Interesting bit of history is provided by the National Lancers on what Paul Revere was really up to on his ride:

Contrary to popular belief, Paul Revere did not set out on the night of April 18th, 1775 to alert the countryside to the impending British march. His specific goal was to ride to Lexington to warn two prominent Colonial leaders, Samuel Adams and John Hancock, that their lives might be in danger. Having departed Boston by boat across the Back Bay, and narrowly averting notice by the H.M.S Somerset anchored there; he procured a strong, quick Yankee horse and rode west toward Lexington.

They go on to describe his capture by soldiers and how he told them that people were taking up arms, which led a heavily armed group of British soldiers to search for munitions in Lexington and eventually fire their guns into “fleeing crowds”.

Quite a different tale than you’ll find in the words of Longfellow.