Pitched Unfairly

The Committee of SafetyBoston, Tuesday, April 18, 1775Express

To the militia captains of Middlesex County

The Regulars are coming out. Pass it on.

A champion deck. Read it in a minute, then ride it to the next town.

Routing slip

  1. CharlestownCol. Conant. Saw the signal.
  2. MedfordCapt. Isaac Hall. Sent it to Malden.
  3. MenotomyAlmost every house.
  4. LexingtonMessrs. Hancock and Adams.
  5. Your town

P. Revere, Silversmith

Forward without delay. Do not shout.

If you read one slide

The Regulars march tonight. Be there first.

What
The grenadiers and light infantry are crossing the Charles by boat tonight.
Where
The road to Concord, and the province's military stores kept there.
Who
Hancock and Adams are at the Rev. Mr. Clarke's in Lexington.
You
Muster your company. Send a rider to the next town first.

Time to read: under a minute. Time to the next town: less, if you leave now.

Why change: the intelligence log

General Gage has stopped posturing. He is moving.

  1. Sat. Apr. 15, midnight

    The transports' boats are launched and moored under the sterns of the men-of-war.

  2. Also observed

    The grenadiers and light infantry are all taken off duty.

  3. Sun. Apr. 16

    We warn Hancock and Adams at Lexington, and agree a lantern signal with Charlestown.

  4. Tue. Apr. 18, sundown

    Ten British officers, well mounted and armed, are seen riding up the Lexington road.

  5. Tue. Apr. 18, evening

    Soldiers are marching to the bottom of the Common.

The North Church, Salem Street

Why now

Two lanterns in the steeple. They come by water.

By water. Rowed across the Back Bay to Cambridge: the short way. This is tonight's signal.

The lanterns were for Charlestown, not for me. I was in the boat.

Why us

Same news, two riders. One knew whom to wake.

Left
Charlestown, about 11 o'clock
Route
Rowed over, then Medford and Menotomy
Woke
Medford's captain, then "almost every House"
Lexington
About midnight

Malcolm Gladwell's reading: the message was the same. The messenger was not.

BostonCharlestownMedfordMaldenMenotomyLexingtonConcordCambridgeBrightonBrooklineRoxbury Capt. Isaac Hall, woken Revere taken, near Lincoln Prescott jumps a wall Revere Dawes

How it spreads

Every captain sends three. Three hops raise the county.

40

Riders out by morning, by the historians' count. Towns 25 miles off knew while the Regulars were still unloading their boats.

The steepleCharlestownMedfordLexingtonMalden

Objections, answered

Your selectmen will raise four objections. Here are the answers.

Answer 01

Shouldn't the rider shout that the British are coming?

We are all British. Say the Regulars are coming out, and say it quietly.

There are patrols on the road tonight. A rider who shouts is a rider who gets stopped.

The cost of waiting

Every hour you hold this is an hour the next town loses.

5hours

Forward it at 12:00 AM and the next town has this long before sunrise on Lexington Green.

Time to muster, march, and be standing there.

Next steps

Tonight's plan has owners on both sides.

WhenThe Committee of SafetyYour companyDone
Sunday Agree the lantern signal with Charlestown. Charlestown: watch the North Church steeple.
10 PM Hang two lanterns. Send two riders by two roads. Charlestown: get a horse ready for whoever lands.
Midnight Warn Hancock and Adams at the Rev. Mr. Clarke's. Lexington: ring the bell, muster on the Green.
1 AM Ride on for Concord, waking houses as we go. Concord: move the stores out of reach.
Your hour Nothing. You are the rider now. Your town: forward this to the next one.

The ask

Forward this to the next town.

Forwarded 4 times

  1. Charlestown
  2. Medford
  3. Menotomy
  4. Lexington
  5. Lincoln
  6. Concord
  7. Malden
  8. Woburn
  9. Bedford
  10. Billerica
  11. Acton
  12. Sudbury
  13. Reading
  14. Chelmsford

P.S. I was taken near Lincoln at about one o'clock. This deck was not.