"A cry of defiance, and not of fear": Did Paul Revere Ride Alone?
In June 1776, Thomas Jefferson, sequestered in a Philadelphia boarding house, drafted the Declaration of Independence as an "expression of the American mind." Just weeks later, on July 2, Congress voted for independence, formally adopting the Declaration on July 4.
As Americans prepare to celebrate its 250th anniversary in 2026, Readex will commemorate the occasion with a series of articles exploring the pivotal events that shaped the nation's path to independence.
In 2026, the United States officially marks 250 years—it's time to celebrate and reflect on the country's founding.
We begin on the 4th of July 1776; the Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence.
However, it can be argued that the Revolution began in 1775—specifically, the night of April 18th and into the next day. Paul Revere rode throughout the night, the Battles of Lexington and Concord began at dawn with "the shot heard ‘round the world" by the Minutemen, years later culminating in the defeat of the British to shape the nation's origin story.
"Listen, my children, and you shall hear..." Readers likely recall Longfellow's poem next line, but few remember the final stanza.
So, through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm, --
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word shall echo forevermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.
Whether marking the anniversary in 2025 or 2026, several terms denote the 250th anniversary, to wit:
- Semiquincentennial,
- Bisesquicentennial,
- Sestercentennial,
- and Quarter Millennial.
It appears writers and speakers will likely use 'Semiquincentennial' most often next year. For our purposes, we will use Quarter Centennial. [Word spellcheck doesn't recognize the other three!]
Investigating Paul Revere's Ride
Longfellow's 1861 poem immortalized Paul Revere in American culture but is it the whole story?
Let's uncover more voices in Readex primary source collections.
Our first search in Readex AllSearch* is for Revere AND Dawes in the Citation field, with results sorted from Oldest to Newest. The yield is 9 imprints, five of which we cite here. The first imprint is found in American Broadsides and Ephemera.
Paul Revere was not the only rider that night!
The Sons of Liberty leader, Dr. Joseph Warren, assigned William Dawes to ride an alternate route to Lexington, and he acted with alacrity and courage. Don't recognize the name William Dawes? Longfellow never mentioned him although he played a significant role that night.
In 1894, a poem was published on Patriot's Day which was intended to be a corrective to Longfellow's myopia. It was written by Julia Goddard, a descendant. The purpose was worthy, the poem is heavy going which is being kind. Here is the penultimate stanza.
Brothers for aye in Freedom's cause ---
Brave Paul Revere! Brave William Dawes!
What generous blood beats through the heart,
Would hand their memories apart.
Should statesman's pen, the poet's verse,
Fail each man's service to rehearse;
Or tongue of truth forget to tell,
How each brave messenger did well!
No! Let one line of Honor's roll,
Thrice noblest page of History's scroll, Declare their deed, with merit due,
Accorded ne'er to one, but two,
And a remembering country say,
"Revere and Dawes" on Patriot's Day!
She had a point. It never really caught on. Somehow, "Should aught the historic names divide" doesn't resonate like "Listen, my children, and you shall hear".
Three years later, the Springfield Republican [Massachusetts] republished an essay by George J. Varney from Harper's Young People magazine. His account is dispassionate and gives due recognition to Dawes.
When Patriot's Day rolled around in 1899, the Massachusetts Society of the Sons of the Revolution chose to honor Dawes with a tablet on his tomb in the King's Chapel burial ground. Among the attendees at the ceremony were Julia Gardner, other members of the Dawes family, and assorted dignitaries of a sort, but not the mayor:
Mayor Quincy had been invited and was expected to be present and make a few remarks. The party waited for some time past the hour set for the exercises, but his honor did not put in an appearance and so the ceremony proceeded without him.
It was a dignified event despite the negligence of the mayor.
The Hutchinson Blade was published in Kansas from 1918-1922. On the eve of the Fourth of July in 1920, the Blade published a fuller account of Dawes' life which was as estimable as Revere's.
Perhaps if Longfellow had written:
Listen, my children, and as you pause,
You will hear of William Dawes
Whose midnight ride....
Ah, well. The wrong has not been truly righted and is unlikely to be. Our larger purpose is to explore the nation's founding two and a half centuries ago by recalling events in both 1775 and 1776.
*The search result numbers in this article are for illustration only and will vary by library, depending on database subscriptions and search parameters. Your results may differ.
