In April 1775, Paul Revere told three Boston patriots to hang two lanterns in the steeple. These men were the church sexton Robert Newman and Captain John Pulling -- the two of whom historian David Hackett Fischer suggests each carried one lantern up to the steeple -- as well as Thomas Bernard, who stood watch for British troops outside the church. The lanterns were displayed to send a warning to Charlestown patriots across the Charles River about the movements of the British Army. Revere and William Dawes would later deliver the same message to Lexington themselves, but this lantern method was a fast way to inform the back - up riders in Charlestown about the movements of the British; these back - up riders planned to deliver the warning message to Lexington and Concord in case Revere and Dawes were arrested on the way.
who said one if by land two if by sea
Paul Revere