ECW: Paul Revere and the Civil War

NH Civil War Gal

Captain
* OFFICIAL *
CWT PRESENTER
Forum Host
Regtl. Quartermaster Antietam 2021
Joined
Feb 5, 2017
https://emergingcivilwar.com/2019/04/18/paul-revere-and-the-civil-war/#more-181760

Paul Revere and the Civil War

Posted on April 18, 2019 by Sarah Kay Bierle


he_torch_bearer_of_the_revolution_1916_14578828258.jpg

“Paul Revere, the torch-bearer of the Revolution” (1916)

“Listen, my children, and you shall hear, Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere, On the eighteenth of April in ’75, Hardly a man is now alive Who remembers that famous day and year…”

Thus begins Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s epic (albeit not accurate) version of Paul Revere and his famous ride to warn to the local militias that the Redcoats were on the march. The patriot himself died in 1818, but his memory – interpreted by Longfellow – became an inspiring recruiting tool for the Union cause and helped ensure that Revere’s name would be long remembered and recited.

However, it was not just poetry that connect Paul Revere to the American Civil War. His descendants heard “the hurrying hoofbeats” and the “midnight message” of the Union in peril and rallied to their country’s cause. One of those descendants – a grandson – had vital role in leadership of the 20th Massachusetts Regiment and helped ensure that the family name had a place of honor in the continuing decades of American history.

Born on September 18, 1832, Paul Joseph Revere – one of Paul Revere’s grandsons – grew up near Boston, Massachusetts, and attended Harvard University, graduating in 1852. When the Civil War began in 1861, Revere enlisted on July 1 as a major and shortly after received a commission in the 20th Massachusetts Infantry.

Captured at the Battle of Ball’s Bluff later in 1861, Revere spent time in a Richmond prison before his exchange. He served briefly as assistant inspector general for General Sumner and was wounded at the Battle of Antietam. Returning to military service in the spring of 1863, Revere promoted to colonel of the 20th Massachusetts.
5845791_133781861001.jpg

Paul Joseph Revere (Find A Grave)

The regiment Revere commanded had a bloody history. Nicknamed “The Harvard Regiment” since many of the units officers were young graduates, it had formed at the end of August 1861. Ball’s Bluff initiated the unit in the horrors of war, and afterwards its soldiers fought at most of the Army of the Potomac’s battles, Peninsula Campaign/Seven Days Battles, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Second Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Petersburg, and the Appomattox Campaign. By the end of the war, the 20th suffered 409 casualties, ranking it among the most severely battered regiments of the war.

https://emergingcivilwar.com/2019/04/18/paul-revere-and-the-civil-war/#more-181760
 
Joseph Warren Revere, first cousin to Paul Joseph Revere and grandson of Paul Revere, served as Colonel, 7th New Jersey Infantry, until his promotion to the rank of Brigadier General in October, 1862. In the Battle of Chancellorsville Revere took command of Hiram Berry's division following the latter's mortal wounding and gave an order for his troops to fall back and regroup. The regrouping took place three miles behind the line. Revere was court martialed as a result, but given the option to resign, which he took.
 
Revere is an angleization (is that a real word?) of "Apollos Rivoire" the patriot's father's name. Apollos was a French Hugenot who was fleeing religious persecution in France and arrived in Boston as a teenager. So anyone named Revere(and there are several: Paul had sixteen children), is a descendent of the patriot.
 
Back
Top