Paul Revere did not Ride Alone. Wentworth Cheswell (1746-1817): Few people have ever heard

[applegrove]

https://www.threads.net/@jhighs1234/post/C4p_bueriWZ/?xmt=AQGz-fs0CujhhkCObnbt6ShDRk0I7rf1a4bTaO0RoLYLHg

Paul Revere did not

Wentworth Cheswell (1746-1817): Few people have ever heard of Wentworth Cheswell, yet in 1775 he rode alongside Paul Revere to alert everyone that the British were coming.

The two men eventually split off -- Cheswell rode north and Revere rode west. In addition to being a patriot, Cheswell was a respected schoolteacher, church leader, and historian. He also became America’s first black judge in 1768. That’s seven years before America won her independence!

[ProfessorGAC]

1. Thats Different Than What I've Heard

I always thought it was Revere & Dawes by different paths. They converted later & were joined by Prescott.
This is the first time I've heard about Cheswell.

[Marcus IM]

2. Paul Revere was a dental technician and prostheticist. He made sets for G Washington. They're in the Smithsonian Museum

Now, America's dental prosthetics are made in China, or by Chinese-made foreign-owned leased machines in dental offices.

US dental labs ... yet another profession totally destroyed.

Always low wages. That's us.

[Nittersing]

3. I was raised in Lexington, MA. They were very big on Revolutionary War stuff.

Never heard a peep about Wentworth Cheswell.

Edit to add: The Wiki page offers a pretty nice summary. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wentworth_Cheswell

[JenniferJuniper]

4. Listen, my children, and you shall hear

Of the midnight ride of Wentworth Cheswell.

Does not have the same ring, unfortunately.

[Biophilic]

5. Interesting how black people seem to disappear from our history except for slaves.

[Attilatheblond]

6. Wasn't there also a teenaged girl who did a longer ride to sound the alarm?

Ah, yes Sybil Ludington, aged 16 at the time of her important ride.

[link:https://www.revolutionary-war.net/sybil-ludington/|]

On the night of April 26, 1777, Colonel Henry Ludington, father of 12, veteran of the French-Indian War, and commander of the militia in Duchess County, New York, (just across the state line from Danbury, Connecticut) received a messenger to his house. The British had entered Danbury and found some American military stores, stolen some, destroyed others and drank the whiskey. Drunk, they began ransacking the town, burning and looting.

Col. Ludington’s militia, some 400 men, was on furlough. Whether the colonel asked his oldest daughter or the 16-year-old bravely volunteered is unknown, but around 9 p.m., she set off in the rain to warn the men. *

She completed her mission around daybreak, covering nearly 40 miles—more than twice what Paul Revere had ridden—raising 400 men, and even fighting off a highway man with her father’s musket. The militia caught up with the retreating British and beat them back, too late to stop the attack, but not too late to make them pay dearly.

More at link
Bold print in article quote mine.

Happy Women's History Month folks. Make a toast to the Founding Mothers & Daughters once in a while

[eppur_se_muova]

7. Thanks! I knew there had been a woman rider, but couldn't remember the details. nt