By April 1775, things were bad in Massachusetts. Britain said the colony was in revolt. Colonial leaders were getting ready for war.

The British planned to capture Sam Adams and John Hancock. The British thought these two men were ringleaders. They also wanted the weapons that the colonists stored in Concord, outside Boston. British troops set off to surprise the colonists.

Patriot spies were watching. The spies sent a signal to Paul Revere. Revere was a patriot and a silversmith. He was to warn the countryside should British troops march. Revere watched for a lantern signal from a Boston church. One lantern meant the British were moving on land. Two lanterns meant the British were moving by sea.

Revere saw two lanterns. He set off on his midnight ride. He warned Adams and Hancock. The two men escaped the British redcoat soldiers. Paul Revere rode through the countryside to call the colonists to arms. Revere warned the minutemen, men who could get ready to fight in a minute. They stood ready to fight.

In 1861, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a poem about Paul Revere. His midnight ride became a legend. Historians note that Paul Revere was one of many riders who warned the patriots on April 18, 1775.