Why Do We Remember Revere? Paul Revere's Ride in History and Literature

Introduction

In his account of his famous ride, Paul Revere described the impetus for his journey: "…I was sent for by Dr. Joseph Warren, of said Boston, on the evening of the 18th of April, about 10 o'clock; when he desired me, 'to go to Lexington, and inform Mr. Samuel Adams, and the Hon. John Hancock Esq.'" Though the lantern signal from Christ Church had been Revere's idea, he never mentions seeing it, though he does go on to say, "I set off, it was then about 11 o'clock, the moon shone bright." Anyone who learned the story from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow heard it told a little differently. Virtually all students, at one point or another in their schooling, are exposed to Longfellow's ballad, "Paul Revere's Ride." How accurate is it? Is it responsible for Revere's ride achieving such iconic status?

Provide the opportunity for your students to think about the answers to these and other questions as they read primary and secondhand accounts of events during the American Revolution. Extend the study of American Revolutionary history into literature by discussing how Revere's ride has been dealt with in poems by Longfellow and others.

Note: Your students can learn more about other rides during the American Revolution in the related EDSITEment lesson plan Not Only Paul Revere: Other Riders of the American Revolution

Guiding Questions

What are the essential differences between Longfellow's account of Paul Revere's ride and historical fact? Why does Revere's ride occupy such a prominent place in the American consciousness?

Learning Objectives

After completing the lessons in this unit, students will be able to:

• Recount the circumstances prior to, during and after Paul Revere's ride
• List differences between Longfellow's poem and the historical event
• State and critique some hypotheses that might explain why we remember Paul Revere's ride as we do.

Preparing to Teach this Lesson

• Review the lesson plan. Locate and bookmark suggested materials and other useful websites. Download and print out selected documents and duplicate copies as necessary for student viewing.
• If you are going to use it, download the excerpt from Chapter III of The True Story of Paul Revere (1906) by Charles Gettemy, from the site Archiving Early America a link from the EDSITEment reviewed website American Studies at the University of Virginia. This is the lengthiest (9 pages), and most difficult of the accounts used in this lesson, but it is the most detailed and arguably the most colorful. Assign to a group accordingly.
• Determine whether you have the Flash plug-in installed on student or classroom computer(s). You will need this plug-in to participate in the optional activity Paul Revere: Messenger of the Revolution, an online presentation on Archiving Early America, a link from the EDSITEment-reviewed website American Studies at the University of Virginia.

1 Ask the students what they know about Paul Revere. Read with the class a brief biography of Paul Revere, such as the one available on the website of the Paul Revere House, a link from the EDSITEment resource Internet Public Library, skipping (for now) any sections specifically about the ride.

Ask students to identify any facts about Revere heard in the biography that they did not previously know, and keep a class list of these new facts on the chalkboard or elsewhere. Do the students believe Revere would have been remembered for other achievements even if he had never been on that famous ride?

If desired, review with the class the political/military circumstances surrounding Paul Revere's ride. The EDSITEment resource Learner.org features a pertinent timeline as part of its Biography of America. To help students understand the political situation in 1775, access additional information about events on the timeline by clicking on the "T" in the right-hand column. Share with the class these two opposing accounts of events surrounding the Battle of Lexington, written at the time the events occurred. Both are from the EDSITEment-reviewed website American Memory:

• An account told from the British point of view: A circumstantial account of an attack that happened on the 19th of April 1775, on his Majesty's troops
• A Bloody Butchery, by the British troops

Discuss the similarities and differences between the accounts. Do they help answer the question, "Who fired the 'shot heard 'round the world'?" Or, do they add to the confusion?

2 Divide the class into as many as eight groups (six, if you choose not to use the online presentation below), assigning each of the following accounts to one or two groups:

• Chapter III, "The Midnight Ride of April 18, 1775," from Charles Gettemy's The True Story of Paul Revere, published in 1906 from Archiving Early America, a link from American Studies at the University of Virginia. (See the note in the section "Background for the Teacher" above.)
• An account of the ride attributed to Paul Revere, available via a link from the EDSITEment resource Internet Public Library.
• The Midnight Ride, available via a link from Internet Public Library (includes a map with times for each stage).
• Paul Revere: Messenger of the Revolution, an online multimedia presentation featuring archival drawings and audio narration from Archiving Early America, a link from American Studies at the University of Virginia.

Encourage students to make note of the details of their account's version of the ride. If desired, you can use or adapt the PDF handout, Keeping Track of Paul Revere. Then, work together as a class to construct the best possible version of what really happened on the ride.

3 Read Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's famous poem "Paul Revere's Ride" aloud to the group without the students looking at the text; the poem is available from the EDSITEment resource The Academy of American Poets. After one reading, ask students what stands out for them and what they recall about the poem. Then pass out copies of the text and assign sections to volunteers to read aloud as the class follows along. Further class discussion at this point should focus on literary elements and not historical detail, as that will be covered later.

After the poem has been read aloud, and before the discussion to follow, give students the opportunity to review the poem on their own. Ask them to make notations in the text such as:

• Circle memorable place names (North Church, Lexington, Concord)
• Underline lines indicating the historical importance Longfellow attributes to Revere's ride
• Underline twice lines indicating the personal qualities with which Longfellow imbues Revere and the Patriots at Lexington
• Make stars beside lines indicating Longfellow's attitude toward the event.

Ask students to think about the following:

• Longfellow published his poem in 1861, when the country was in a state of turmoil-the start of the Civil War. Do the students think he was trying to renew national unity?
• What does the class think is the "word that shall echo forevermore!"?
• Pay special attention to any details in the poem they recall from the other accounts of Revere's ride

4 Download and distribute copies of a Venn diagram for students to use to note differences and similarities between the poet's account and the class summary of the details of the actual event. If desired, when the groups are done, use student input to build a composite diagram on the chalkboard. Prepare the class for a discussion of why we remember Revere's ride the way we do. Download a copy of the handout Why Do We Remember Revere's Ride the Way We Do? Pass out copies to the class and have students complete the questionnaire. Discuss students' ratings, as well as any additional hypotheses offered by students, and attempt to come up with a unified theory about the iconic status of the ride.

Extending the Lesson

• Introduce students to additional poems by Longfellow, some of which have historical themes. Appropriate examples may be found:
  • Using the search function on the EDSITEment resource American Verse Project. Search for "Longfellow."
  • At the EDSITEment-reviewed website The Academy of American Poets-specifically, The Children's Hour.
  • At the website Favorite Poems Project, a link from The Academy of American Poets-in particular, A Psalm of Life.
• Other poets have written about Revere's ride and the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Have students read a few of these poems. How did the poets treat the subjects? How accurate were their accounts? The EDSITEment resource American Verse Project features the following:
  • From "The Poems of Sidney Lanier," a collection published in 1885, Psalm of the West (page 128), starting with the lines:

    “O'er Cambridge set the yeomen's mark: Climb, patriot, through the April dark.”

  • From the 1903 collection "Ballads of Valor and Victory Being Stories in Song from the Annals of America" by Clinton Scollard and Wallace Rice Scollard, The Minute Men of Northboro'.

Selected EDSITEment Websites

• Academy of American Poets
  • The Children's Hour
  • Favorite Poems Project
  • A Psalm of Life
• American Memory
  • Printed Ephemera Collection
  • A circumstantial account of an attack that happened on the 19th of April 1775,
    on his Majesty's troops
  • “A Bloody Butchery, by the British troops”
• American Studies at the University of Virginia
• Archiving Early America
• Paul Revere: Messenger of the Revolution
• American Verse Project
  • The Minute Men of Northboro'
  • Psalm of the West
• The Internet Public Library
  • About.Com: Women's History
  • Sybil Ludington: Female Paul Revere
  • American Revolution
  • Jack Jouett
  • Revere Speaks
  • History Channel
  • Paul Revere House
  • Paul Revere: A Brief Biography
  • The Midnight Ride
  • The State of Texas's Home Page
  • Sybil's Daring Ride (from the 7th grade TAAS test in reading, page 30)
  • University of Virginia Electronic Text Library
  • A Brisk Little Fight By Tench Tilghman (1776)
  • Women in American History
  • Sybil Ludington
• Learner.org
  • Biography of America-The Coming of Independence: Key Events (timeline)
• National Park Service: Links to the Past
  • Yorktown Biographies