{"id":30210,"date":"2020-04-18T23:45:36","date_gmt":"2020-04-18T23:45:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/?p=30210"},"modified":"2020-04-19T00:56:29","modified_gmt":"2020-04-19T00:56:29","slug":"the-midnight-ride-of-paul-revere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/?p=30210","title":{"rendered":"The Midnight Ride Of Paul Revere"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='__iawmlf-post-loop-links' style='display:none;' data-iawmlf-post-links='[{&quot;id&quot;:4928,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.mass.gov\\\/info-details\\\/covid-19-essential-services&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.mass.gov\\\/info-details\\\/covid-19-essential-services---unpublished&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:4929,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.law360.com\\\/retail\\\/articles\\\/1263847\\\/mass-gun-shops-ask-court-to-overrule-gov-s-virus-closures&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:4930,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.saf.org\\\/saf-joins-lawsuit-against-massachusetts-governor&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20251226130428\\\/https:\\\/\\\/saf.org\\\/saf-joins-lawsuit-against-massachusetts-governor\\\/&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-17 03:58:15&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:403},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-26 10:59:27&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:403}],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-26 10:59:27&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:403},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:4931,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net\\\/firearmspolicycoalition\\\/pages\\\/5595\\\/attachments\\\/original\\\/1586454884\\\/2020-4-9-ma-mccarthy-complaint.pdf?1586454884&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:4932,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net\\\/firearmspolicycoalition\\\/pages\\\/5595\\\/attachments\\\/original\\\/1587157658\\\/2020-4-17-ma-mccarthy-mot-leave-proposed-amicus.pdf?1587157658&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:4933,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.paulreverehouse.org\\\/the-real-story&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.paulreverehouse.org\\\/the-real-story\\\/&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:4934,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/poets.org\\\/poem\\\/paul-reveres-ride&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20260320175727\\\/https:\\\/\\\/poets.org\\\/poem\\\/paul-reveres-ride&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-17 03:59:18&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-26 10:59:24&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200}],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-26 10:59:24&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:4935,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/en.wikipedia.org\\\/wiki\\\/Paul_Revere&#039;s_Ride&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20260403012043\\\/https:\\\/\\\/en.wikipedia.org\\\/wiki\\\/Paul_Revere%27s_Ride&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-17 03:59:22&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:429},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-26 10:59:26&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200}],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-26 10:59:26&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;}]'><\/div>\n<!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->\n<script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.googletagmanager.com\/gtag\/js?id=UA-147431441-1\"><\/script>\n<script>\n  window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];\n  function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}\n  gtag('js', new Date());\n\n  gtag('config', 'UA-147431441-1');\n<\/script>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"578\" src=\"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/PaulRevereMap121416.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-30211\" srcset=\"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/PaulRevereMap121416.jpg 684w, https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/PaulRevereMap121416-300x254.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 684px) 100vw, 684px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>245 years ago tonight Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Dr. Samuel Prescott left on their journey to warn the Minutemen that British regulars were marching to seize the colony&#8217;s stores of arms, powder, and shot. The next morning, the American Revolution began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ironically enough, Gov. Charlie Baker (R-MA) is acting more like General Gage than the early patriots with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mass.gov\/info-details\/covid-19-essential-services\" class=\"rank-math-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>his orders<\/strong><\/a> that firearm dealers remain closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. For his troubles, Baker is being <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law360.com\/retail\/articles\/1263847\/mass-gun-shops-ask-court-to-overrule-gov-s-virus-closures\" class=\"rank-math-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>sued <\/strong><\/a>in Federal court by a coalition of groups including Commonwealth Second Amendment, Gun Owners Action League, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.saf.org\/saf-joins-lawsuit-against-massachusetts-governor\/\" class=\"rank-math-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Second Amendment Foundation<\/strong><\/a>,  and Firearms Policy Coalition in <em><a href=\"https:\/\/d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net\/firearmspolicycoalition\/pages\/5595\/attachments\/original\/1586454884\/2020-4-9-ma-mccarthy-complaint.pdf?1586454884\" class=\"rank-math-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>McCarthy v. Baker<\/strong><\/a><\/em> seeking to have stores reopened. The Pink Pistols have filed a <a href=\"https:\/\/d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net\/firearmspolicycoalition\/pages\/5595\/attachments\/original\/1587157658\/2020-4-17-ma-mccarthy-mot-leave-proposed-amicus.pdf?1587157658\" class=\"rank-math-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>motion <\/strong><\/a>to be allowed to file an amicus brief in the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the real story of that midnight ride is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paulreverehouse.org\/the-real-story\/\" class=\"rank-math-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>here<\/strong><\/a>, most Americans know the more fictionalized account popularized by poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The <a href=\"https:\/\/poets.org\/poem\/paul-reveres-ride\" class=\"rank-math-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>poem <\/strong><\/a>below was <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Paul_Revere&#039;s_Ride\" class=\"rank-math-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>meant to unify the North<\/strong><\/a> on the eve of the War Between the States and to remind that history favors the courageous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just like when Longfellow wrote Paul Revere&#8217;s Ride, we are facing a time of danger. The danger is not just from COVID-19. The more critical danger is that civil liberties are being trampled upon by public officials with their proclamations, emergency orders, etc. Whether it is police in Greenville, Mississippi interfering with a drive-in church, police in Raleigh saying people don&#8217;t have the right to assemble even if keeping their social distance, or Gov. Baker&#8217;s order on gun stores, the First and Second Amendments are being spit upon by small men with big egos and a misguided sense of their own importance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is time for that to stop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Listen, my children, and you shall hear<br>Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,<br>On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-Five:<br>Hardly a man is now alive<br>Who remembers that famous day and year.<\/p><p>He said to his friend, \u201cIf the British march<br>By land or sea from the town to-night,<br>Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry-arch<br>Of the North-Church-tower, as a signal-light,\u2014<br>One if by land, and two if by sea;<br>And I on the opposite shore will be,<br>Ready to ride and spread the alarm<br>Through every Middlesex village and farm,<br>For the country-folk to be up and to arm.\u201d<\/p><p>Then he said \u201cGood night!\u201d and with muffled oar<br>Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,<br>Just as the moon rose over the bay,<br>Where swinging wide at her moorings lay<br>The Somerset, British man-of-war:<br>A phantom ship, with each mast and spar<br>Across the moon, like a prison-bar,<br>And a huge black hulk, that was magnified<br>By its own reflection in the tide.<\/p><p>Meanwhile, his friend, through alley and street<br>Wanders and watches with eager ears,<br>Till in the silence around him he hears<br>The muster of men at the barrack door,<br>The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,<br>And the measured tread of the grenadiers<br>Marching down to their boats on the shore.<\/p><p>Then he climbed to the tower of the church,<br>Up the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,<br>To the belfry-chamber overhead,<br>And startled the pigeons from their perch<br>On the sombre rafters, that round him made<br>Masses and moving shapes of shade,\u2014<br>By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,<br>To the highest window in the wall,<br>Where he paused to listen and look down<br>A moment on the roofs of the town,<br>And the moonlight flowing over all.<\/p><p>Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,<br>In their night-encampment on the hill,<br>Wrapped in silence so deep and still<br>That he could hear, like a sentinel\u2019s tread,<br>The watchful night-wind, as it went<br>Creeping along from tent to tent,<br>And seeming to whisper, \u201cAll is well!\u201d<br>A moment only he feels the spell<br>Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread<br>Of the lonely belfry and the dead;<br>For suddenly all his thoughts are bent<br>On a shadowy something far away,<br>Where the river widens to meet the bay,\u2014<br>A line of black, that bends and floats<br>On the rising tide, like a bridge of boats.<\/p><p>Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,<br>Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride,<br>On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.<br>Now he patted his horse\u2019s side,<br>Now gazed on the landscape far and near,<br>Then impetuous stamped the earth,<br>And turned and tightened his saddle-girth;<br>But mostly he watched with eager search<br>The belfry-tower of the old North Church,<br>As it rose above the graves on the hill,<br>Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.<br>And lo! as he looks, on the belfry\u2019s height,<br>A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!<br>He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,<br>But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight<br>A second lamp in the belfry burns!<\/p><p>A hurry of hoofs in a village-street,<br>A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,<br>And beneath from the pebbles, in passing, a spark<br>Struck out by a steed that flies fearless and fleet:<br>That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,<br>The fate of a nation was riding that night;<br>And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,<br>Kindled the land into flame with its heat.<\/p><p>He has left the village and mounted the steep,<br>And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,<br>Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;<br>And under the alders, that skirt its edge,<br>Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,<br>Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.<\/p><p>It was twelve by the village clock<br>When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.<br>He heard the crowing of the cock,<br>And the barking of the farmer\u2019s dog,<br>And felt the damp of the river-fog,<br>That rises when the sun goes down.<\/p><p>It was one by the village clock,<br>When he galloped into Lexington.<br>He saw the gilded weathercock<br>Swim in the moonlight as he passed,<br>And the meeting-house windows, blank and bare,<br>Gaze at him with a spectral glare,<br>As if they already stood aghast<br>At the bloody work they would look upon.<\/p><p>It was two by the village clock,<br>When be came to the bridge in Concord town.<br>He heard the bleating of the flock,<br>And the twitter of birds among the trees,<br>And felt the breath of the morning breeze<br>Blowing over the meadows brown.<br>And one was safe and asleep in his bed<br>Who at the bridge would be first to fall,<br>Who that day would be lying dead,<br>Pierced by a British musket-ball.<\/p><p>You know the rest. In the books you have read,<br>How the British Regulars fired and fled,\u2014<br>How the farmers gave them ball for ball,<br>From behind each fence and farmyard-wall,<br>Chasing the red-coats down the lane,<br>Then crossing the fields to emerge again<br>Under the trees at the turn of the road,<br>And only pausing to fire and load.<\/p><p>So through the night rode Paul Revere;<br>And so through the night went his cry of alarm<br>To every Middlesex village and farm,\u2014<br>A cry of defiance, and not of fear,<br>A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,<br>And a word that shall echo forevermore!<br>For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,<br>Through all our history, to the last,<br>In the hour of darkness and peril and need,<br>The people will waken and listen to hear<br>The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,<br>And the midnight message of Paul Revere.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>245 years ago tonight Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Dr. Samuel Prescott left on their journey to warn the&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":2,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2644,1037,5144,5187,5212,2105,5213,5211],"class_list":["post-30210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-american-revolution","tag-civil-rights","tag-covid-19","tag-essential-businesses","tag-henry-wadsworth-longfellow","tag-history","tag-mccarthy-v-baker","tag-paul-revere"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30210"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30210\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30214,"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30210\/revisions\/30214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}