Samuel Prescott - The Ride

The Ride

On the evening of April 18, 1775, Paul Revere and William Dawes were dispatched by Joseph Warren to warn the countryside that the British were coming, Prescott was in Lexington to visit with his fiancee Lydia Mulliken. He was also there to report on Concord’s readiness, its status in hiding supplies and munitions from the British, and its success in moving cannon to Groton lest it fall into British hands. The British wanted the military stores at Concord and had hoped to capture Samuel Adams and John Hancock in the process.

When Prescott left Lexington, it was about 1 a.m. the next morning, April 19. On his way back to Concord he met Paul Revere (1735–1818) and William Dawes (1745–1799), who had just left Lexington shortly before him and were also on their way to Concord—to warn the town that the Redcoats were on the march.

When the three continued on to Hartwell's tavern in the lower bounds of Lincoln, they were cut off by four British horseman who were part of a larger scouting party sent out the preceding evening. Revere was captured but both Prescott and Dawes succeeded in making a daring run for it. Local boy Prescott did so with a show of artful horsemanship and knowledge of the forest. Finally losing his pursuers, he circled about and headed with the utmost speed to Concord, carrying Revere’s warning to his townsmen.

Dawes also escaped from his pursuers with much daring, but it was after a close chase, a frantic ruse on his part, and a little bit of luck. Once he was safe, he considered circling around the patrol and racing on to Concord much as Prescott had, but he heard the Concord town house bell and knew Prescott had made it there, and so he continued on his special mission, for he was only assigned to accompany Revere to Concord. Prescott, meanwhile, continued west to warn Acton, Massachusetts while his brother Abel Prescott (1749–1775) rode south to warn Sudbury and Framingham. By this time, countless riders were also dispatched from other towns to spread the warning—while bells and cannon were rung or fired to punctuate the danger at hand.

Because of the “midnight” rides of Revere, Dawes, Prescott, and many other expresses (couriers), Minutemen and Militia everywhere were on the ready, many marching to Concord to effectively engage the British Army at the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Prescott was there to witness the Battle of Concord, then tried to beat the British back to Lexington to see Lydia Mulliken and her family and to help with the wounded. He remained at Lexington as a volunteer surgeon for about two weeks, then seems to have disappeared into the war.