7 Reasons Why ‘Paul Revere’s Ride’ Is Entirely Inaccurate

On April 18th, 1775, Paul Revere took his famous "Midnight Ride" to warn us that the British were coming! (Sort of...) But the poem we learned in school about this event is wildly inaccurate. So lets learn the truth, shall we?

Most of us are all familiar with the story of Paul Revere riding to Concord yelling "THE BRITISH ARE COMING! THE BRITISH ARE COMING!" because of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "Paul Revere's Ride"

But, as it turns out, almost none of it is true. Paul Revere's ride took place in 1775, and Longfellow wrote his poem in 1860. So, it wasn't exactly a 'first-hand account'.

So I dug deep to find out the truth about what really happened on the night of April 18th, 1775.

1. Paul Revere wasn't alone on his ride. He rode out with Samuel Prescott and William Dawes

2. IT GREW FROM THERE. It started with three, but as they rode spreading the news, more and more people joined in. By the end 40+ men were riding through town announcing the enemy.

3. Revere never made it Concord to alert their residents. Samuel Prescott did. Revere was stopped by the British and William Dawes fell off his horse along the way.

4. Revere never said "The British are coming!" It would have made no sense. We just came from England to start a new life. And even though we were 'Colonial Americans" we still considered ourselves to be British. So for someone to say "The British are coming!" isn't helpful. That's like a madman running through town screaming "PEOPLE ARE HERE!" Yeah, we know...

5. British soldiers were known as "Regulars", so he most likely said something to the effect of "The Regulars are coming"

6. Also, he wouldn't have yelled it. This was supposed to be done as discreetly as possible.

7. The horse he rode on wasn't his own. It was loaned to him. And then confiscated by the British.

(Sources: History.com)