William Dawes – The “Other Rider”

William Dawes – The “Other Rider”. Marlborough, Massachusetts. When President George Washington visited Boston during his tour of the newly formed United States, he was asked if there was anyone in particular he wanted to meet. One man stood out, Marlborough resident William Dawes, who[m] Washington described as “one of the most important Patriots of the Revolution!” , Dawes served as an important source of clandestine information for Dr. Joseph Warren and the Sons of Liberty. A sergeant in the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston, he was one of those responsible for the theft of cannon from under the noses of the British on Boston Common in September of 1774. This embarrassment added impetus for the British to attack the Colonials in April of 1775. , During the night ride warning of the British foray to Lexington and Concord, Dawes took the southern route over Boston Neck while Paul Revere crossed the Charles River to Charlestown. , In the first years of the Revolution, now a Quartermaster, Dawes came to Marlborough with his brother-in-law William Cogswell and likely oversaw the production of much needed saltpeter using the potash kilns of the exiled Henry Barnes. Saltpeter was a prime ingredient in the production of gunpowder. , After the war, Cogswell and Dawes' sister Abigail married and purchased the Barnes residence and store. Dawes purchased his own property at the end of Main Street and operated a grocery store. , When he died in 1799, the townspeople ceremoniously paraded his casket from First Church via the old Post Road to a burial site in Boston. , [Captions (from left)] , . Portrait of William Dawes by John Johnson circa 1793-95. , . Map showing the routes of the riders on the night of April 18-19, 1775. Dawes was off first and used the longer land route, covering some 17 miles in three hours. Both Dawes and Revere arrived at about the same time to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams.