Thursday, January 08, 2015

He did more than ride a horse

Listen my children and you shall hear
of the midnight ride of Paul Revere
Boston area school children of my generation were made to memorize Longfellow's poem. We didn't learn that Revere didn't finish the ride leaving it to William Dawes, but then probably Dawes wouldn't have scanned well with "to every Middlesex village and farm" except those that Dawes went to.
Revere made the news again this week when an 18th century time capsule he and others had buried in 1795 was  opened gingerly with dental tools and a porcupine quill.
The 5.5 x 7.5 x 1.5 inch box had been opened in 1855, the objects cleaned and some other things added before being reburied.

Some of what was found
  • Newspapers still readable
  • Copper coins
  • A copper medal of George Washington
  • Silver plate maybe designed by the silversmith himself when he wasn't sounding the alarm about approaching British
Time moved more slowly then... what would go into such a box today?

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