Paul Revere's Ride

[Johnnyappleseed]

I have been using this short poem at event's I SB

Longfellow did a nice job on imagery and I think the piece is worth promoting for folks who will probably never read a book .

Any thoughts on this ?

[Sly223]

I'm lost what's the poem?

[The Wolfhound]

I believe that would be: Listen my children and you shall hear of "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere"-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

[GEmanuel]

While I do agree that few attendees may actually read "Paul Reveres Ride", and that Longfellow was a wonderful poet I have a serious problem if your intent is to substitute the reading of the book, with the reading of the poem.
As one who is old enough to remember the poem from school, (no, it was not carved in stone tablets then) I can not tell you how cheated I felt when I read the book for the first time.
I think that in this particular case, reading Longfellow, after hearing a well done history at an Appleseed can only raise more questions in the reader than it answers.
If you are using the poem however as an example of the way history can be distorted, and thus encouraging the reading of the book, that I could really get behind.
Great question Johnnyappleseed, thought provoking!

[scuzzy]

I did like the poem myself.

If you want an actual report on Revere's ride, written by Revere himself, go to this link. It's at the top of the page:

http://appleseedinfo.org/tips/american-revolution.php

Note: You must be signed in to the forum to access the link. It uses forum security to limit access.

[Johnnyappleseed]

While I do agree that few attendees may actually read "Paul Reveres Ride", and that Longfellow was a wonderful poet I have a serious problem if your intent is to substitute the reading of the book, with the reading of the poem.
As one who is old enough to remember the poem from school, (no, it was not carved in stone tablets then) I can not tell you how cheated I felt when I read the book for the first time.
I think that in this particular case, reading Longfellow, after hearing a well done history at an Appleseed can only raise more questions in the reader than it answers.
If you are using the poem however as an example of the way history can be distorted, and thus encouraging the reading of the book, that I could really get behind.
Great question Johnnyappleseed, thought provoking!

GEM    thank you for your input on this issue .
Would you be so kind as to point out the parts of the "midnight ride of Paul Revere"that are not accurate .
I have read the poem several times and am at a loss as to where the inaccuracy's are located
The poem  not be on the forum , I believe google may provide the poem in it's entirety.

[dragonfly]

Paul Revere's Ride

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.
He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,--
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."

Then he said "Good-night!" and with muffled oar
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war;
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon like a prison bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide.

Meanwhile, his friend through alley and street
Wanders and watches, with eager ears,
Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
And the measured tread of the grenadiers,
Marching down to their boats on the shore.

Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry chamber overhead,
And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the sombre rafters, that round him made
Masses and moving shapes of shade,--
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,
To the highest window in the wall,
Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town
And the moonlight flowing over all.

Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,
In their night encampment on the hill,
Wrapped in silence so deep and still
That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread,
The watchful night-wind, as it went
Creeping along from tent to tent,
And seeming to whisper, "All is well!"
A moment only he feels the spell
Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread
Of the lonely belfry and the dead;
For suddenly all his thoughts are bent
On a shadowy something far away,
Where the river widens to meet the bay,--
A line of black that bends and floats
On the rising tide like a bridge of boats.

Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
Now he patted his horse's side,
Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,
Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry tower of the Old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns.

A hurry of hoofs in a village street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet;
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders that skirt its edge,
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.

It was twelve by the village clock
When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock,
And the barking of the farmer's dog,
And felt the damp of the river fog,
That rises after the sun goes down.

It was one by the village clock,
When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock
Swim in the moonlight as he passed,
And the meeting-house windows, black and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast
At the bloody work they would look upon.

It was two by the village clock,
When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadow brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket ball.

You know the rest. In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,---
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
>From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.

So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,---
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo for evermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

[Kaylee]

The first is that Revere knew exactly which way the regulars were going when he crossed over the water - the lantern signal had been arranged yes, but he wasn't waiting on it. He'd helped set it.

Secondly there were (at least) two other riders that night - Dawes and Prescott.

Finally is that he wasn't simply awakening farmers.
That's one of the things Fischer spends a lot of time on in his book, and I think it's probably the single most important lesson both from his book and from Patriot's Day itself.

The ride wasn't the important part. The ride was a couple hours on a horse.

The important part was the years he'd put in ahead of time, helping tie communities together, sowing relationships, making ready.. so that when the call did inevitably finally come, there would be someone to answer it.

That's why we read PRR I think - and with all respect to Longfellow, it's something the poem simply never could do justice to.

[Johnnyappleseed]

K,
Thank you for your well thought out post

I have been to AS where ,attendee's were looking off ,filing their nails , snoring ,groaning and walking off ,during well presented ,but long history.

Everytime , I read MRPR the attendee's were interested and attentive , often times ,applause was their response after hearing the poem.   for one thing ,it takes about 3minutes , I usually repeat some lines twice . " A cry of defiance and not of fear" then slightly louder A CRY of DEFIANCE and NOT of FEAR.

The poem  is not used to replace PVR ,but add some powerfull imagry .
As a Rifleman it is your job to motivate attendee's to #1 Buy RWVA membership #2 get forum name and post on AAR #3 motivate them to 7th step.

This tool may not work at every event or for every SB/IIT .
As a future SB , your job is to accomplish the above and more ,whatever tools work for your area and the type of attendee's is OK , as long as AS guidlines are used.

Once again from one Rifleman to another , thank you for your well reasoned input

[GEmanuel]

Thanks Johnnyappleseed for asking for the clarifications. This certainly is not intended to be an exhaustive list of inaccuracies, but in addition to those mentioned in the previous post.
Paul Revere was 'dispatched' by Dr Warren, who was alerted by Margaret Gage, not simply a friend hearing the tramp of feet.
He was rowed by two associates. The poem implies he rowed himself.
Revere was not waiting patiently for the signal to mount and ride. David Hackett Fischer reports he 'went to git me a horse' having done so he rode off, there was no waiting on the shore.
There is no mention of alarming Adams and Hancock which was his primary mission.
Neither Revere nor Dawes made it to Concord. Prescott actually alarmed Concord. Revere was captured (no mention) and returned to Lexington on foot. There as the British were forming on the Green he was struggling with the trunk. Dawes was thrown from and lost his horse and also walked back to Lexington.
He did not stop at every farm as the poem implies, but rather at selected stops to alert the members of the "alarm list" who then spread across the countryside.
As I said in my earlier post Wadsworth's Poem is certainly a lovely piece, but it lacks much of the historical accuracy of the book, and is not a proper substitute for the reading of the book. IMHO
While Longfellow's grandfather may have been present on the Green that day, his service, is nowhere acknowledged by the poem, or that any of the other 14,000 or so who turned out. The poem tells me the troops are coming. But, what am I to do now? Do I ride into the country side alerting others, do I get my musket?
Paul Revere's Ride is much more about the whole story and not simply a glorification (though deserved) of a very small portion of the events of the day.
It is of course a given that Longfellow could not possibly have condensed into a poem the events as set forth in the book. But, he certainly could have come closer to the facts. After all, he was an artist with words.
It is unfortunate that the schools I attended in my youth confused 'art' with history.
I have no quarrel with Longfellow's art, but his history falls far short. Though, not quite as short as the writers of the curriculum where I attended school.
If the entire history had been taught elsewhere in school, I would probably not feel quite the same about the poem; I am no doubt somewhat prejudiced by my experience. Hence, my comment about why we should not be substituting the reading of the poem, for the reading of the book.
History and Literature should not be confused. While former can be the later, the later can not necessarily be the former.
As an illustration, artful as it may be, of Reveres ride, it may be appropriate, however, perhaps an appropriate caveat or disclaimer should be given prior to or after  reading the poem so the student is not left with an unintentional false impression
It is my feeling that I was cheated out of a portion of my Heritage by the schools, and this is but one of my motivations for volunteering with Appleseed.
I offer this with all respect and hope you find nothing else in this post.
Again thanks for provoking the thought; I need to do more thinking anyway!

[Johnnyappleseed]

Thank you for your clarifications.
i concur that the poem is not a subsitute for the book .

At an IBC once ,Fred paraphrased an imporatnt quote by John Adams --- He then asked is this what Adams meant? we all agreed yes it was.
When I use the Adams quote (fred's) I say basically Adams said ...

If folks feel it's required. I would say basically Longfellow captured the essence and spirit of PRs ride.  None of the attendee's would challenge it or know the slight diffences your post points out.
In fact i did not myself.
I try to avoid words and phrases  like" not accurate - maybe not true - folklore etc.
by using these terms ,it negate's  the purpose of doing it .

Lets face it ,we spin this war to where our side is 100% in the right . Is that accurate ? well yes it is . But another view written by the Kings scribe would have the opposite conclusion .

I would suggest you read the poem several times and put emphasis on the important parts and see if this could work for you.

Respectfully,
JA

[GEmanuel]

Thanks JA
I particularly like the reference to the Kings Scribe. Points well taken.
And yes, we do put a certain spin on the story. But, isn't that part of our heritage?   
GE

[Sly223]

It seems a lot more accurate than,
I remember, or was told.
Not perfect,
but far from fiction, or detrimental to our cause!

[Kaylee]

Johnny - I certainly understand the need to make it real for folks.
And honestly, the "legendary" version can play very well to a crowd that would rather be shooting.

The one thing I want to avoid though is the twelve year old who comes to an Appleseed, hears the legend and takes it as gospel,  and then two years later hears the "America Sucks" version from her teacher. When she goes and looks up the history to see for herself, what's she going to think of Appleseed then?

What's she going to tell her friends?

I *absolutely* agree with making things viscerally real - the "family portrait that never was" for instance is an amazing presentation.
But I think we need to tread very carefully, and most importantly never tell anyone something we know isn't true.

Like Sly says, it's closer to the truth than my recollection had it - but with all the discrepencies GE points out, I continue to think that's not enough. At least, not enough without a disclaimer.

At risk of taking this into political territory - large parts of the 50's kid Boomer generation never forgave their own schools who fed them glossed-over, rah-America versions of our history, and the result was a full-on swing of the pendulum the other direction. Once they caught their teachers in *one* falsehood, however well intentioned, they went on to scorn it all.

We can recover from many things I think - but not being thought fools or liars.

The real story is amazing enough.

[Johnnyappleseed]

Thanx to all for your polite well reasoned ,articulate posts.

In the future I will add the same disclaimer i use for freds quote on Adams .

something like, this poem by Longfellow captures the spirit and determination of a little portion of that night, when ave men stood up to a proffesional army.

Again this poem may not be for every SB . As I mentioned earlier ,it has been very popular the times I did it.
We have report cards and whatever you can do to further the nobel cause of AS will be reflected in the results.
respectfully,
JA