[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 59 (Friday, April 11, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S5387]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 37--EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE CELEBRATION 
       OF PATRIOT'S DAY AND HONORING THE NATION'S FIRST PATRIOTS

  Mr. KENNEDY (for himself and Mr. Kerry) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                            S. Con. Res. 37

       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 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 Patriot's 
     Day with a reenactment of Paul Revere's famous ride, battle 
     reenactments, educational programs, parades, and civic 
     activities, and remembered by Americans across the United 
     States: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) expresses support for the celebration of Patriot's 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.

                          ____________________