The Paul Revere Monument was designed by sculptor Cyrus Edwin Dallin in 1885 but wasn't cast until 1940 and dedicated in Paul Revere Mall between Salem and Hanover Streets on September 22, 1940. The equestrian portrait depicts the American patriot on his famous "Midnight Ride", which occurred on the night of April 18, 1775, when he and
William Dawes were instructed by Dr. Joseph Warren to ride from Boston to Lexington to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams of the movements of the British army, marching to arrest and seize the weapons stores in Concord. After being rowed across the Charles River to Charlestown by two associates, Paul Revere borrowed a horse from his friend Deacon John Larkin. There he verified that the local "Sons of Liberty" committee had seen his pre-arranged signals. Two lanterns had been hung briefly in the bell-tower of Christ Church in Boston, indicating that troops would row "by sea" across the Charles River to Cambridge, rather than marching "by land" out Boston Neck. ..On the way he "alarmed" the country-side, stopping at each house, and arrived in Lexington about midnight. After delivering his message, Revere was joined by Dawes, who had been sent on the same errand by a different (much longer) route. Deciding on their own to continue on to Concord, Massachusetts, where weapons and supplies were hidden, Revere and Dawes were joined by a third rider, Dr. Samuel Prescott. Soon after, all three were arrested by a British patrol. Prescott escaped almost immediately, and Dawes soon after. Revere was held for some time and then released. Left without a horse, Revere returned to Lexington in time to witness part of the battle on the Lexington Green. ..In 1861, over 40 years after his death, he became the subject of
Paul Revere's Ride, a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Longfellow took many liberties, giving credit to Revere for the collective achievements of the three riders, as well as claiming that the lanterns were a signal for Revere and not from him. As a result, historians often consider Revere's role exaggerated, becoming a national myth.
