(The Center Square) – On April 18, 1775, known as Patriot Day in Massachusetts, Boston silversmith Paul Revere began an infamous midnight ride to warn colonists that the British military was coming.
His ride from Boston to Lexington was to initially warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock, two leaders of the Sons of Liberty and America’s founding fathers, that British troops were coming to arrest them. But militiamen throughout Massachusetts were ready and by April 19, the first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired at the battles of Concord and Lexington.
On Monday, Bostonians celebrated Patriot’s Day with a reenactment that’s been led by the National Lancers for more than 100 years. Brig. Gen. Richard Reale Jr. of the National Lancers, part of the Massachusetts Organized Militia, depicted Revere riding a horse from the North End through Charlestown, Somerville, Medford and Arlington to Lexington, NBC News 5 reported.
On April 18, nearly 1,700 miles away, the Texas Society Sons of the American Revolution unveiled a new monument honoring Texas revolutionary war patriots at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, noting the significance of the date. Gov. Greg Abbott, a direct descendent of a patriot who supported the cause of American independence, was also inducted into the Sons of the American Revolution, The Center Square reported.
The U.S. State Department also commemorated Revere’s midnight ride and launched a new initiative, the Spirit of 1776.
“With America’s 250th anniversary just around the corner, we’re looking back at the heroes who started it all,” the State Department said, first honoring Paul Revere’s midnight ride, “the spark in the dark that ignited the American Revolution.”
“Two hundred and fifty years after their Declaration of Independence, Americans still cherish their rights to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. The spirit of 1776 is woven into the fabric of the nation,” the site states.
“By April 1775, Massachusetts was in open defiance of British authority,” the site states. “Across the state, farmers and traders armed themselves into a militia known as the minutemen – ready to fight on a minute’s notice – and elected their own legislature to replace the one shut down by the royal governor. When British soldiers marched to seize the colonists’ munition stockpiles, they found themselves facing off against the minutemen at 5 a.m. on April 19 on Lexington Green near Boston. No one remembers who fired the first shot – the ‘shot heard ’round the world’ – but the war was on. The British approached the colonists’ stockpiles, but the minutemen blocked their path at the Concord Bridge.”
By June 1775, the Boston colonists won the Battle of Bunker Hill and battles would continue to be fought in 13 colonies that would become the first 13 states.
The Spirit of 1776 site chronicles important dates, including the December 1773 Boston Tea Party and January 1776 publishing of Thomas Paine’s manifesto of the Revolution, Common Sense. In it, he asserted that “liberty is the natural human condition, and government exists to serve the people.”
Most significant is the new Congress adopting the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, and 56 men signing it on August 2, 1776, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
“The Declaration of Independence states the principles on which our government, and our identity as Americans, are based,” the National Archives states. “Unlike the other founding documents, the Declaration of Independence is not legally binding, but it is powerful. Abraham Lincoln called it ‘a rebuke and a stumbling-block to tyranny and oppression.’ It continues to inspire people around the world to fight for freedom and equality.”
“For more than 250 years, ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’ has been the promise of the Revolution that began at Lexington and Concord and found its voice in the Declaration of Independence. The events of 1775-1776 bind Americans into a nation that stands out as an embodiment of freedom for all,” the Spirit of 1776 site says.
Multiple events are scheduled to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States throughout the semi-quincentennial year, not just on July 4.
The national America250 project is working with multiple groups and states, encouraging Americans to participate in events like Our American Story, America’s Invitation and America’s Field Trip and a volunteer outreach initiative, America Gives.
Local events are planned nationwide, including historical commemorations, educational experiences, celebrations and parades searchable by state through an interactive map.
