Spreading and Keeping Information in 1775

Rebecca Cortright

Boston Experiential Trip

June 2009

When I was in elementary school, I remember hearing all about Paul Revere and his heroic (solo) midnight ride to warn all the villagers that the British were coming. With only the help of an unnamed “friend” who sees the grenadiers moving to the boats and hangs the two lanterns in the church steeple, Paul saves the day. I really liked this poem, so imagine my surprise when, much later, I read the book, And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?, by Jean Fritz. According to that account: Paul barely made it to Lexington without being captured; he never made it to Concord at all because he WAS captured, AND he had two other men riding with him! Why hadn’t anyone pointed this out to me when I was 10?

This may be the reason why I was so interested in the document, Letter to Jeremy Belknap, from the Massachusetts Historical Society. In this 1798 handwritten letter, Revere writes that he “wishes to fulfill his promise, of giving you some facts, and Anecdotes, prior to the battle of Lexington, which I do not remember to have seen in any history of the American Revolution.” Revere then writes the full account of his actions on the 18^th and 19^th of April, along with the reasons for his suspicions that Dr. Church, a member of the Committee of Correspondence and the Sons of Liberty, is actually a Loyalist spy who has tipped off General Gage as to the location of the arms at Concord.

In the first part of the letter, Revere tells about his duties as a messenger for “Select men of the Town of Boston” who employ him to carry their dispatches to New York and Philadelphia. He then explains that he was one of “upwards of thirty, chiefly mechanics” who formed committees that kept tabs on the movements of the British army in Boston. This secret group met at the Green-Dragon Tavern, and each time they met, each member had to swear on the Bible that they would not tell anyone of their transactions, with the exception of Hancock, Adams, Warren, Church, and “one or two more.”

Revere writes that despite these precautions, the British seemed to have access to the Committee’s actions. “We did not then distrust Dr. Church, but supposed it must be some one among us. We removed to another place, which we thought was more secure, but here we found that all our transactions were communicated to General Gage. It was then a common opinion, that there was a Traytor in the provincial Congress and that Gage was possessed of all their secrets.” He then points out that Church was a member of Congress at that time.

As I read Revere’s words, I heard a bit of frustration and regret. He wishes he could have gotten some solid evidence to prove that Church was the traitor. He just can’t be sure, although he has a strong hunch. He lists arguments for and against: Church was a respected Son of Liberty, but Dr. Warren didn’t like him; he was a strong writer for the Whig party, but he took some of the Liberty songs and “parodized them in favor of the British”, and he spent a great deal of time socializing with British officers, but claimed it was to find out information from them. After Church tells Revere that the blood on his stockings was from a Patriot “killed near him as he was urging the militia on” at Lexington, Revere says that “I argued with my self, if a Man will risque his life in a Cause, he must be a Friend to that cause; and I never suspected him after, till He was charged with being a Traitor.” (Church is later seen meeting with Gage and is “taken up for holding a Correspondence with the British.”)

It is interesting to note that even after Church is caught, Revere still feels the need to look for answers. A year or two later, Revere meets a man who had lived with Church and kept his books. The man tells Revere that Church had had no money, and then suddenly, before the battle at Lexington, had “several Hundred New Brittish Guineas; and that He thought at the time, where they came from.”

As I read all of the evidence against Church, I wondered if Revere had ever expressed his suspicions to anyone or if he had kept them to himself. It is hard to tell from his account. In the letter, he writes to Belknap, "As I have mentioned Dr. Church, perhaps it might not be disagreeable to mention some Matters of my own knowledge, respecting him", almost as if he brought up the topic as an afterthought. I think he really did want it to be recorded for posterity that he had known about Church's treachery the whole time. You can almost hear him say, "I knew it!" when he heard Church was caught. After all, it had been his job, his duty, to keep tabs on the enemy. It would be interesting to find out if Revere knew Church well or if he just worked for him.

Revere’s account of his ride on the night of the 18^th is short, but very detailed. It is much more interesting to read, now that I have been to the places about which he writes. It is humorous to compare it to Longfellow’s poem where he is the gallant hero riding off to save everyone from the British. One wonders what Revere would say if he saw the poem. Revere wanted history to know the story and he wanted to make sure it was accurate. He tells Belknap, “I have endeavoured to give you a Short detail of some matters, of which perhaps no person but my self have documents, or knowledge. I have mentioned some names which you are acquainted with: I wish you would Ask them, if they can remember the Circumstances I allude to.” You get the impression that he is not doing it for any glory, but only because he feels that it is important for history to know the facts. He gives credit to those who were there - except for poor Robert Newman who is still only listed as "a friend".

We think of Revere as one of the great men of the Revolution, but I wonder what would have become of him if he had not made his ride on the night of the 18^th. He was a true Son of Liberty, and was trustworthy enough to carry very important messages for Hancock, Warren, and Adams. Would he have been noticed as much had he not made this trip and been immortalized in the poem?

I would definitely use this document in my classroom if I were teaching the Revolutionary Period. The account that Revere gives of his ride is very detailed, and it would be interesting to put the events into a time line. It would also be interesting to have the students read and compare Revere’s account with Longfellow’s glamorized version.

Students could also read the document and then list the evidence that proved Church was the traitor. They could do further research to find out more information about Dr. Church and what his penalty was for committing treason.

It is interesting to note that Revere wrote this letter in 1798 after he read other historical accounts about what happened on the 18th and 19th of April 1775. Whether he wrote about his actions to clarify, or to add to the earlier histories, he wants the account to be correct. His writing brings out the danger, uncertainty, and suspense of the time and allows us see just a small portion of what went on during the actual "midnight ride of Paul Revere."