Revere, Paul, 1735–1818, American silversmith and political leader in the American Revolution American Revolution, 1775–83, struggle by which the Thirteen Colonies on the Atlantic seaboard of North America won independence from Great Britain and became the United States. It is also called the American War of Independence.
..... Click the link for more information. , b. Boston. In his father's smithy he learned to work gold and silver, and he became a leading silversmith of New England. He also turned to various other skills—designing, engraving, printing, bell founding, and dentistry. In the French and Indian War he was a soldier, and in the period of growing colonial discontent with British measures after the Stamp Act (1765), he was a fervent anti-British propagandist. He early joined the Sons of Liberty Sons of Liberty, secret organizations formed in the American colonies in protest against the Stamp Act (1765). They took their name from a phrase used by Isaac Barré in a speech against the Stamp Act in Parliament, and were organized by merchants, businessmen,
..... Click the link for more information. , took part in the Boston Tea Party Boston Tea Party, 1773. In the contest between British Parliament and the American colonists before the Revolution, Parliament, when repealing the Townshend Acts , had retained the tea tax, partly as a symbol of its right to tax the colonies, partly to aid the
..... Click the link for more information. , and was a courier (1774) for the Massachusetts committee of correspondence. Revere became a figure of popular history and legend, however, because of his ride on the night of Apr. 18, 1775, to warn the people of the Massachusetts countryside that British soldiers were being sent out in the expedition that, as it turned out, started the American Revolution (see Lexington and Concord, battles of Lexington and Concord, battles of, opening engagements of the American Revolution , Apr. 19, 1775. After the passage (1774) of the Intolerable Acts by the British Parliament, unrest in the colonies increased. The British commander at Boston, Gen.
..... Click the link for more information. ). William Dawes Dawes, William, 1745–99, figure in the American Revolution, b. Boston, Mass. On the night of Apr. 18, 1775, Dawes rode from Boston, via Brighton Bridge, to Lexington, warning the countryside of the British advance.
..... Click the link for more information. and Samuel Prescott Prescott, Samuel (prĕs`kət), 1751–c.1777, American Revolutionary figure, b. Concord, Mass. On the night of Apr.
..... Click the link for more information. also rode forth with the news. Revere did not reach his destination at Concord but was captured by the British; nevertheless, it is Revere who is remembered as the midnight rider, chiefly because of the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He designed the first seal for the united colonies, designed and printed the first Continental bond issue, and established (1776) a powder mill at Canton, Mass. His military career was not distinguished. On the ill-fated expedition against Penobscot he was arrested for disobeying orders (though a court-martial later acquitted him of the charges), and in 1780 he returned to silversmithing. His shrewdness in other enterprises, particularly the establishment of a copper-rolling and brass-casting foundry at Canton, helped to make his later years very prosperous.

Bibliography

See biographies by E. G. Taylor (1930) and E. Forbes (1942, repr. 1962).

Revere, Paul

(born , Jan. 1, 1735, Boston, Mass.—died May 10, 1818, Boston) American patriot and silversmith. He entered his father's trade as a silversmith and engraver. An ardent supporter of the colonists' cause, he took part in the Boston Tea Party. As the principal rider for Boston's Committee of Safety, he arranged to signal the British approach by having lanterns placed in Boston's Old North Church steeple: “One if by land and two if by sea.” On April 18, 1775, he set off to ride to Lexington to alert colonists that British troops were on the march and to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock to flee. Though he was stopped by a British patrol, he was able to alert the patriot leaders; because of his warning, the minutemen were prepared for the Battle of Lexington and the start of the American Revolution. His ride was celebrated in a famous poem by Henry W. Longfellow (1863). During the war, Revere constructed a powder mill to supply colonial arms. After the war he discovered a process for rolling sheet copper and opened a rolling mill that produced sheathing for ships such as the USS Constitution. He continued to design handsome silver bowls, flatware, and utensils that are museum pieces today.

Revere, Paul (1735–1818) patriot, silversmith; born in Boston, Mass. He was an excellent silversmith and ardent patriot, but a mediocre military leader. A member of the Sons of Liberty, he became the primary express rider for the Boston Committee of Safety. His famous ride to Lexington in 1775 was only the best-known of the many courier services he performed. He later was court-martialed and acquitted for his leadership during the failed Penebscot Bay expedition of 1779. After the American Revolution, he continued his silversmith trade with great success. He provided materials for the U.S.S. Constitution and worked with Robert Fulton in developing copper boilers for steamboats.

Revere, Paul

(1735–1818) warned colonials of British advance (1775). [Am. Hist.: 425–426]

See : Messenger

Revere, Paul

(1735–1818) famous American patriot who warned, “The British are coming” (1775). [Am. Hist.: Jameson, 425–426]

See : Warning