As many are aware I am a student of History. This does not mean I am a Historical Scholar, no no… What I mean is, I love the stories of history, and ALWAYS enjoy when I discover the stuff we were taught in school turns out to be just plain rubbish! 
One story, which is still taught in the schools today is that of Paul Revere’s Famous Ride. Now, if I were to ask 100 American adults of different ages, I would bet that more that 90% would say that Paul Revere was the famous informer to the American Colonist in 1775, shouting “The British are Coming”. I mean who Doesn’t Know Paul Revere? Children in American schools to this day are still taught the Famous Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride”.
“Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere…
Such a catchy poem…with a great sound and rhythmic lines, Which is the same reason why so Many Americans know this poem and other great tunes like Yankee Doodle ( which also has a great story, and is still taught in the false light within our grammar schools today).
With all of this being said, I would be curious to know how many Americans and others around the world would have ever heard of a man named Israel Bissell; furthermore, the poem by Marie Rockwood titled “Ride Israel, Ride?” I would say close to 0%.
The reason this is so fascinating to me, is primarily because this happens all too often in history. In the 1962 movie, “The Man who shot Liberty Valance” there is a great quote toward the end of the film that goes….”This is the west sir, When the Legend becomes fact print the Legend.” Now what this means is, if the majority of people like the story (whether it be true or not ) History will print the Legend within that story.
So, what Longfellow did within his poem was to create the Legend of Paul Revere, and his famous ride and even though this is a great poem, the story is just plain FALSE.
Truth be told, Paul Revere did in fact ride that day in 1775 upon hearing the British were invading, but only traveled by horse 19 miles (from Boston to Cambridge). The man who’s balls got chafed in a 350 mile (563km) ride from Watertown, Massachusetts to Philadelphia along the Old Post Road, shouting “To arms, to arms, the war has begun,” and carrying a message from General Joseph Palmer was none other than Israel Bissell.
The message, which was copied at each of his stops and redistributed read as follows:
- Wednesday morning near 10 of the clock—Watertown.
- To all the friends of American liberty be it known that this morning before break of day, a brigade, consisting of about 1,000 to 1,200 men landed at Phip’s Farm at Cambridge and marched to Lexington, where they found a company of our colony militia in arms, upon whom they fired without any provocation and killed six men and wounded four others. By an express from Boston, we find another brigade are now upon their march from Boston supposed to be about 1,000. The Bearer, Israel Bissell, is charged to alarm the country quite to Connecticut and all persons are desired to furnish him with fresh horses as they may be needed. I have spoken with several persons who have seen the dead and wounded. Pray let the delegates from this colony to Connecticut see this. SIGNED –J. Palmer, one of the Committee of Safety.
Now to most people this is a trivial event and I would assume that majority of Americans could care less who was responsible for informing the American Colonist that the British were invading, however; my point is: just because it is taught in school and is printed in history doesn’t make it TRUTH!
Much of the content contained within the blog of this website and the messages I bring about on the Podcast, discusses at heart to the example written about above. If what is printed within the textbooks of history is False, and Legends of history become the truth of history, what else are we to question about History?
A famous quote that, “History is written by the Victors (or Winners)” explains that the stories in print don’t always tell the whole story. This is because if you are the person writing the story chances are you were part of the winning side, and can now write your story anyway you want. History many times, takes up only half truths, and in some cases NO TRUTH at All – and I find that to be very disturbing.
The fact that History is “Pop-Culture” or “is What I say it Is” becomes damning to the future of any culture trying to become better. If the Media of past and more importantly today, doesn’t find Fact to supersede Opinion or Propaganda, then it becomes extremely difficult for educated people to make Informed Decisions for our future.
This is one of the many reasons why I do my best to: Inform and Re-Educate any person who is willing to listen to the Truth, where ever she may hide herself.
Mark Twain said it best, “A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” Metaphorical maxims about the quick dissemination of lies and the much slower propagation of corrective truths have an extreamly long history. A literary figure Jonathan Swift wrote on this topic in “The Examiner” in 1710, as well as others repeating this quote in various forms through out history.
So to come full circle, Many of the stories we continue to teach our young children, which are the same stories we were taught, tell of truths embellished by lies. And as Propaganda continues by way of the Mass Media today, overwhelming the masses with Lies and embellished BS, it becomes very difficult for anyone with common sense and intelligence to make Good Informed decisions that will aid in making our world a better place, for future generations to come.
Abundant Blessings everyone and Peace as always, –David Rollman
The problem with such an overly simplistic analysis and “correction” to the record is that the real stories of history you profess to enjoy actually have many facts sharing space within multiple truths all coexisting at the same time. Put simply, the story of Paul Revere is not “false”; it’s just not the full tale.
As you briefly admit and then instantly dismiss as if it is of no importance is the FACT that Paul Revere did, indeed, make his ride. Yet it would have been a very poor plan if only ONE person got appointed to do the only job assigned for alerting those who needed to know what was happening. That’s no way to win a war, and we know that very serious men with excellent mental faculties and planning abilities were using every tactic and trick at their disposal to win in a fight they understood would require a combination of traditional military practices and the irregular but invaluable advantages from skulking in shadows, spying, and a versatile network for sending critical communications in a world not set up for an information age. It is not that Paul Revere’s ride is false; it is that even as a lone rider he had good company as one of multiple men making midnight rides.
We should add to records and how they are presented to make them more accurate and ensure students learning about history are able to appreciate and understand its realistic complexities. That’s a goal we desperately need to reach but every year as educators find it more elusive and difficult to meet; avoiding controversy and prioritizing “more important” and “useful” subjects with practical skills to apply in job markets lead districts to slash both the amount of attention we can give to history and what content we get to teach, which continuously shrinks. Precious is that bit of what actually is one of the most important subjects students as future citizens of our society need, and taking time to feed them just a different version of incomplete history structured according to a fake dichotomy of “false” and “true” is a waste. In reality, history is always a messy mix, and replacing one overly simplistic version with another simply serves up a different dish of the same substance fed to children in those stories of old, a substance that rhymes with pap!
Hello Chatty,
Please know when I write these blog posts — they are designed to be simplified rather than complicated. Majority of folks can only digest a small piece of the story at a time. So to your point…Yes Paul Revere did make a ride but it was from oxford to Cambridge, which is only enough distance to get a bit of chaffing. My simple point is to show that if the legend becomes fact we print the legend. I normally do NOT respond to comments but — I feel that you don’t know the ins and outs of my approach. Nomenclature and word use play a large role if we are speaking with academics — but when you are dealing with a standard of the population you have to keep things simple. I go into greater detail in conversation about these topics as I am well versed in much of BS history. Your explanation above is fine if you are speaking to an academic audience. The fact that you have to draw out your explanation should NEVER BE. This only happens when we dilute TRUTH with Nonsense. That is the overall point. Thanks for the comment.