Sarah Palin Grilled on Statements about Paul Revere's Ride

During highly publicized East Coast bus tour that traveled from Washington, D.C. to New England, Sarah Palin may have stumbled once again on some facts about Palin told a group of supporters in New England that Paul Revere's famous ride was intended to alert British soldiers as well as the American colonists of the pending attack of British forces. When questioned about it on Fox News Sunday, Palin gave the following reply:

"Part of his ride was to warn the British that were already there. That, hey, you're not going to succeed. You're not going to take American arms. You are not going to beat our own well-armed persons, individual, private militia that we have," she said. "He did warn the British."

And despite the patriotic undertone of Palin's message, all available historical documentation, including Revere's own writings, seem to contradict Palin's position. Rather than having any intention to warn British soldiers or to somehow "frighten" them by suggesting that American militias were ready to engage, Revere's mission was highly secretive by necessity. He was riding to Lexington to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that British forces would be coming to arrest them.

It should be noted, however, that Revere did reveal information to British soldiers about the purpose of his mission and he did try to intimidate them by suggesting that large numbers of armed colonists would be joining the fight against the British occupying forces. This happened under direct questioning from British soldiers after Revere was apprehended during his ride from Lexington to Concord.