Who was Paul Revere?

Saddle up for a wild midnight ride! Welcome back to History's Not Boring by Kidopoly.com, where Mira and Finn are taking you back to the year 1775! The American colonies are still ruled by King George, but revolution is in the air. Have you ever wondered who warned the Patriots that danger was heading their way? Meet Paul Revere! By day, he was a regular silversmith, but by night, he became a legend! On April 18, 1775, Paul Revere jumped on his horse and rode as fast as he could through the dark to warn everyone that the British army was coming. He rushed all the way to Lexington just in time! Because of his brave warning, the colonial minutemen were able to grab their muskets and get ready. At dawn on Lexington Green, the very first shots of the American Revolution rang out—the famous "shot heard round the world"! Join us on this galloping adventure to find out exactly how Paul Revere's incredible nighttime mission helped start the American Revolution!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to History's Not Boring by Kidopoly.com. I'm Mira. And I'm Finn. Since we just passed the anniversary in April, it's the perfect time to talk about something incredible that happened exactly 251 years ago.

SPEAKER_01 0:15

Ooh, what happened 251 years ago? Was it a giant explosion or a huge battle?

SPEAKER_00 0:23

Not exactly an explosion, but it did spark a huge war. Get ready for this. Did you know that the most famous horseback ride in American history almost didn't happen?

SPEAKER_01 0:35

No way. What do you mean?

SPEAKER_00 0:37

Well, the main rider got captured by the enemy. He had to ride a borrowed horse, and he never actually yelled his most famous catchphrase.

SPEAKER_01 0:45

Wait, you mean the whole the British Are Coming thing is a myth?

SPEAKER_00 0:50

Exactly! Today we are unravelling the true, fact-packed story of Paul Revere's Midnight Ride, the Secret Lantern Codes, and the shot heard round the world. That sounds like an action movie. Let's go! Let's travel back to the year 1775. The American colonies were still ruled by King George III of England.

SPEAKER_01 1:11

But I thought America was its own independent country.

SPEAKER_00 1:15

Not yet. At this point, the colonists still considered themselves British subjects, but they were furious about unfair taxes and rules. Boston was basically an occupied city. What do you mean by occupied? The king had closed Boston's harbour to punish them, and there were 3,000 British soldiers patrolling a town of just 15,000 people. It was totally unfair. Whoa!

SPEAKER_01 1:42

That means one out of every five people was a soldier. I'd be so annoyed if soldiers were everywhere.

SPEAKER_00 1:49

Exactly. Because of this, the colonists started stockpiling weapons secretly. By April 1775, they had hidden thousands of pounds of gunpowder, cannonballs, and lots of muskets in a town called Concord, Massachusetts, which was 18 miles northwest of Boston. Did the British Army find out about the secret weapon stash? They sure did. The British general in charge, Thomas Gage, made a secret plan to send 700 elite British soldiers marching those 18 miles to Concord to seize and destroy everything. Oh no! 700 soldiers! Did the colonists have spies to warn them? They had the best spies, and their top messenger was a 40-year-old silversmith named Paul Revere. He was part of a secret group called the Sons of Liberty. A silversmith?

SPEAKER_01 2:45

Like he made silver spoons and plates.

SPEAKER_00 2:48

Yep, he was an artist, but he was also a super fast horseback courier. On April 18, 1775, Paul Revere got word that the 700 soldiers were about to move. It was around 10 pm on April 18th. Revere knew he had to warn the towns, but first he had to set up a secret signal for the other Patriots. Ooh, I love secret codes. What was the signal? He told two friends, Robert Newman and John Pulling Jr., to sneak into the tallest steeple in Boston, at the Old North Church.

SPEAKER_01 3:25

Were they setting a trap up there?

SPEAKER_00 3:27

They were hanging lanterns! The code was simple. Hang one lantern if the British are marching by land, or two lanterns if they are rowing boats across the Charles River. So how many lanterns did they light? Two! The British were taking boats! But they only left the lanterns lit for less than a minute, so the British guards wouldn't see them and arrest them. That was a close call. What did Paul Revere do next? He had to be smuggled across the Charles River to Charlestown, sneaking past British patrols in the water.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

Phew, he made it across. Did he have his horse waiting?

SPEAKER_00 4:06

Actually, he had to borrow a super fast New England saddle horse named Brown Beauty. She was valued at$60 back then, which is over$3,700 today.

SPEAKER_01 4:19

That is one expensive and fancy horse. How far did they have to ride?

SPEAKER_00 4:24

Revere jumped on Brown Beauty and started a dangerous 12-mile gallop in the pitch dark toward the town of Lexington. As Revere rode through the night, he didn't shout, the British are coming! Because everyone still thought of themselves as British citizens. Then what did he yell to wake everyone up? He yelled, The Regulars are coming out! Regulars was their word for the British soldiers. Around midnight, he reached Lexington.

SPEAKER_01 4:52

Who was he looking for in Lexington?

SPEAKER_00 4:55

He had to warn two important patriot leaders, Samuel Adams and John Hancock, who were staying there. After warning them, Revere was joined by two other riders. Wait, there were other riders? It wasn't just Paul Revere riding alone. Nope. He met up with William Dawes and Dr. Samuel Prescott. The three of them rode together toward Concord. But suddenly, on the dark road, they were ambushed by a patrol of British officers. Oh no, an ambush? In the middle of the night? Did they escape? Dawes completely lost his way after falling off his horse. Prescott managed to jump his horse over a stone wall and rode off to successfully warn Concord. But poor Revere? Don't tell me the main hero got caught. He was captured by the patrol. The British soldiers questioned him, took his expensive horse, Brown Beauty, for themselves, and left him to walk all the way back to Lexington on foot. They stole Brown Beauty. That is so unfair. It was! And while Revere was walking back, the 700 British soldiers finally arrived. At 5am on April 19th, the British Light Infantry marched onto Lexington Green.

SPEAKER_01 6:11

Were the colonists ready for them?

SPEAKER_00 6:14

Waiting on the green were about 80 militiamen, known as Minutemen, led by Captain John Parker. Why were they called Minutemen again? Because they had promised to be fully armed and ready for battle in exactly 60 seconds. A single minute. But imagine being one of those 80 farmers facing 700 highly trained, well-armed soldiers.

SPEAKER_01 6:39

That is terrifying! They must have been so brave. Who shot first?

SPEAKER_00 6:45

Nobody knows for sure. Both sides had orders not to shoot. But a single musket fired in the early dawn light. Today, history calls it the shot heard round the world. Did people get hurt when the shooting started? Yes. Eight Minutemen died at Lexington, and the British kept marching on to Concord to find the hidden weapons. But remember Dr. Prescott? He had successfully carried the warning to Concord. Oh right, the guy who jumped the wall. So the weapons were safe? They were, and by the time the British arrived and then tried to march back, over 4,000 colonial militia had rushed from the surrounding towns to join the fight. 4,000? The farmers actually fought the King's army. They sure did. The colonists chased the British all the way back to Boston. By the end of the day, 73 British soldiers were killed, and 49 colonists lost their lives.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

That's a sad day, but it means the colonists really stood up for themselves.

SPEAKER_00 7:51

Exactly. That midnight ride and those first shots officially started the American Revolutionary War. Oh, and here's a weird fact. Paul Revere wasn't just a silversmith and a hero. He also made false teeth.

SPEAKER_01 8:08

Wait, the famous Midnight Rider was a part-time dentist? That is hilarious. It is pretty funny.

SPEAKER_00 8:15

Alright, Finn, time for the quiz. Are you ready?

SPEAKER_01 8:19

Okay, I'm ready. I hope I remember the numbers.

SPEAKER_00 8:23

First question. What year did this famous midnight ride happen? Next one. How many lanterns were hung in the old North Church steeple? Question three. What was the name of the speedy horse Paul Revere borrowed? Here's number four. What did Paul Revere actually yell instead of the British are coming? Last question. What do we call the special militia members who could be ready in 60 seconds? Great job! Let's see how you did. The first answer is the right happened in 1775. For question two, they hung two lanterns because the troops were moving by sea. Number three, the answer is the horse's name was Brown Beauty. Question four. He yelled, The regulars are coming out! And the final answer is they were called Minutemen.

SPEAKER_01 9:37

I got them! I would definitely be a Minute Man. Well, maybe a five-minute man, so I could have time to tie my shoes and find my hat.

SPEAKER_00 9:46

A five-minute man! I think that would still be pretty fast, Finn. You'd definitely be a big help.

SPEAKER_01 9:53

Yeah! Though I definitely don't run as fast as Brown Beauty did, and I'd probably fall off if I tried to jump a stone wall in the dark.

SPEAKER_00 10:01

Probably not. It is so amazing how one borrowed horse, a secret lantern code, and a few brave riders deciding to take a huge risk help start an entire revolution.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

I love history mysteries like the Lantern Code. It's like a real life spy mission.

SPEAKER_00 10:19

If you love learning about this history mystery with us, we would love it if you could leave us a five-star review. If you'd be ready in a minute to rate us, just scroll down on your podcast app and tap the five stars. Yeah, give us five stars so we can keep making cool episodes for you. Oh, and don't forget to head over to our site, kidopoly.com. We've got tons of fun learning games and awesome activities to explore there. The games are so much fun, you have to try them. And if you want a shout out on the show or just want to say hi, send us an email at hello at kidopoly.com. Send us an email. We love hearing from you. See you next time on History's Not Boring. Bye, everyone.