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William Dawes... MidNight Ride Lt. William Dawes was born in 1762. Little is known of his childhood. His father, Benjamin Dawes, was clerk of works in the Ordnance Office at Portsmouth, Devon. William was the oldest of five children.
The first we hear of William is that he joined the Royal Marines at the age of 17. He was twice married, and had three children, all from the first marriage. Lt. Dawes was a second lieutenant when wounded in action against the French at Chesapeake Bay in 1781.
He volunteered for duty at Botany Bay, and because he had some knowledge of astronomy, was selected to sail with the First Fleet in 1787 as a member of the staff of Major Robert Ross, OC of the detachment of Marines. He went as Officer of Engineers and Artillery and was instructed to set up an observatory to watch in particular for a comet that was expected in 1788. Transferred from the Sirius in March 1788 and employed on shore as an engineer and surveyor, he built his observatory at Point Maskelyne, later known as Dawes Point. Dawes made observations but the comet never appeared. He constructed batteries on various points of the harbour and laid out the government farm and the first streets and allotments in Sydney and Parramatta.
Paul Revere was a well known silversmith in Boston. Revere became involved with the Sons of Liberty early in the Political turmoil of before the Revolution. Although he was just a messenger, Revere served on many important groups and committees. He was a member of the Committee of Correspondence, which ran many important exchanges between colonies.
On 18 April 1775 he was dispatched to Lexington, with Paul Revere and rode through Roxbury, Revere going by way of Charlestown. Revere took the shorter route "by sea, " while Dawes went "by land" over the isthmus from Boston to Roxbury, then crossing the Charles River over a bridge in Cambridge. Revere's ride has been celebrated in poems and textbooks, but Dawes' role was at least as important. Paul Revere had arranged for signals to be briefly displayed in the bell-tower of Boston's Old North Church and the local Sons of Liberty recognized that two lanterns meant that Gage's troops were to cross the river. Revere was already on the other side, in Charlestown, when he heard the news. He began to give the alarm as he rode through Medford and Menotomy (now Arlington) and other small villages along the way.
On orders from Dr. Joseph Warren, a leader of the Sons of Liberty, William Dawes took the longer route through Boston Neck, shouting to everyone within earshot, "The Regulars are out!" After meeting Dawes in Menotomy, Revere entered Lexington only a few minutes ahead of his comrade, quickly warning Hancock and Adams. Dr. Samuel Prescott, courting a young lady in Lexington (Lydia Mulliken), decided to join the other two in riding on to Concord, where another cache of arms was stored. At around 1 A. M. , outside of Lincoln, about halfway to Concord, Dawes and Dr.
Prescott were warning a house, Revere spotted two British officers. He thought that they could arrest the two officers. He called to Dawes and Prescott and rode ahead. He quickly found himself surrounded by four British officers, as were Dawes and Prescott when they rode up. The three were directed into a field. Dr.
Prescott told Revere that he was could to make a run for it. He then jumped a stone wall and escaped because he knew the terrain well. Revere also broke away, making for a wood where he could escape on foot, but instead ran into more officers. Dawes galloped to a nearby farmhouse and then returned to Lexington by foot, having decided that his work was done. The night was over for Dawes, who walked back to Lexington and kept a low profile. A few days after the battle, he went back and found his watch.
Several months later, he fought at Bunker Hill, and later started a business to supply the new army. He died long after American independence, on February 25, 1799.
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Research essay sample on William Dawes Midnight Ride
