This week we celebrate Patriots’ Day, and the anniversary of Paul Revere’s famous ride. It’s easy to forget that Paul Revere’s story didn’t end on April 18, 1775. This week, we bring you a less glorious story about Paul Revere, one that’s not shrouded in myth. In 1779, Revere was among the leaders of a military expedition in Maine that ended with the greatest US Naval defeat prior to Pearl Harbor, and eventually led to his court martial on charges of cowardice and insubordination.
Well, listen children, and you shall hear,
A different story of Paul Revere.
In Maine, the troops fled before a British drive,
Until hardly a man was left alive.
They court martialed Paul in ‘82, I fear.
The Court Martial of Paul Revere
- A biography of Paul Revere that includes letters, papers, and diary entries from the Penobscot Expedition.
- A book coincidentally titled The Court Martial of Paul Revere.
- The header image is from a British map of the battle titled “Attack of the rebels upon Fort Penobscot in the province of New England in which their fleet was totally destroyed and their Army dispersed the 14th Augst. 1779”
- An illustration of the use of abattis in warfare.
- An article about and artist’s rendering of the future Paul Revere Heritage Site in Canton.
This Week in Boston History
- Boston’s City Council remembers President Lincoln after his 1865 assasination.
- Our show on Boston’s 1689 uprising against Royal authority.
- Mayor Tom Menino’s 2013 address to the city following the Marathon bombing (with a for non-Menino speakers)
- Changes to the Boston Marathon course over the years.
- An oddly warm letter from Joseph Warren to Thomas Gage.
- Abigail Adams indulges in Schadenfreude.
- The legislative act creating the town of Hyde Park.
- Our show on the zoo shipwreck.