Historic Documents about Revere's Ride

With so many interpretations of the events of the famous ride from Boston to Lexington, many of which were pure speculations, the only way to set the facts straight is to turn attention to the account of Paul Revere himself. Luckily such account exists and not just one. The first records of Revere himself writing about the ride were the draft and the final depositions dated 1775. These short memos were written upon the request of the Massachusetts Provisional Congress as part of the investigation to prove that the British Soldiers had fired the first shot. Other eyewitnesses of Lexington Green were also deposed.

The second document is more complete but was written 23 years after the fact. It was a letter from Paul Revere to Jeremy Belknap, Corresponding Secretary of the Massachusetts Historical Society dated in 1798.

Other than the accounts written by the Midnight Rider himself, several other manuscripts survived to give us the opportunity to visualize what occurred in 1775 through the eyes of contemporaries. Especially interesting are the ones written right around that time and preferably unbiased by political views of either side. One of such document is the down-to-business order given by General Cage, the commander of British regulars in Boston to march to Concord to confiscate weapons.