Article Outline
Paul Revere (1735-1818), American silversmith, engraver, and patriot, whose famous midnight ride to warn colonists about the approaching British army made him a folk hero.
The son of a silversmith, Revere was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 1, 1735. While still a young man, he acquired a reputation as a designer and maker of elegant silverware; his finely wrought tankards, bowls, and pitchers were much prized, and his tea sets served the Boston aristocracy for a century. Revere also made artificial teeth, surgical instruments, and engraved printing plates.
Revere’s work brought him into close contact with such patriots as John Hancock and Samuel Adams, and he used his talents as a craftsman to support the colonial struggle against Britain. He drew political cartoons, which the colonists used as effective propaganda against the British. He also became a leader, along with Adams, of the Sons of Liberty, a secret patriotic organization formed in 1765 to oppose the Stamp Act. After the Boston Massacre in 1770, Revere engraved, printed, and sold a picture depicting the incident. The engraving helped stir the American colonists’ anger. In 1773 Revere participated in the Boston Tea Party, when American colonists dumped tea into Boston Harbor to protest a British tax.
During this period, Revere became a courier for the revolutionary cause. He rode horseback to deliver information to northern colonies such as Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania. In 1774 the Massachusetts assembly designated Revere an official courier to the Continental Congress.
On April 18, 1775, Revere and two other men rode from Boston to warn patriots that the British army was marching. This historic midnight ride was celebrated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his poem “Paul Revere’s Ride.” However, Longfellow exaggerated Revere's role. Although Revere adroitly eluded British troops and reached Lexington, he was detained before he could get to Concord. However, one of the other couriers got through to the patriots in time. Because of the warnings, the patriots were prepared when the British attacked them the next day. The battles of Lexington and Concord became the first battles of the American Revolution.
During the war, Revere established a gunpowder mill in Canton, Massachusetts. He also designed the first issue of Continental currency, the first official seal of the 13 colonies, and the Massachusetts seal still used today. In 1776 he was appointed a major in the Massachusetts Militia.
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