Paul Revere was born in Boston, Massachusetts on December 21, 1734 or January 1, 1734 with the modern calendar. Paul’s father Apollos Rivoire, who later changed his name to Paul Revere. Revere was a Huguenot refugee who arrived in Boston as a youth. He became an apprentice as a silversmith, these skills were later passed on to his son, Paul Revere, who later became one of Americas most talented artists to create pieces in silver. Paul was given a fairly decent education allowing him to later read the complex metallurgical books. When Paul was nineteen years of age, his father passed away. Paul had to take over his father’s shop to care for his very large family. Paul had crafted surgical instruments, he sold spectacles, and was a dentist replacing missing teeth. He also engraved in copper plates. His most famous engraving was an illustration based on his interpretation of the Boston Massacre, or Bloody Massacre.
In September of 1760, Paul Revere joined the Masonic Lodge of St. Andrew. Here he met many patriot activists like Joseph Warren, James Otis, and John Hancock. Paul had quickly become involved with the activities of the American Revolution. In the fall of 1774, Paul had established one of the first spy rings in America used to keep track of the British troop movements. The Mechanics were eventually breached by a British secret agent who was working for General Thomas Gage. It was later discovered that it was Dr. Benjamin Church, who was sent to spy. Paul’s second job was being a courier for the Boston Committee of Public Safety, this job is what led to his well-known midnight ride. On April 16, 1775, Paul Revere rode to Concord to tell the patriots to move their military stores, that of which were in danger by the British soldiers, who were on the move. Two days later, on April 18, 1775, Dr. Joseph Warren ordered Paul Revere and William Dawes to travel into Lexington, Massachusetts and alert John Hancock, Samuel Adams and local militia of approaching British soldiers. This ride later was written as poetry by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow titled ‘Paul Revere’s Ride’. After the Revolutionary War started, Paul served as a lieutenant colonel in the Massachusetts State Train of Artillery and he commanded Castle Island in the harbor. Paul’s military career was very unremarkable his career concluded with the Penobscot Expedition in 1779, which he disobeyed his orders. He was charged with insubordination and was instructed to resign his command of Castle Island and was temporarily under house arrest. Paul claimed that the event was not his fault, so he wrote a letter to General William Health on October 24, 1779, protesting that his fellow patriots were plotting against him. He was eventually sent to court in 1782, and the fiasco brought a permanent halt in his military career.
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When the revolution ended, Paul grew his business and exported his products to England. For a short time, he ran a hardware store and his own foundry, where he made bolts, spikes, and nails for nearby ships, he also made cannons and cast belts. Paul opened Americas first copper rolling mill in 1801. In 1803, he produced copper sheeting for the hull of the US Constitution, the dome of the Massachusetts State House. He continued to work into his elderly age until he retired in 1813 at age 76. On May 10, 1818, Paul Revere died of old age and was laid to rest at Boston’s Granary Burying Grounds.
Paul Revere was a hero because he risked his life for the colonists in Concord and Lexington to tell them that the British or the ‘Regulars’ (which is a term used to describe British soldiers that were on the move) were coming. Paul was left to care for his family after his father died and that was a huge responsibility for a nineteen-year-old to take on while also possibly grieving his father’s death. Paul was also a stellar artist and made marvelous hand-engraved pieces.
Reference
- Britannica, T. Information Architects of Encyclopedia (2021, October 22). Paul Revere. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/facts/Paul-Revere
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