BOSTON — A re-enactment of Paul Revere’s historic midnight ride is scheduled for Monday but with some modern modifications: It will run at midday, and horse and rider will receive a police escort.
Revere’s journey took place on April 18, 1775, when the silversmith and express rider were sent to Lexington to warn Revolutionary leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock that the British were coming to arrest them. He then headed to Concord to warn of a raid on military stocks.
Revere arrived in Lexington around midnight, and another passenger, William Dawes, arrived there by a different route shortly after with the same message.
Their efforts resulted in the militiamen, carrying rifles, confronting a much larger contingent of British regulars who were marching from Boston in Lexington Battle Green. British regulars were eventually pursued back to Boston, where militia pinned them down for 11 months in what became known as the Siege of Boston.
“It’s important because you have to have someone to meet the British troops,” said Nina Zaneri, executive director of the Paul Revere Memorial Society, which owns and operates the Paul Revere House. “It became a turning point. If no patriots had gone out into the Green Zone and the British had just entered the city, it would have been a different story. But they actually faced resistance.”
Dressed in colonial garb and accompanied by another horseman, the reclaimer will retrace the route that Revere took nearly 251 years ago. The journey would begin in Boston’s North End and head to Charlestown, Somerville, Medford, and Arlington before ending in Lexington—all communities where Revere had alerted the militia about British movements.
Some aspects of the historic night will not be part of the event, such as Revere taking a boat to Charlestown before starting his journey.
Revere would be briefly detained by a British patrol on his way to Concord after leaving Lexington. Revere was eventually left without his horse after convincing the British that hundreds of patriots were waiting for them, and he returned to Lexington to see the end of the battle.
“It’s fundamentally important that he leaves Boston. He’s riding. He’s alerting people. There are other people outside,” Zaneri said. “He starts a chain reaction, and he accomplishes his mission despite being stopped and detained. He is lucky he was not killed.”
While Revere dodged patrols and negotiated bumpy, muddy roads, his 21st-century counterpart would have it easy, traversing the pavement all the way and passing through a world of stop signs, car dealerships, and a bustling downtown that Revere could never have imagined. The 2026 Boston Marathon will be held at the same time, although the routes will not overlap.
Thousands come out to see history come to life and show their patriotism, said Michelle DiCarlo-Domi, who organizes the trip each year for the National Cavalry Unit, the state’s historic cavalry unit. National Lancer has been riding Revere and Dawes for over 110 years.
“Whenever you can interact with the riders and the horses, it can help continue history,” DiCarlo-Domi said. “Children can relate to what they learn in school. Where else do you see two horses galloping down the street?”