, a letter written by Paul Revere himself depicting what happened that night. We’ll look at the similarities and differences to see how different these two tellings of the night are and how Paul Revere was not a unique hero of the battle of Lexington.
In “ paul revere’s ride ” poem and in the letter from paul revere there are similarities and differences. I will give you three differences and similarities. The three similarities are they both say paul revere’s midnight ride was on april 18th 1775 , they both tell about one by land or two by sea depending on where the british come from, and they both talked about how the british would attack. My differences are the letter gives more information than the poem , in the poem it told some details of the battle , and in the letter paul revere barely talked about his midnight ride. Now i will explain my similarities than differences.
On April 19, 1775 the Revolution finally began on the footsteps of Concord. After days of rumors British forces finally moved into the small town. Unlike most expected the minutemen held their own and protected the town of Concord along with militia from neighboring towns. When the fighting in town died down and everything was calm in Concord WIlliam Emerson claimed “This month [is] remarkable for the greatest Event taking Place in the present Age(132).” This attitude
Paul revere was riding home with Samuel Dawes and William Prescott and noticed the British were marching toward Lexington in large numbers. He also noticed the were heavily armed and were ready to fight. He rode north through the streets of Lexington, Concord, and other various small
Similar to the way that the colonial and British perspectives greatly varied for the Boston Massacre, their opinions are once again vastly different for the Battles of Lexington and Concord. In this event as well, both parties attempt to place the blame on the other which is not unusual due the nature of the sources. However, this highlights the large amount of bias evident in all of the accounts. For the colonial perspective, there are two statements, each from a member of a colonial militia that fought during the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Both of these sources place the blame on the British soldiers and claim that the British fired first, killing several colonists. One account, from the Battle of North Bridge, claims that the colonists were ordered to hold their fire and that they didn’t fire until the British opened fire upon them. The other account, from soldier who fought during the skirmish at the Lexington Green, states that the colonists did not even get a single shot off, at least not before the soldier whose account this is was wounded. This source also claims that the British commanding officers were yelling at and insulting the colonists as their ranks closed on the milita. Both these sources are very similar to the colonial perspectives of the Boston Massacre because they all place the blame on the British soldiers and attempt to make themselves appear as the victims.
On April 19th, 1775 British troops were marching to Lexington where many militia were already awaiting their arrival. The British were after the ammunition of the militia. Paul Revere had warned the militia ahead of time so that they could be prepared. They removed their stockpiles of ammunition from their hiding places and moved them to a new shelter. When the British arrived at Lexington, the militia were lined up, ready to defend themselves. The British stopped, prepared to face the militia. They
Most of the colonists rebelled against Parliament’s decisions of passing new laws, they were angered by the creation of the Tea Act, and rebelled by dumping 18,000 pounds of tea into the Boston Harbor, which was known as the Boston Tea Party. The colonists were determined to get their independance from Great Britain, so after the battles of Lexington and Concord, the Second Continental Congress met to decide what was to be done next. For example, “Americans had a grand cause: fighting for their rights, their independence and their liberty” (American and British Strengths and Weaknesses). This shows that the colonists were not just fighting to win, they were fighting for their freedom, their rights, and their independance from Great Britain. Most of the American military were civilians that were fighting because they wanted freedom and they were determined to do
Paul Revere was summoned by Dr.Joseph Warren of Boston and given the task of riding to Lexington, Massachusetts with the news that regular troops were about to march into the countryside northwest of Boston.Samuel Adams and John Hancock,who were staying at a house in Lexington,and probably continue on to the town of Concord,to capture or destroy military stores — gunpowder,ammunition,and several cannon.
The British began taxing the colonies as a way of lessening their debt after the Seven Years’ War. During this time of debt, the American colonies also began to enter a recession. Revere’s once successful business as a silversmith was heavily lacking during this time. Specifically, when the Stamp Act was issued in 1765, colonists were outraged. This occurrence is what caused the Sons of Liberty to form. They were a major part of Boston’s campaign opposing the Stamp Act.
The Battle of Lexington and Concord was a significant part of the American Revolution as it was the first military engagement between the British soldiers (Redcoats) and the colonists citizen soldiers(Patriots). Throughout the early morning of April 19, 1775 word had spread in the colony of Massachusetts that British Redcoats were on the march to Lexington. Farmers, as well as craftsmen's, and citizen Patriots grabbed their guns and ammunition to protect the villages of Lexington and Concord. (Peacock 4) The 700 Redcoats had reached Lexington, where they were confronted by the Patriots to try and
The Battles of Lexington and Concord are the initial battles of the revolutionary war. In the Revolutionary war Britain descovers that the terrnosity of the Americans will not so easily be silenced. Hundreds of British troops, exstimated to be around 700, marched from Boston to Lexington on the evening of April 18, 1775, with secret orders to capture any weapons availble to the American militia. Thanks to the efforts of Paul Revere and William Dawes, who rode from Boston to Lexington in the middle of the night. Colonial leaders John Handcock and Samuel Adams were warned of the intentions of the oncoming redcoats. The British red coats clashed witlh American militia at Lexington on April 19, 1775.
“There’s a time for casting silver; a time for casting cannon. If that isn’t in the red, it should be!”There’s is a time for making money and there’s a time to go to war. His early life,the cause of why he joined the war, roles in the war, and after the war he was an inspiring person.
The American Revolution saw the rise of the American spy, and the father of these spies was George Washington, commander in Chief of the Continental Army. The siege of New York demonstrated the importance and dire need for an intelligence to General Washington. Unfortunately, the difficulty, at least initially, lay with finding people willing and able to serve in this manner.
All of us alive today have grown up learning about the American Revolution. Although it contains the word “revolution” in its name, there are many who don’t consider the American Revolution a real revolution. After considering the definition of a revolution – a radical change of an entire system, usually by war, resulting in a change of the way of life of the people involved – and the American society before and after the American Revolution, it is obvious that those who don’t consider the American Revolution a revolution are mistaken. Among the many aspects of colonial society affected by the American Revolution, those most greatly affected by the revolution were the attitude towards slavery, the role of women, and the role of trade.