Question: who hung the lanterns in the old north church?
Answer: Robert Newman, Captain John Pulling

In April 1775 , Paul Revere told three Boston patriots to hang two lanterns in the steeple . These men were the church sexton Robert Newman and Captain John Pulling -- the two of whom historian David Hackett Fischer suggests each carried one lantern up to the steeple -- as well as Thomas Bernard , who stood watch for British troops outside the church . The lanterns were displayed to send a warning to Charlestown patriots across the Charles River about the movements of the British Army . Revere and William Dawes would later deliver the same message to Lexington themselves , but this lantern method was a fast way to inform the back - up riders in Charlestown about the movements of the British ; these back - up riders planned to deliver the warning message to Lexington and Concord in case Revere and Dawes were arrested on the way .