On this day 250 years ago, Paul Revere was riding the 60 miles from Boston on the Old Bay Road through Ipswich, Massachusetts to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Revere met at 4:00 pm with Samuel Cutts and the Portsmouth Committee of Correspondence at Stoodley’s Tavern and at Cutts’ waterfront home to deliver the warning that General Gage was expected to send troops on ships from Boston to Fort William and Mary to remove the cannon and ammunition in the fort.

Sources: https://historicipswich.net/2023/02/13/paul-revere-ride-ipswich-1774/; https://fortwilliamandmary250.org/history/; https://www.seacoastnh.com/places-and-events/nh-history/raid-on-fort-william-and-mary/; https://therealride.wordpress.com/2016/12/07/31/; https://theunsungrevolution.omeka.net/exhibits/show/revolution/fortraid; https://revolutionarywarjournal.com/the-first-real-shots-fired-of-the-american-revolution-dec-14-1774/

Also on that day in Virginia, the Loudoun County Independent Company — a militia company organized with no authority from the British government — was conducting drills.

Source: https://allthingsliberty.com/2014/09/the-rise-of-virginia-independent-militia/ at n.11;