April 1775 - The Midnight Riders (Lexington and Concord Part 1)

Its April 14th, 1775 American Independence is 447 days away.    In the early morning hours a 20-gun British War ship called the HMS Nautilus appears in the waters outside of Boston. Its journey from England has taken an amazingly quick 33 days, and is all for the purpose of delivering a single document.    The dispatch in question is taken by a young British Army Captain named Oliver DeLancey and delivered directly into the hands of General Thomas Gage.   Contained inside are the updated order from the Secretary of State Lord Dartmouth for how the General is to address the escalating crisis in Massachusetts. Dartmouth's words will set events in motion over the next 5 days that will bring about some of the most iconic moments in American history – a pair of lanterns hanging from a church steeple. A rider streaking through the night on horseback calling out warnings to the towns he passes through, and finally after so much tension and anticipation, the battle that will become known for all time as the Shot Hear Around the World.   This month's story is going to be split into a pair of episodes that cover less than a week of time, stretching from the moment  General Gage received his orders, through the final choices made on both sides, and finally the dramatic events of April 18th and 19th 1775, and the battles of Lexington and Concord.   Sources: Liberty Is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution by Woody Holton   American Insurgents, American Patriots by T.H. Breen   The Last King of America: The Misunderstood Reign of George III by Andrew Roberts   The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire by Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy   Paul Revere's Ride by David Hackett Fischer   Lexington and Concord: The Battle Heard Round the World By George C. Daughan   Founding Martyr: The Life and Death of Dr. Joseph Warren, the American Revolution's Lost Hero by Christian Di Spigna   Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick