April 18-19, 2025, marks the 250th anniversary of Paul Revere’s Ride of 1775, which began the first armed conflict between British troops and American militias in the American Revolution. The Evansville Grove Society, Inc. – Evansville’s local historical society – will join sister societies all over the United States in a “Two Lights for Tomorrow” observance to commemorate the nation’s 250th birthday.
“Two Lights” refers to the signal that Revere arranged to notify Patriot militias as to which of two routes British troops were going to take when they marched inland from Boston on the night of April 18 to seize weapons and ammunition stored in Concord, some 18 miles northwest of the city. One lantern in the tower of the Old North Church meant that the British were marching by land to Cambridge and then on to Lexington and finally Concord. Two lights signified the shorter route that the British actually took, across water in rowboats to Charlestown and then north.
Revere, meanwhile, rode horseback north from Charlestown while another rider took the land route, warning militia groups along the way that “the British were coming.”
Some 4,000 colonial militia fought that night and the following day, against 1,800 British light-infantry. Fighting began in the pre-dawn hours of April 19th at Lexington and later at Concord. Unsuccessful at capturing either weapons or militia leaders, the British retreated back to Boston, under a gauntlet of well-organized colonial fire along the way.
In all, the British suffered 73 soldiers killed and 200 wounded, to 49 militia killed and 46 wounded. In this first contest as through the remainder of the Revolutionary War, British troops were at a disadvantage because they faced a civilian population in rebellion, rather than a professional army with conventional tactics.
“Two Lights for Tomorrow” is a nationwide initiative to open the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. Organizers have called for two lights to be displayed in every statehouse in the nation. Members of the public can participate by displaying two lights in their homes or businesses, either on the nights of April 18th and 19th or throughout the month of April. The Evansville Grove Society will maintain lights at the Historic Baker Building, located at the entrance to Leonard-Leota Park, corner Madison St. and Antes Drive in Evansville. Organizers have also called for a day of service on April 19th, in which citizens will be called to serve their communities with volunteer projects ranging from park and cemetery clean-ups to food drives, card-writing and visits to residents of care facilities, and so on. The Grove Society encourages local residents to contribute to the community in some way, as individuals or in groups, and to take time out to learn something about the American Revolution and what it stands for.
