"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."
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Saving lives with actions and words...
At 10 p.m. on this day in 1775, American patriot Paul Revere (1735-1818) made his famous horse ride to warn the people of Massachusetts that the British General Thomas Gage's troops were coming. This famous ride signaled the start of the American Revolution.
Revere was just a silversmith when he made his midnight ride along with colonists William Dawes and Samuel Prescott, warning leaders John Hancock and Samuel Adams of the impending attack. He was arrested by the British, but about 130 Minutemen met the British before they entered Concord.
After the Revolution, he returned to work as a silversmith and designed the united colonies seal that Massachusetts still uses today as its state seal.
Revere's ride of valor and courage became popular chiefly because of Longfellow's tribute to patriotism, written in 1860, 42 years after Revere's death.
"Listen my children and you will hear about the midnight ride of Paul Revere," Longfellow began, capturing and preserving the mood and and drama of history with passionate colors.
There is no limit to the power of action AND the power of words.