Paul Revere rode to warn American patriots northwest of Boston that the British intended to raid Lexington and Concord. He made his famous ride on April 18, 1775, and as a result of his warnings, the Lexington minutemen were ready the next morning for the arrival of the British and for the historic battle that launched the American Revolution. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1868 ballad Paul Revere's Ride immortalized Revere's actions.