Apparently, the right-wingers, in a desperate effort to vindicate Sarah Palin’s retelling of history, have found a passage written by Paul Revere himself wherein he describes his capture by British forces, having a gun held to his head, and telling the British that he had forewarned the patriots that they were coming.
They then quote me as saying that Paul Revere didn’t warn the British about anything.
First of all, I have to say “nice catch” to these folks because it turns out that Paul Revere did in fact warn the British, in a way, that they would be facing some armed resistance. However, the way these wingers are portraying things is a bit misleading.
Paul Revere told the British what was up after he had already ridden through Somerville, Medford, Arlington, and Lexington. He was captured in the middle of the night on his way to Concord. It’s not as if he was ringing bells and shooting off his gun as a warning to the British. With his capture, what is known as Paul Revere’s Ride basically came to an end because the Brits stole his horse and left him on foot.
It has also been pointed out that the townspeople rang bells and shot off guns after they were warned by Revere and others that the Regulars were coming.
I don’t see how any of this vindicates Palin at all. If anything, it might explain the sources of her confusion.