Revere, Paul

Paul (1735-1818), an American patriot. He was a native of Boston. He was trained to the trade of an engraver and silversmith. The plates used in printing the first paper currency in Massachusetts were engraved by him. His signature also appears on engravings of Samuel Adams, King Philip, and the Boston Massacre. He took part in 1756 in the expedition against Crown Point. When the troubles of the Revolutionary War drew on he was one of Samuel Adams' most active assistants, and was one of a volunteer band of mechanics who patrolled the streets of Boston to observe the movements of the British troops. On the evening of April 18th, 1775, the day before the battle of Lexington, it was arranged that he should station himself on horseback on the northern shore of the Charles River. In case the British troops made ready for an expedition a lantern was to be hung in the old North Church tower. At 2:30 in the morning the troops landed on their way to Lexington, but Paul Revere was off on his "mid-night ride," two hours in advance of them. As told with reasonable accuracy in Longfellow's famous poem, he gave warning to the minutemen at Lexington and Concord. During the war Revere rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel of artillery. At the conclusion of peace, he resumed his trade as a gold and silver smith. He later enlarged his business by the establishment of a foundry for the manufacture of bells and cannon. He is credited with being the first American to smelt copper ore and to roll copper into sheets and rods. See Lexington; Concord