2. • General Gage was trying to escape further embarrassment by attacking his opposition
before they were able to advance against his small force. His key points were to be
secrecy, the element of surprise, and intelligence. Whig leaders in New England had
been informed that the British army was preparing a strike. Samuel Adams determined
that the British must fire first. For America to be united against England, this would be a
vital key point.
• The two sides differed in the ways that they gathered their information. England
gathered from the top down while Americans gathered from the bottom up. While
England put General Gage as commander, America didn’t establish any single person in
charge.
• General Gage started to gather information two months prior to the surprise attack.
Gage decided to send two British plain clothed officers from Boston to Worcester. They
were to report back to Gage with intelligence about the countryside. They were warned
numerous times along their journey not to advance any further up to Worcester. Knowing
they could not return to Boston without any information, they continued on. They were
guided by many Loyalists along the way and eventually made it back to Boston.
• General Gage decided not to attack Worcester afterall. The distance was too far which
would eliminate the concept of a surprise attack. He set his sights on Concord. He again
sent out the two British officers in plain clothes to explore the road to Concord.
3. • General Gage decided to attack Concord by way of Lexington. Gage had
many Loyalists describing the munitions stored in town, house by house and barn
by barn. Gage Set Colonel Francis Smith to command the secret march into
Concord. Gage believed there was nothing to fear in terms of resistance. He
didn’t believe the Whigs had anyone of quality to take command and direct the
opposing army.
• General Gage ordered the navy to prepare for movement of troops by boat.
Admiral Graves did not like Gage and decided to conduct his business in full
view of the town. The Whigs of Boston quickly concluded that General Gage
was set to make a move against Concord. Paul Revere rode out on April 8th with
a letter from Doctor Warren to the leaders of Concord. Concord scattered its
ammunition and the Whig members moved out of town. On April 16th, Revere
rode to Lexington to inform Samuel Adams and John Hancock of the grenadiers
and light infantry movements. He also met with Whigs to discuss and early
warning system. They came up with special messengers by clandestine routes
and a back-up system of lantern signals.
4. • On April 18th, 1775, a stable boy alerted Paul Revere that he Regulars were ready to
march. Revere had heard the warning for the third time that day.
• Doctor Warren was carefully connected to a confidential informer at the uppermost levels
of the British command. Doctor Warren received the whole design of the British plan to
attack Concord and seize Samuel Adams and John Hancock. It is strongly believed that
Doctor Warren’s informer was General Gage’s American wife. Gage had confided in
only Lord Percy and his wife. After the Whigs had proved their knowledge of the attack
on Concord, Gage sent his wife to England and they remained separated for an
additional year once Gage returned to England as well.
• Doctor Warren sent out William Dawes and Paul Revere to warn Samuel Adams and John
Hancock. William Dawes was a tanner whose work often took him through the British
“lines” on Boston Neck. He knew many of the guards and Doctor Warren believed he
would have an easier time of getting through the British security.
• Revere enlisted the help of numerous Whig members to alarm the countryside of the
looming British attack. After leaving Doctor Warren’s, Revere went to the Newman house.
There, Revere enlisted Newman, Bernard, and Pulling to hang two lanterns in the Christ
Church steeple at the North End facing Charlestown.
5. • Charlestown Whigs were waiting and watching for those lantern signals. They saw
clearly two glowing lights. The signal Revere promised if British troops were leaving
by boat across Back Bay to Cambridge.
• The lights were only up in the steeple for a moment. Newman and Pulling put out the
candles. As they were about to exit the church, they saw a band of British troops
near the door. They quickly escaped through a window by the altar.
• Once the lights were visible, the Whigs of Charlestown prepared for Revere’s ride.
In Boston, Revere enlisted the aid of two friends to help him make the trip across the
Charles River. Revere met a few Whig members as he landed on Charlestown ferry
landing.
• John Larkin gave his horse to Revere who set off toward Lexington. He soon came in
contact with two British officers. Revere reversed his trail and followed Mystic Road.
This route was longer but took him safely out of British reach. He reached Lexington
and warned Adams and Hancock. Dawes and Revere were sent on to Concord to
continue the warning that the British would soon attack.
6. • That same night Gage set his army in motion. The soldiers were quietly woken up
and they all prepared as silently as was possible. The men were instructed to move
in small parties so the town would not be alarmed. The met on a remote beach of
Back Bay. Between 8-900 Regulars formed on the beach. These men were from
different regiments and were unfamiliar with working together. There was no clear
leader to command this band of men and too few navy ships had arrived to carry
the full team across the river in a single trip.
• The system of tying the longboats together from bow to stern was seen as a
necessary precaution against any boat being lost in the dark. This made the crossing
more difficult and slower when speed would have determined the success of the
expedition. The entire process of moving the men across the river took two hours.
Once across the river, confusion continued as the officers struggled to pull their
companies together.
• Once the march began the company found themselves in a swamp and found it
difficult to maneuver across this terrain. These men were soon soaked through up to
their middles. The uniforms that were uncomfortable to begin with grew increasingly
uncomfortable as they became wet.
7. • The men sat for an hour in their wet uniforms on the banks waiting for two days
provisions to be delivered to them. Four hours after they had initially set out, they
had to double back a mile east to escape the marshes. As the uniforms were
beginning to dry out, they came to a stream with melted snow. The men had to wade
through these cold waters up to their middles again. Many were tired, thirsty, hungry,
and cold. As the soldiers progressed through the town, word of the Regulars quickly
spread.
• As the Regulars marched on, they seized many Yankees on the road and forced the
men to march with them. Soon the Regulars were meeting many horsemen on the
road. Signal guns and alarm bells were heard from ahead and behind.
• Colonel Smith halted his company of grenadiers and ordered an aide to ride back to
Boston with a message that the element of surprise had been lost and that
reinforcements would be needed.
• The aide rode off and the company took up its march into the countryside once
again.
8. • Revere and Dawes were on their way to Concord when they were overtaken
on the road by a gentleman who introduced himself as Doctor Prescott. As
the three men conversed, Revere came up with a plan to alert all the
residents along the way to Concord in case the men were taken over by the
Regulars.
• Revere, Dawes, and Prescott were intercepted in Lincoln. Prescott and
Dawes got away from the Regulars but Revere was captured.
• Revere was interrogated by the Regulars and he answered truthfully. As the
questioning continued, Revere revealed the entire British plan to the Regulars
who were still unaware of their own mission. Revere informed them of the
Regular’s trip across the Back Bay and their coming ashore in Cambridge.
• He told them where he had and that he had warned the militia in Lexington.
9. • The Regulars rode up the highway and retrieved their commander, Major Edward
Mitchell. Revere’s main goal was to pull these Regulars away from Lexington and
away from the Whig leaders, Adams and Hancock.
• The soldiers conversed together and decided to ride on to Boston after listening to
Revere’s warning of looming danger in Lexington.
• The soldiers became increasingly nervous as they neared Lexington Green. As a
gunshot rang out, Major Mitchell asked Revere what it signified. Revere responded
that it was a signal “to alarm the country.”
• As more gunfire sounded, the soldiers realized the weight of Revere’s words. The
soldiers again conversed among themselves. They decided to release all of their
prisoners and ride east toward Cambridge.
• Sanderson went into Buckman’s Tavern and fell asleep by the fire.
• Revere remained outside. He stood contemplating the events of the night and what
still needed to be done. He walked north across the countryside intent on completing
another mission.
