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River-fog cleared just in time for Paul Revere to warn which way the British were coming

By Chaffin Mitchell, AccuWeather staff writer

Published Apr 18, 2020 5:00 AM EST

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Paul Revere, a patriot of the American Revolution, forever marked the date April 18, 1775, in history with his unique strategy to tackle the British along with his famous horseback ride warning Boston-area residents that in fact the British were coming.

AccuWeather's This Date in Weather History podcast elaborates on the poem about the event called Paul Revere’s Ride, written in the year 1860 which follows Paul Revere on a heroic journey during the American Revolution.

Revere made an agreement with an unnamed friend to show certain signs using lanterns to inform him whether the British will attack by land or sea.

Revere was on the other side on the Charlestown shore and felt the damp of the river-fog while he waited for the signal by watching from across the river ready to warn people. Then his task was to ride through the countryside and call out the country-folk to arms to resist British tyranny.

A couple walks past the Paul Revere statue during a winter storm in Boston, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

"As the poem said, Revere was across Boston Harbor in Charlestown to watch the steeple of the old north church in Boston to see if the British were going to march out of Boston on land or take boats across the harbor and through Charlestown," AccuWeather Senior Vice President Evan Myers, who hosts the This Day in Weather History podcast, said.

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The unnamed friend put up the signal, alerting Revere to warn the locals which route the British would take.

“If one lantern was hung then over land, but two would signal the water and across the harbor. Most of April 18, 1775, was cloudy and rainy in Boston. The visibility was not good. Revere wouldn’t be able to see 'Old North' as it was known," Myers said.

Revere rode his horse to warn patriots of the upcoming attack. Listen to the full episode above.

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