A Lincoln Lecture and Some Links
Alas, I have to miss that talk because of a prior commitment. If you’re in the same boat, the meager substitute I can offer are links to some online articles I’ve written elsewhere this month:
- “Did Paul Revere’s Ride Really Matter?” Todd Andrlik at the Journal of the American Revolution was bold enough to publish this on Patriots Day. Also check out recent articles on the same events by Derek W. Beck and Ray Raphael.
- At Den of Geek, I reviewed the latest episode of the Turn spy drama. (Here are my reviews of episodes 1 and 2.)
- In addition, today Den of Geek may also publish my background article on how the real Culper Ring was uncovered a century ago.
2 comments:
I read the Revere piece, but it kinda strikes me like the old SNL skit's query "What if Eleanor Roosevelt could Fly?" Yeah, what if? As Fischer makes clear it was the long months and years of organizing and planning that were the significant and effective act, not one ride.
While personalizing the events of that night make them more engaging, shouldn't we see the rebels as far too shrewd to let their hopes of success, or even the general shape of events, ride on the back of one horse?
That's one of the points I was hoping to make with that essay, that putting so much focus on Paul Revere because he left us great sources and a great story obscures the backup systems (in fact, Revere himself was a backup) and the many other people acting independently of him.
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