THE MIDNIGHT RIDE
OF DAWES, REVERE
AND PRESCOTT

by Suzie-Jean

 

Listen my children and  hear   without .....pause,
Of  the midnight ride of   William Dawes

On l8th   April,   ’75,
A bit of truth  I’ll now revive.

This William Dawes was  on his horse,
He needed bravery, of course.
Intentions clear, his plan quite grand,
To harness freedom through the   land.

For William Dawes, much work to do,
And Paul Revere would help out too.
With  Samuel Prescott, one more there,
“Awake ye colonists,  prepare!”
“Get ready now raise high alarm,
So no one here will come to harm.”

 Paul, Sam and  Will  on horseback ride,
 They planned that  night, to stem the tide.
Adventures now--each noble lad,
My word!, the courage these three had.

Let’s start with Paul, the silversmith,
A momentous story told forthwith.
The sky was dark, though stars shone .bright,
For Paul Revere, sufficient light.
His first big job, initially,
To warn two leaders , hurriedly.
Began his mission in a boat,
He saw more trouble, and took note.
He must warn more than just the two,
Of  trouble that would soon ensue.

Along with William (Billy)Dawes,
Would tell the folk about their cause.
They soon met up with good old Sam,
10 nights  of work in one they’d  cram.

So on to village number one,
Their  work that night had just begun.
Now did they   gallop through and shout,
“The  British storm, with mighty clout”?
 Oh no indeed, were too polite,
To scare the people in the night.

They  knocked on doors, to spread the .news,
" The regulars come, no time to lose
Stand tall  , be strong and  patriots be,
(Or risk your neck at the liberty tree!) "

The first door  Paul had knocked to tell
A man stood there, began  to yell,
“What’s wrong with you? , there’s too much noise,
My girl’s asleep , as well, my boys."

But Paul was stern, his mission kept,
No  matter  whether people slept.
“Please heed the cry, and hear our plea,
The Redcoats come by land AND sea.”

Tough luck for Paul within an hour,
His zealous journey went quite sour.
The Redcoats caught him, took him in,
Admonished  Paul for evil sin.
Released him then without his horse,
He could not keep on hero’s course.

‘twas not the same for William Dawes,
Nor Samuel Prescott, no, because,
They fled from capture, that they did,
And with their horses, moments hid.

And when the road became more  clear,
They mounted up and rode--- no fear.
When William Dawes and Sam, his friend,
Proceeded forth,--  Paul’s ride, THE END.

We're not quite sure what happened then,
Of  where both went, or how or when.

It's true, of course, that Paul Revere,
Was patriotic,most sincere.

But William Dawes , Sam Prescott too,
Completed warning far from few.
Yet, who remembers William Dawes,
Or Samuel Prescott, with applause?

The only hero of the ride,
Was Paul-
.......... the others, cast aside.

How can that be? Why is this so???????---

A poet wrote so long ago...

"Listen my children and you shall hear,
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere."

This poet then described those times,
Chose Paul Revere,
............because??
...................... he  rhymes???

He could not write it else this way,
This poet , Longfellow couldn’t say,

“Listen my children and you shall hear,
Of the midnight ride of  Samuel Prescott,
Billy Dawes,Paul Revere, and whoever
else went along for the ride.”

CLICK FOR THE SONG