250 Years Ago, Part 5: The Midnight Ride, Lexington, and Concord

Paul Revere’s famous ride, followed by the ’shot heard round the world,' signaled the start of the American Revolution.

Vintage engraving of the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775. The battles of Lexington and Concord marked the outbreak of open armed conflict between Great Britain and the 13 American colonies. Public Domain

At 10 p.m. on April 18, 1775, Paul Revere set off through the darkened streets of Boston. Dr. Joseph Warren had brought urgent news: British Regulars (Redcoats) were boarding whaleboats to cross the Charles River. Warren believed, though incorrectly, that their mission was to capture John Hancock and Samuel Adams in Lexington. He believed that the arms and munitions stored in Concord could also be targeted. For days, he had received reports of suspicious British troop movements.

Militiaman William Dawes left Boston earlier that evening via the Boston Neck just before British Lt. Gen. Thomas Gage, the military governor of Massachusetts Bay, ordered the city gates locked to prevent anyone from leaving. Dawes’s mission: to warn Hancock and Adams.