The Ely miner., 1935-04-05

BY ELMO SCOTT WATSON
listen, my children, and you shall
hear
l. OF the midnight ride Of -.
No, not of Paul Revere-at least,
=" 4 not of him as the only rider on that
kAs&S& historic April night 160 years ago.
H=HE For there were two others who also
l sped through the darkness as mes
kMIA sengers of alarm and who also de-
RUtNA serve 10 be remembered by their fell
EHlkI low-Americans.
But they are not thus remembered.
Why? How does It happen that Paul Revere
is so famous while William Dawes, Jr, and DR..
Samuel Prescott are virtually forgotten men?
There are several plausible reasons.
One Of them is the lucky chance Of his having
a name which fitted well into the swinging
cadence Of a poem by one Of Americas best
loved poets. William Dawes" and Samuel Pres
colt" are good, substantial American names. But
somehow they lack the musical quality of Paul
Revere"
Another is the lucky chance Tor perhaps 1t
was shrewd foresight of his having written out
an account OF his exploit and of this manuscript
being preserved for posterity. Still another is
the fact that this midnight ride was only one
incident in the career of a man of extraordinary
versatility. For Paul Revere was a silversmith,
engraYer, a cartoonist publisher, poet
dentist, merchant. an inventor and q soldier
and his accomplishments in any Of these
occupations might easily have guaranteed more
than transient fame for him. Recognition Of
these accomplishments did come TO him in his
lifetime but for the immortality that is his he
can thank Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and
the poem "The Ride of Paul Revere" first pub
Iished some 65 years ago and since then recited
countless times by countless American school
children.
Recognition was longer in coming to William
Dawes, Jr., even in his native New England.
For many years April 19 the anniversary of the
battles Of Lexington and Concord, has been OBJ
served as Patriots day and celebrated as a hOli-
day. In 1915 began the annual re-enactment OF
Paul Revere's ride as part of the celebration,
but il was not until five years later that William
Dawes was similarly honored. On April IL, 1920,
the Boston Evening Transcript carried an article
which said In part:
Both William Dawes and Paul Revere will
ride from Boston town 10 Lexington on Mon
day. In these Twentieth century years, while
Paul Revere has repeated his famous ride on
each succeeding Patriots day, William Dawes
has not, heretofore, ventured forth over the
route which he followed on the nineteenth Of
April, century before last. But this year he
win make the trip and win receive his share
Of the honors of the day"
The story of the ride of William Dawes Is a
generally forgotten incident of the dawn of the
Revolutionary struggle. yet he seems TO have
been entitled TO an equal share with Paul
Revere in the credit of a daring and dangerous
enterprise. He left Boston at the same time
and carried the same message of warning and
alarm TO the Inhabitants of each outlying VIII
lage and hamlet Dawes went under orders OF
the Committee of Safety as did Revere but
Dawes was sent by the way of Roxbury, Brook
line. Cambridge and Arlington to Lexington,
instead of the route followed by Revere through
Charlestowa Somerville, Medford and Airing
ton. The idea was that the British were not
likely to capture both riders and one Of them
was almost certain to get past the enemy. As
a matter of fact. both overcame the difficulties
and dangers and reached their common desti-
nation in safety.
While the ride of William Dawes has been
unknown TO a majority of the general public, II
has been by no means overlooked by the his
torians. In connection with the present observ-
ance q brief account of the exploit and some
thing about Dawes himself has been prepared
by W. K. Watkins. historian general of the
Sons Of the American Revolution Mr.. Watkins
says:
William Dawes. Jr-, young tanner, was
born in the North End in 1745. He was an
active patriot with Revere. Doctor Warren and
Others a small group in watchful waiting, for
move of the British against the Americans
Warning Of such a movement was given by
William Jasper an Englishman, who had mar
ried Ann sister of Robert Newman, the sex
ton of Christ church. Jasper cutler and
did work for the soldiers and so heard of the
intended expedition.
During the war Dawes removed with his
family TO Worcester. where he was assistant
commissary OF issues ar the magazine After
the war from 1872 to 1875 he kept general
store at Is Dock square now numbered q to
So He lived on Ann. now North street, where
stood the Franklin House half century ago.
In 1875 he went TO live on his farm in MarI-
boro where he died February %. 1929. His
body is buried in the Kings Chapel Burial
ground"
But although Massachusetts, thus in 1920 be
gan TO pay belated tribute TO one of her heroes,
it was not until four years later that Americans
generally became aware of the name and fame
of William Dawes Jr. That came about through
a rather curious development during a political
campaign.
In 1924 the Republican party nominated Gen.
Charles Gates Dawes Of Illinois as the running
mate for Calvin Coolidge who had succeeded 70
the presidency after the death of President
Harding A few weeks later Senator Pat Har-
rison -keynoter" ar the Democratic convention.
called upon his party to give TO the nation
-uew Paul Revere who should act as a mes
senrer of warning TO the country of the dangers
of continued Republican rule That led a reader
of the New York Herald-Tribune to recall that
the g-eat-grandfather Of the Republican nominee