Being an American Patriot means different things at different times .......
 |
| Paul Revere Didn't Ride Alone - William Dawes and Samuel Prescott Accompanied Him. |
... so during the American Revolution or 'Treasonous Revolt' as we would call it .... (just kidding folks) ... people such as Paul Revere, would be described as a typical patriot.
Of course the truth, and the legend, of Paul Revere, are not quite the same ..... Revere was not alone on his midnight ride, as two other men, William Dawes and Samuel Prescott, initially rode alongside him, and by the end of the night, as many as 40 men on horseback were also spreading the word .... he never even reached the town of Concord to deliver the message, as he was actually temporarily detained by the British at Lexington (one of the others, young Samuel Prescott passed on the warning to Concord).In fact, he also never even shouted the legendary phrase “The British Are Coming!”, as he passed through Boston's Suffolk counties countryside and towns. The ride was meant to be secret, and in any case most people would have considered themselves to be British, so the message would have been meaningless to many.
Finally he was charged with cowardice and insubordination, following the incompetent Penobscot Expedition of 1779, and was given a court-martial and dismissed from the militia. He was later 'acquitted' in 1782 in a post revolution whitewashing of patriots, but his reputation remained tarnished.
However, this was rescued when the 1860 poem by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was published, full of inaccuracies (or artistic licence depending upon your point of view) it resurrected him from the historical shadows where he had lain since his court-martial .... and elevated him above the true hero, Samuel Prescott (who is believed to have died a few years after the ride) .... So an American legend was born.
No comments:
Post a Comment
All comments are welcomed, or even just thanks if you enjoyed the post. But please make any comment relevant to the post it appears under. Off topic comments will be blocked or removed.
Moderation is on for older posts to stop spamming and comments that are off topic or inappropriate from being posted .... comments are reviewed within 48 hours. I don't block normal comments that are on topic and not inappropriate. Vexatious comments that may cause upset to other commentators, or that are attempting to espouse a particular wider political view, are reviewed before acceptance. But a certain amount of debate around a post topic is accepted, as long as it remains generally on topic and is not an attempt to become sounding board for some other cause.
Final decision on all comments is held by the blog author and is final.
Comments are always monitored for bad or abusive language, and or illegal statements i.e. overtly racist or sexist content. Spam is not tolerated and is removed.
Commentaires ne sont surveillés que pour le mauvais ou abusif langue ou déclarations illégales ie contenu ouvertement raciste ou sexiste. Spam ne est pas toléré et est éliminé.