Who was the Midnight Rider during the Battle of Lexington?

Answer 1

Paul Revere

AnswerThere were 3 on that night.

The British made their move to march out to Lexington and Concord to capture the leaders of the rebellion and destroy any arms the could find. The patriots held a meeting at the Ole North Church* and decided to send the alarm to the country side to warn them. They selected two people to send the alarm. Paul Revere was sent across the Charleston River by boat and mounted a horse to ride the northern route. William Dawes, Jr was selected to ride west along the narrow penisular that connected Boston to the land (in 1775, Boston was almost an island that was connected by a thin strip of land).

[* Unlike the poem, "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere", Revere was not waiting on the other side of the river to see the signal lights. The "2 if by sea" was a signal to everyone in the surrounding countryside to be prepared for the British to cross the river. When the decision was made, Revere left the North Church and was rowed across the Charles River under the eyes of soldiers, where a horse was waiting and Dawes mounted his horse for his overland ride.]

The two riders went their separate paths that lead them to Lexington. About Midnight, Paul Revere arrived at the Hancock-Clarke house and gave the warning that the British were coming. This allowed the leaders to disperse and Captain John Parker began to assemble Minute Men who would stand and fight.

The riders rode out to warn Concord and they were joined by Dr. Samuel Prescott. Dr. Prescott, some say, was out courting a lady and he met Dawes and Revere. Paul Revere, who was riding in front of Dawes and Prescott, was capturedby British officers. Dawes turned and rode back to Lexington and Prescott escaped to carry the warning to Concord. (I imagine he knew how to ride the trails at night since he was a local person to the area.)

Some say Paul Revere traded his horse for his freedom. Some sources say Dr. Prescott galloped off into the dark woods like a drunken man and the British were not familiar enough with the trails to follow him.

The rest of the Story.The British arrived at Lexington almost at sunrise and were met by a group of Minute Men on the green of Lexington. After a stand-off, a shot was fired and then both sides fired volleys. The Minutemen suffered several casualties. The British army marched on to Concord.

At Concord the British searched the town for weapons and stores. They burned what they could find. A small group of British soldiers marched out to the bridge on the north side of town. The Minutemen from Acton and Bedford were arriving to give aid. They were carrying the flag of Bedford, which consisted of a Knight's Arm holding a sword, mounted over a cloud. As they approached the bridge, the British soldiers of the 10th Light Regiment began tearing up the bridge. Both sides opened up with volleys and the first British soldiers were killed.

From there the British reformed and departed Concord to march back to Lexington. Before they reached Lexington, at Fiske's Hill, they were ambushed by more minutemen. Colonel Pitcarin'shorse bolted and the horse and his pistols were captured by the minutemen(ironically, Pitcarin was lated killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill and is buried at the Ole North Church). The British continued to march back to Charlestown and the Minute men began to arrive from all communities and kept up a running battle. More soldiers were killed.

After the "battles" of Lexington and Concord, the Americans declared their independance from Britain and a full war developed. The Battle of Bunker Hill (and Breed's Hill) was the last and only battle to be fought in Massachusetts during the entire War.

TodayThere is a Minuteman statue on the Lexington Green of Captain John Parker. There is another Minutemen statue at the Concord Bridge depicting a soldier leaving his plow and taking up his rifle.

On the 200th Anniversary, President G. Ford visited the Ole North Church and lite a 3rd Lantern as a beacon into the 3rd Century of the United States.

Today, Massachusetts celebrates the 19 of April date as a holiday. The major event of the week is the Boston Marathonis run on the first Monday.

Custermen

Link of timeline of Paul Revere's ride:

http://library.thinkquest.org/3803/Timeline/24text.HTML