How long was the lantern in the tower for Paul Revere's ride?

Answer 1

"One by land two by sea and I on the opposite shore will be" So wrote Longfellow in his poem 100 years after the ride. Much of what Longfellow wrote he made up. Revere didn't finish the ride because he was stopped by a British patrol and his horse was taken away. Dawes and Prescott finished the ride ( but their names don't rhyme as well). Somehow this poem written well after that night has become history and was put into history books as truth. It is not.

Answer 2

According to the 1861 poem by Longfellow it was 2 lanterns. "One by land and two by sea", but in reality this did not happen. Longfellow wrote about the ride to remind people about the past. He used poetic license in his poem and didn't give the actual facts of the ride in 1775.

Answer 3

According to Longfellow, 1 lantern meant the British was coming by Land, and 2 meant they were coming by Sea.

That's according to Longfellow though; we're not all that sure if that's legend or fact.