Events

Paul Revere and Plan B:
Planning and Improvisation in the Lexington Alarm
Speaker: John L. Bell, Historian
Thursday, June 11, 7:00—8:30 PM
Charlotte and William Bloomberg Medford Public Library

After the Battle of Lexington & Concord on April 19, 1775, Massachusetts resistance leaders portrayed the uprising as a mostly spontaneous response to the army’s incursion into a peaceful countryside. Decades later, Henry W. Longfellow presented “Paul Revere’s Ride” as nearly a one-man show.

In truth, the Massachusetts Patriots had prepared for months to resist the Crown military. Revere was part of a network of organizers, informants, and alarm riders. At the same time, Revere and his colleagues succeeded by being able to respond to contingencies by changing their plans. Drawing on new research, this talk will shed light on one of independent America’s oldest stories—and how the day could have turned out differently. J.L. Bell maintains the Boston1775.net website, offering daily helpings of history, analysis, and unabashed gossip about Revolutionary New England. He is the author of “The Road to Concord: How Four Stolen Cannon Ignited the Revolutionary War.”
Register here.

Thanks to the Medford Arts Council for supporting MHSM

“These programs are supported in part by a grant from the Medford Arts Council, a local commission that is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the City of Medford.”

The Power of Truth: Early Diversity in Medford, February 2024
Murder at the Harvard Medical School, April 2023
Black Heritage Trail Virtual Tour, February 2022