These words were written by @Henry @Wadsworth @Longfellow, a great @American poet. They are the beginning of a poem called "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere," one of the best-known poems about the @Revolutionary War.
The midnight ride described in the poem happened a long time ago, over 225 years. The United States was not a country at that time. It was called @America, and it was made up of 13 individual colonies, all ruled by the king of @England, @George @III.
@Boston, @Massachusetts, was one of the major ports for the American colonies. Ships came in and out with food and other supplies, as well as thousands of English soldiers. The king had sent them there to make the Americans obey his laws, even if they didn't think those laws were fair. These soldiers guarded the streets of the city; they would not let any one go out or come in without their permission.
The people were very angry at the soldiers and at the king. They said, "We have a right to be free men, but the king treats us like slaves. He makes us pay taxes and gives us nothing in return. He sends soldiers among us to take away our liberty, and we have a right to be free!"
As the new laws and taxes made life more difficult and more expensive, the whole country got stirred up. Many brave men left their homes and hurried toward Boston to help the colonists in the city protest against the king and his laws.
They said, "We do not wish to fight against England, but we are free men, and the king must not send soldiers to oppress us. If the people of Boston must fight for their liberty, we will help them fight."
Many of the men set up camp in @Charlestown, a village near Boston. From the hills that looked over the city, they could watch and see what the king's soldiers were doing and make plans of their own.
They wished to be ready to defend themselves if the soldiers used force or tried to do them harm. For this reason they had bought some gunpowder and stored it at @Concord, nearly twenty miles outside of the city.
When the king's soldiers heard about this powder, they decided to go out to Concord and get it before the colonists could use it. The powder would also mean the soldiers would have more supplies for themselves if they should need to fight.
Among those camping at Charlestown was a young man named Paul Revere. He wanted to serve his country in any way that he could.
One day a friend of his who lived in Boston came to see him. He had to sneak into the camp very quietly and secretly so the soldiers wouldn't notice him.
"I have something to tell you," he said to young Paul. "Some of the king's soldiers are going to Concord to get the powder we stored there, and they are getting ready to start this very night."
"Indeed!" said Paul Revere. "They shall get no powder, if I can help it. I will stir up all the farmers between here and Concord, and those soldiers will have a difficult time getting anything at all. But I can't do it alone; you must help me stop them."
"I will do all that I can," said his friend.
"Well, then," said Paul Revere, "you must go back to Boston and watch the soldiers. Watch, and as soon as they are ready to start their march, hang a lantern in the tower of the old North Church. If they are going to cross into Concord by the river, hang two lanterns in the tower. I will be here, waiting and ready. As soon as I see the lantern, I will mount my horse and ride out to give the alarm."
When night came, Paul Revere went down to the riverside with his horse and looked over toward Boston. He knew where the old North Church stood, but he could not see much in the darkness.
Hour after hour he stood and watched. The town seemed very still, but every now and then he could hear the beating of a drum or the shouting of some soldier.
The moon rose, and by its light he could see the dim form of the church tower, far away, but that was all he could see. He heard the clock strike ten, then eleven.
He was beginning to feel tired, but he didn't want to go home, even though he still couldn't see anything or anyone. He wondered, though, if perhaps the soldiers had given up their plan to steal the powder.
He walked up and down the river bank, leading his horse behind him. Still, he kept his eyes turned always toward the dim, dark spot which he knew was the old North Church.
All at once a light flashed out from the tower -- the signal! "Ah! there it is!" he cried. The soldiers had started their march.
He spoke to his horse and put his foot in the stirrup. He was ready to mount when another light flashed clear and bright by the side of the first one. It was the sign that the soldiers would come not by land, but by the river, instead.
Paul Revere sprang into the saddle and, like a bird let loose, his horse leaped forward and thundered down the road.
Away they went through the village street and out upon the country road. "Up, up!" shouted Paul Revere to the people in their beds. "The soldiers are coming! Up, up, and defend yourselves!"
Revere's cries awoke the farmers; they sprang from their beds and looked out. They could not see the speeding horse, but they heard the clatter of its hooves running fast down the road, and they understood the cry, "Up, up, and defend yourselves!"
"It is the alarm! The redcoats are coming," they said to each other, referring to the British soldiers who wore red uniforms. Then they took their guns, their axes, anything they could find, and they hurried out of their homes, ready to fight.
Through the night, Paul Revere rode toward Concord. At every farmhouse and every village he repeated his call, waking the people.
The alarm spread quickly. The villagers fired their guns and rang the bells, waking anyone up who had not heard Paul's cries. For miles around everyone raced out of their beds and into the streets.
The king's soldiers were surprised to find everybody awake along the road when they thought they would all be asleep at that late hour. And they were angry because their plans had been discovered. When they finally reached Concord, they burned the courthouse to get back at the villagers.
At @Lexington, not far from Concord, there was a sharp fight in which several men were killed. This "shot heard 'round the world" was the Battle of Lexington, and it was the beginning of the Revolutionary War.
But even with the fighting, Paul Revere was successful in his ride -- the king's soldiers did not find the gunpowder for which they were looking. And they were glad enough to march back to their camp without it. It seemed as if every American in the country was out in the street, waiting to defend his or her home and country. The soldiers did not stop until they were once more back in Boston, safe, but only for the moment.
