In this classic poem, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow takes Paul Revere, the Boston silversmith who was an active patriot during the American Revolution, and makes him an example of the quintessential hero who galvanizes the people in times of crisis. In the poem, Revere plans to receive a signal telling him whether the British will be attacking by land or by sea and then rides this horse through several small Massachusetts towns alerting the local patriots to prepare for what will be the first battle of the American Revolution. The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere was originally published as The Landlord’s Tale, part of the longer poem Tales from a Wayside Inn.