Patriot's Day: Old North Church

(1940s depiction of Paul Revere's ride)

It’s Patriot’s Day – do you know what your children are up to?  If they are reading Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, then they’re right on track.

This famous “Listen my children, and you shall hear…” poem was directly inspired by Longfellow’s climb within the tower of Boston’s Old North Church on April 5, 1860.  Since the United States at that time was just on the verge of the Civil War, longstanding abolitionist Longfellow wrote it as a call to Northerners for action, noting “that history favors the courageous.”  Wikipedia also reports that Longfellow deliberately took poetic license with some historical facts in order to create a heightened sense of legendary inspiration.  Nevertheless, the crucial role of the Old North Church tower in this saga remains undisputed.

The Old North Church was built in 1723, and the first service was held there on December 29^th of the same

year.  Interestingly, even on the verge of the American Revolution, “the majority of the congregation were loyal to the British King and many held official positions in the royal government…”  The King had even given the Old North Church “its silver that was used in services and a Bible.”  This made the church’s role in Paul’s Revere’s urgent warnings that “the British are coming” (actual words more like “the Regulars are coming out”) all the more astounding.

According to oldnorth.com, the actual event that occurred on the evening of April 18, 1775 was that sexton Robert Newman “climbed the steeple and held high two lanterns as a signal from Paul Revere [who was, according to christianheritagemins.org, a vestryman at Old North Church] that the British were marching to Lexington and Concord by sea and not by land.”   This signal was quite visible since the church tower was (is) 197 feet tall.

Today, the Old North Church is still going strong.  It is an Episcopal Church that “worships according to the

Common Book of Prayer.”  According to its website, guests are welcome, and seating “is always available…” 

     

Resources

http://www.oldnorth.com/history/index.htm

http://www.christianheritagemins.org/articles/The%20Religion%20of%20Paul%20Revere%20-%20Midnight%20Rider.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Revere's_Ride

Copyright April 16, 2012 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved