The Midnight Riders

The Midnight Riders. Minute Man National Historical Park. , In September of 1774, patriot leaders initiated a system of alarms and express riders to warn area towns whenever British troops marched out of Boston. On April 18, 1775 at about 10:00 in the evening, two riders set out from Boston ahead of 700 British troops. They took different routes in case the British stopped one of them. William Dawes took the southern route out of Boston and Paul Revere took the northern route. They stopped in Lexington to warn Patriot leaders John Hancock and Samuel Adams, then headed on to Concord, where military supplies for the colony were stored. , ( image captions ) , , ...One if by land, and two, if by sea; And I on the opposite shore will be, Ready to ride and spread the alarm Through every Middlesex village and farm, For the country folk to be up and to arm. , Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem Paul Revere's Ride (1861) has helped to make the alarm rider an American icon , , William Dawes took the land route south of Boston. , , Paul Revere crossed the Charles River, obtained a horse, and began his ride. , , British Expedition and Patriot Messengers , As Dawes and Revere alerted the countryside, other towns sent more riders out into the night. About 4,000 Massachusetts militia and minute men arrived in time to fight on April 19th. By day's end, about 20,000 were on the march.