Paul revere
... up for the rights of the people, without any fear. On page 164 Captain Levi Preston of Danvers was asked about his involvement in the war against the British. He states “Young man, what we meant in going for those redcoats was this: we always had governed ourselves and we always meant to. They didn’t mean we should.” Statements like this bring out the sentiment of many colonists during this time which generally was: We will govern ourselves no matter what the redcoats have to say about it. Attitudes like this show the determination and will of a champion. I believe that in order to be a hero you must first possess the attitude of a hero, and that is exactly what this is. The colonists were not allowed to have a full army nor did they have the resources to do so. They often times relied on volunteers from the countryside and average citizens to be apart of the militia to defend their land. On page 154 it states: “One British observer wrote, it is a curious masquerade scene to see grave sober citizens, barbers and tailors who never looked fierce before, strutting about in their Sunday wigs… if ever you saw a goose assume an air of consequence, you may catch some faint idea.” This quote shows how dedicated to the cause the countryside was. Average citizens signing up for the militia and willing to give up their lives for their motherland is the ultimate price they can pay for freedom. It also demonstrates that the tailors and the barbers that made up this rag-tag army were anything but scared. Even though they may have been poorly equipped they were still ready for battle and to be a hero. Even respected politicians such as John Hancock were ready to get their guns and face the Regulars. “If I had my musket,” Hancock was heard to say “I would never turn my back on these troops.” He swore again and again “it never should be said that he had turned his back” upon the Regulars (page 177). Courage was definitely a characteristic found within Hancock. He would gladly die for on the basis of the Revolution and would do what it takes to rid his land of the British. One if the most selfless things is to give your life so that others may live happily and Hancock was prepared to do that. I think when you are willing to die so that others may live free of subjugation and tyrannical rule that definitely makes you a hero. A hero is everything that Hancock was and is. There were groups and such that Paul Revere was joined with whom had highly classified documents that the British would have loved to get their hands on. These documents in particular would have given the British the “scoop” in who’s who in the Revolution. In other words they would have figured out who was “inciting” this Revolution and have them killed. These important documents were kept in a large trunk that the British were coming after, Revere knew he had to hide them quickly; the following is a depiction of that struggle. “Paul Revere, still struggling with Hancock’s trunk, found himself directly in the line of fire about “half a gunshot” from the British troops… Revere and Lowell stayed bravely with the trunk as the British rounds passed close to their heads. They carried their precious burden into the woods beyond the Common, and remained there for about fifteen minutes (page 196).” The fact that these men were “half a gunshot” away from death in order to conceal identities is remarkable. These men were almost certain they would be killed yet they faced their fears and stayed brave despite the British, if that is not a feature of a hero I have no clue as to what is. Before the Revolution, Revere embarked on his ever famous ride from city to city warning that the Regulars were coming. While out, he was caught and taken into custody by some British soldiers. These men interrogated him and held a gun to his head if he wouldn’t tell the truth....