[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 149 Engrossed in House (EH)]


  1st Session

                            H. CON. RES. 149

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                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 Expressing support for the celebration of Patriots' Day and honoring 
                      the Nation's first patriots.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 149

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Whereas on the evening of April 18, 1775, Paul Revere was sent for by Dr. Joseph 
        Warren and instructed to ride to Lexington, Massachusetts, to warn 
        Samuel Adams and John Hancock that British troops were marching to 
        arrest them;
Whereas after leaving Charlestown on his way to Lexington, Paul Revere alerted 
        the inhabitants of the villages and towns along his route, stopping in 
        Medford (formerly Mystic) at the home of Isaac Hall, the captain of the 
        Medford Minutemen during the Revolutionary War, before continuing on 
        through Arlington (formerly Menotomy) and arriving in Lexington around 
        midnight;
Whereas William Dawes and a third rider, Dr. Samuel Prescott, joined Paul Revere 
        on his mission and they proceeded together on horseback to Lincoln;
Whereas while en route they encountered a British patrol that arrested Paul 
        Revere, but William Dawes and Samuel Prescott managed to escape and 
        continued on to Concord where weapons and supplies were hidden;
Whereas the midnight ride of Paul Revere was brilliantly and forever 
        commemorated by the great American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 
        his 1861 poem ``Paul Revere's Ride'';
Whereas the actions taken by Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott 
        afforded the Minutemen time to assemble to confront the advancing 
        British troops and were heralded as one of the first great acts of 
        patriotism of our nation;
Whereas 38 Lexington Minutemen boldly stood before 600-800 British troops who 
        had gathered at Lexington Green;
Whereas Captain Parker of the Lexington Minutemen commanded his men, ``Don't 
        fire unless you are fired on; but if they want a war, let it begin 
        here.'';
Whereas when the British continued onto Concord, a battle ensued at the Old 
        North Bridge, where Minutemen from every Middlesex village and town 
        routed the British and forced them into retreat back to Boston;
Whereas Ralph Waldo Emerson immortalized this moment in American history as 
        where ``the embattled farmers stood and fired the shot heard 'round the 
        world.'';
Whereas the United States has recognized the historic significance of the 
        Nation's original patriots with the creation in 1959 of the Minute Man 
        National Historical Park, located in Concord, Lincoln, and Lexington, 
        Massachusetts, to preserve and protect the numerous significant historic 
        sites, structures, properties, and landscapes associated with the 
        opening battles of the American Revolution, and to help visitors 
        understand and interpret the colonial struggle for their rights and 
        freedoms; and
Whereas the heroic acts of April 19, 1775, are celebrated in Massachusetts and 
        Maine every year as part of Patriots' Day with a reenactment of Paul 
        Revere's famous ride, battle reenactments and educational programs, 
        parades, and civic activities, and remembered by Americans across the 
        United States: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) expresses support for the annual celebration of 
        Patriots' Day;
            (2) recognizes the extraordinary dedication to freedom 
        demonstrated by the Nation's first patriots during the earliest 
        days of the Battle for Independence in April 1775; and
            (3) honors those first patriots who lost their lives in 
        defense of liberty and freedom.

            Passed the House of Representatives April 29, 2003.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.