Cyrus Edwin Dallin (1861-1944),
Paul Revere, 1899, bronze, 39 x 17 x 32 inches. Brigham Young University Museum of Art, gift of B. Darrel and R. Reed Call.On this day in 1775, the American Revolutionary War began. Tensions between the American colonies and Great Britain had risen to a climax over several years. Though there had been small episodes of violence throughout the years, the beginning of open, armed, military conflict did not begin until the morning of April 19, 1775 at the Battles of Lexington and Concord. On the evening on April 18, several riders, including Paul Revere, rode throughout the area to warn locals that the British troops were on their way to Concord, Massachusetts, by way of Lexington, to seize munitions from the local troops. Because of these riders' late night warnings, local militiamen, called 'minutemen' were waiting when the British troops marched into Lexington the next morning. The militia and the British troops fought in Lexington, after which the British continued to Concord, where they were met by hundreds more militiamen from the area. These two battles officially began the American Revolutionary War. This sculpture of Paul Revere was created by Utah artist Cyrus Edwin Dallin. A larger version of this sculpture is permanently on display across from the Old North Church in Boston, Massachusetts, which was the origin of Paul Revere's famous ride. Dallin was also the sculptor of the Angel Moroni on the Salt Lake City temple.