MA, USA
Hancock and Adams Warned at Clarke House
April 19, 1775
Shortly after midnight on April 19, Paul Revere arrived at the Hancock-Clarke House where John Hancock and Samuel Adams were staying as guests of Reverend Jonas Clarke. Sergeant William Munroe, standing guard outside, initially told Revere not to make so much noise. Revere replied that noise was exactly what was needed—the British regulars were coming. Inside, Hancock reportedly wanted to stay and fight, but Adams convinced him that their political leadership was too valuable to risk. Dorothy Quincy, Hancock's fiancée, and Aunt Lydia Hancock helped prepare for the hasty departure. By the time the British column reached Lexington Green, the two most wanted Patriots had already escaped toward Woburn.
People Involved
Boston artisan who became the Revolution's most famous messenger, riding to warn Lexington and Concord of the British approach on April 18, 1775.
The organizer who built the resistance movement in Boston through town meetings, correspondence committees, and strategic confrontations with British authority.
John Hancock's fiancée was present at the Hancock-Clarke House on the night of the alarm. She witnessed the flight to safety and later married Hancock.
President of the Continental Congress who was staying at the Hancock-Clarke House in Lexington on the night of April 18, 1775. Revere rode to warn him and Samuel Adams of the approaching British.