Paul Revere’s Capture Site
This quiet memorial marks the site of Paul Revere’s capture on the night of April 18-19, 1775.
After leaving Boston and successfully alerting towns along the way, Revere joined fellow rider William Dawes and Dr. Samuel Prescott as they continued toward Concord. British patrol officers hidden along the road intercepted them in the darkness. Revere was captured, Dawes escaped after being thrown from his horse, and Prescot managed to break through and continue on to Concord carrying the warning that British troops were advancing.
Memorials remind us how fragile history can be. Standing here you realize how close this warning ride came to failing. Had Prescott not escaped, Concord may not have received word in time and the start of the Revolution, as we record it now, would have not unfolded as it did.
On the April night in 1775, this was a place of tension, fear, and uncertainty. Mounted riders moved through the darkness while British patrols searched the roads ahead. Standing here in this space, it is possible to imagine those moments and appreciate the encounter along this country road and the part it planned in the beginning of the American Revolution.
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