Paul Revere’s Ride

Tonight is the 233rd anniversary of Paul Revere’s ride. I’ve always liked the beginning of Longfellow’s poem:

Listen my children and you shall hear

Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,

On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;

Hardly a man is now alive

Who remembers that famous day and year.

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A few years ago we were in Boston and got snowed in. We paid a wonderful visit to Old North Church, where two lanterns were hung in the steeple to let watching patriots know that the British were moving by sea. We got a private tour from a knowledgeable guide; there weren’t many visitors with two and a half feet of new-fallen snow on the ground. I’d recommend a visit to the church to anyone.

One of the excellent works of popular history of recent years is David Hackett Fischer’s Paul Revere’s Ride. Click on the graphic to go to Amazon:

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Mrs. R’s birthday is tomorrow, the anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord, and the shot heard ’round the world. I’m not sure how much kids learn about these events nowadays. Not enough, I’d guess. If your memory could use some refreshing, Hackett’s book is a great place to start.

UPDATE: Jules Crittenden celebrates Patriots’ Day with a selection of first-hand accounts of the events of April 18-19. Great stuff.

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