Midnight Ride of Paul Midnight Ride of Paul RevereRevere

Fact vs. Fiction

Who Was Paul Revere?Who Was Paul Revere?• B. January 1, 1735 D. May 10, 1818• Silversmith from Boston--a very good one• Drew Political Cartoons

– What is a political cartoon??

• Member of the Sons of Liberty– Took part in the Boston Tea Party

• Courier for the Committee’s of Correspondence and Safety– Basically a messenger

• Became suspicious of the British in Mass.

Paul Revere cont…Paul Revere cont…

• Went to Concord to tell the people about the British– Concord held the militia’s guns,

powder, and muskets– Colonists began hiding all the military

supplies

• Formulated a plan to warn Concord if the British were coming

The PlanThe Plan• The idea was to use the Old North Church’s

lanterns as signals– If the British were to arrive by land--1 lantern lit– If the British were to arrive by sea-- 2 lanterns

lit• “One if by land, two if by sea…”

• Revere did not need to see the signals: he already knew the British would arrive by water– It was the only way

• The signals were for other people• The lanterns were not to be hung, just

shown

The Midnight RideThe Midnight Ride• April 18, 1775• Revere rode to Lexington to warn the British were

coming– His signals were seen: 2 lamps were lit

• Arrived around midnight, and warned the people about the British

• Two other riders joined him– William Dawes and Dr. Samuel Prescott

• On their way to Concord, all three were arrested by British on patrol

• Prescott and Dawes escaped, Revere did not• Interrogated for hours, and eventually let go

– The British took his horse• Prescott and Dawes warned Concord: more

importantly John Hancock and Samuel Adams– The king put a price on their heads!!!

Map of the RideMap of the Ride

Paul ReverePaul Revere

Paul ReverePaul Revere

Statue of Paul RevereStatue of Paul Revere

The Midnight RideThe Midnight Ride

• What you just learned were the FACTS of the ride.

• How many of you have heard about this ride before today?

• What were you told? • Let us look at the reason why Paul

Revere became immortal in American History

• The Midnight Ride– By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

QuestionsQuestions

• Why is this ride so well-known?• Explain the reasons why they chose

more than one rider.• Were different routes necessary• What was Longfellow’s reasons for

making Revere the focus of his poem?• Do you feel he lied, or exaggerated to

make his poem better?

AssignmentAssignment

• Create your own poem about the midnight ride• You must use the real facts that you have

learned.• Your poem must be at least 10 stanzas (4 lines

each) long. Your poem must tell the REAL story of Paul Revere. This is a narrative poem

• You will work in groups for this assignment• You do not have to type it, but you may.• Your finished poem must be neat, and include

some artwork