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People of the Revolutionary War | Patriots of the American Revolution | William Dawes
William Dawes
In 1775, before the Battle of Lexington, William Dawes and
Paul Revere were dispatched to rouse the country.
Samuel Prescott joined them enroute. They ran into a British patrol and Revere was captured. Dawes and
Prescott got away. Revere was held, but convinced the British that they were too late, the people were already
aware and getting ready to defend themselves. His captors confirmed that he was indeed telling the
truth and released him.
The poem below is a parody to Longfellow's "The Midnight Ride
of Paul Revere." It was written by Helen F. Moore, and published in the Century Magazine in 1896.
The Midnight Ride of William Dawes
I am a wandering, bitter shade,
Never of me was a hero made;
Poets have never sung my praise,
Nobody crowned my brow with bays;
And if you ask me the fatal cause,
I answer only, "My name was Dawes"
'Tis all very well for the children to hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere;
But why should my name be quite forgot,
Who rode as boldly and well, God wot?
Why should I ask? The reason is clear --
My name was Dawes and his Revere.
When the lights from the old North Church flashed out,
Paul Revere was waiting about,
But I was already on my way.
The shadows of night fell cold and gray
As I rode, with never a break or a pause;
But what was the use, when my name was Dawes!
History rings with his silvery name;
Closed to me are the portals of fame.
Had he been Dawes and I Revere,
No one had heard of him, I fear.
No one has heard of me because
He was Revere and I was Dawes.
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