2/19/09 - 5th Grade - The Ride of Paul Revere

Today we are going to talk about the Paul Revere, and the ride he took on the night of April 18, 1775 to warn the patriots that the British were coming. Let's start by getting to know a little about our colonial celebrity: http://www.kidsandhistory.com/paulvm/h2_hist.html

So, Paul Revere was a member of two secret societies that wanted to change the government of the colonies. When they wanted to meet, or exchange information, they could not just call each other up on the phone, this was the 1770's (the fist phone conversation wouldn't take place for 100 years! - March 10th, 1876). They had to send letters that were carried by messengers like Paul Revere. Let's read about the message that Paul Revere carried to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that British soldiers were coming to arrest them.

The most famous version of Paul Revere's ride was recorded in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere." But, Paul Revere's diary tells a different story than the famous poem. As we read the poem together, please fill in the details on your worksheet. Then we will read Paul Revere's diary, and compare and contrast the two.

Longfellow's Poem
http://www.kidsandhistory.com/paulvm/h1_midride/ridepages_nosound/ridefset.html

The Real Ride:
http://www.kidsandhistory.com/paulvm/h2_real.html

Paul Revere's depiction of the Boston Massacre:
http://ww1.prweb.com/prfiles/2007/03/20/513012/BloodyMassacre.jpg

Paul Revere's complete account of the ride:
http://www.americanrevolution.org/revere.html