Nathan Pudlo

Mrs. Yanelli

US History

12/16/16

Paul Reveres Ride Essay

Many Americans knowledge of Paul Reveres ride to warn the Colonists that British

were coming, comes from Henry Wadsworth Longfellows poem, The Midnight Ride of Paul

Revere. However this is not a reliable or historical piece of evidence about Paul Reveres ride.

Revere rode to warn fellow Americans that the British were coming, before the battle of

Lexington and Concord. This poem is not reliable because of three main reasons, one reason is

because it was not written by Paul Revere. My second reason is that this poem was not written

until several years after Paul Reveres ride took place. Finally, the third reason is that many

aspects of the poem and Paul Reveres letter describing the ride, are different from each other.

Some parts of the poem and letter are similar, but there is a scarce number of examples that are

relevant. The next paragraphs will discuss the several reasons why the poem, written by Henry

Longfellow, was not a reliable source of information.

This poem was not written by Paul Revere, it was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Reveres ride was on April 18th, 1775. Longfellow was born in 1807, the ride of Revere was a

good thirty years before Longfellow was born. So Longfellow was not even alive during the ride

of Paul Revere so his poem is not an eyewitness account of the ride. The poem wasnt published

until January 1861, 86 years after Paul Reveres ride.. There are various situations that take

place in Paul Reveres letter and not in Longfellows poem. Many tiny things such a barns and
lampposts, are different throughout the letter and poem. Therefore if the poem was written by

Paul Revere it would have been much more accurate.

The poem was written several years after the letter by Paul Revere was written. This poem was

written almost a hundred years after the ride of Paul Revere. Paul Reveres letter, written to a

friend, was also written several years after his famous ride. In fact his letter was written at least

25 years after his ride. Since the letter was written by Revere, himself, it is likely to be more

reliable than Longfellows poem. I believe that the poem is not a reliable source of information,

when looking for historical accuracy about Reveres ride.

I will now discuss the similarities and differences between the poem and the letter. There are

many similarities and differences I will discuss, but I am only going to talk about the main

similarities and differences. Some of the similarities include the date, and how Revere rode

through Medford to alert his fellow citizens that the British were coming. Another similarity is

that Revere alerted people by watching for a light in the Old North Church. One light if by land

and two lights if by sea. Some of the differences include, time, also in the poem Revere rides

through both Middlesex and Medford. In the poem it says the British came by Sea, the letter

says the British came by land. These similarities and differences between the poem and the letter,

show how unreliable the poem is.

In conclusion, Henry Wadsworth Longfellows poem about Paul Reveres midnight ride is not a

reliable source of information. There are three main pieces of evidence that was provided

throughout this paper. The first point was because the poem was not even written by Paul

Revere, therefore not a reliable source of information. The next point is that the poem was

written 86 years after the ride of Paul Revere. The final reason is that there are many pieces of

the poem and the letter by Paul Revere, that are similar and different. These three main points are
the most important reasons why Henry Longfellows poem is not a reliable source of

information, when learning about Paul Reveres midnight ride.