Editing Paul Revere (section)

==War years==
Because Boston was [[Siege of Boston|besieged]] after the battles of Lexington and Concord, Revere could not return to the city, which was now firmly in British hands. He boarded in [[Watertown, Massachusetts|Watertown]], where he was eventually joined by Rachel and most of his children (Paul Jr., then 15, remained in Boston to mind the family properties).{{sfn|Triber|1998|p=115}} After he was denied a commission in the [[Continental Army]], he tried to find other ways to be useful to the rebel cause. He was retained by the provincial congress as a courier, and he printed local currency which the congress used to pay the troops around Boston.{{sfn|Miller|2010|pp=201–208}}

[[Image:US-Colonial (MA-258)-Massachusetts-16 Oct 1778.jpg|thumb|An eight-pence bill engraved and printed by Revere in 1778.  The engraving of the pine tree on the verso (back of the bill) is likely the work of silversmith and engraver [[Nathaniel Hurd]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Early Paper Money of America, Massachusetts, 1776 October 18 |publisher=Newman Numismatic Portal at Washington University in St. Louis |access-date=June 8, 2021 |url=https://nnpbeta.wustl.edu/library/imagecollection/514463}}</ref><ref>{{citation |last=Jordan |first=Louis |title=Massachusetts Currency, October 18, 1776-Codfish |series=Colonial Currency |publisher=University of Notre Dame, Department of Special Collections |access-date=June 8, 2021 |url=https://coins.nd.edu/ColCurrency/CurrencyText/MA-10-18-76.html}}</ref>]]
Since there was a desperate shortage of gunpowder, the provincial congress decided in November 1775 to send him to [[Philadelphia]] to study the working of the only [[powder mill]] in the colonies, in the hopes that he might be able to build a second one in Massachusetts. Revere called on the mill's owner, [[Oswald Eve]], armed with a letter from Continental Congressmen [[Robert Morris (financier)|Robert Morris]] and [[John Dickinson (delegate)|John Dickinson]] asking Eve to "Chearfully & from Public Spirited Motives give Mr. Revere such information as will inable him to Conduct the business on his return home."{{sfn|Martello|2010|p=62}}{{sfn|Gettemy|1905|p=169}} Eve showed Revere around the mill, but refused to give him detailed drawings unless he was first paid a substantial bribe. Despite this chilly reception, Revere was able to discern useful information from the visit. He also acquired, through the work of Samuel Adams, plans for another powder mill. This information enabled Revere to set up a powder mill at Stoughton (present-day [[Canton, Massachusetts|Canton]]).{{sfn|Martello|2010|p=62}}{{sfn|Triber|1998|p=148}} The mill produced tons of gunpowder for the Patriot cause.{{sfn|Miller|2010|p=214}}

Revere's friend and compatriot Joseph Warren was killed in the [[Battle of Bunker Hill]] on June 17, 1775.{{sfn|Miller|2010|p=208}} Because soldiers killed in battle were often buried in [[mass grave]]s without ceremony, Warren's grave was unmarked. On March 21, 1776, several days after the British army left Boston, Revere, Warren's brothers, and a few friends went to the battlefield and found a grave containing two bodies.{{sfn|Ketchum|1999|p=195}} After being buried for nine months, Warren's face was unrecognizable, but Revere was able to identify Warren's body because he had placed a false tooth in Warren's mouth, and recognized the wire he had used for fastening it. Warren was given a proper funeral and reburied in a marked grave.{{sfn|Miller|2010|p=215}}

===Militia service===
Upon returning to Boston in 1776, Revere was commissioned a [[Major (rank)|major]] of [[infantry]] in the Massachusetts militia in that April, and transferred to the [[artillery]] a month later.{{sfn|Martello|2010|p=80}} In November he was promoted to [[lieutenant colonel]], and was stationed at [[Castle William]], defending Boston harbor. He was generally second or third in the chain of command, and on several occasions he was given command of the fort.{{sfn|Martello|2010|p=80}} He applied his engineering skills to maintaining the fort's armaments, even designing and building a [[caliper]] to accurately measure cannonballs and cannon bore holes.{{sfn|Martello|2010|p=80}} The service at Castle William was relatively isolated, and personality friction prompted some men to file complaints against Revere.{{sfn|Miller|2010|p=217}} The boredom was alleviated in late August 1777 when Revere was sent with a troop of soldiers to escort prisoners taken in the [[Battle of Bennington]] to Boston, where they were confined on board prison ships,{{sfn|Gettemy|1905|pp=148–151}}{{sfn|Drake|1899|p=128}} and again in September when he was briefly deployed to [[Rhode Island]].{{sfn|Gettemy|1905|pp=152–153}}

[[Image:Entree de l escadre francaise en baie de Newport 1778 Ozanne.jpg|thumb|right|Drawing depicting the arrival of the French fleet in Narragansett Bay in 1778]]
In August 1778 Revere's regiment served in a combined Franco-American expedition whose objective was to capture the British base at [[Newport, Rhode Island]].{{sfn|Forbes|1999|p=343}} His regiment was responsible for erecting and maintaining artillery batteries on [[Aquidneck Island]].{{sfn|Triber|1998|p=132}} The attempt was abandoned by the French when their fleet was scattered in a storm, and Revere's regiment returned to Boston before the British sortied from Newport to force the [[Battle of Rhode Island]].{{sfn|Triber|1998|p=133}}

===Penobscot disaster===
{{main|Penobscot Expedition}}
The British in June 1779 established a new base on [[Penobscot Bay]] in present-day [[Maine]] (which was then part of Massachusetts).{{sfn|Miller|2010|p=220}} Massachusetts authorities called out the militia, pressed into service available shipping, and organized [[Penobscot Expedition|a major expedition]] to dislodge the British.{{sfn|Triber|1998|pp=134–135}} The expedition was a complete fiasco: its land and naval commanders squabbled over control of the expedition, and could not agree on strategy or tactics. The arrival of British reinforcements led to the destruction of the entire Massachusetts fleet.{{sfn|Triber|1998|pp=135–136}} Revere commanded the artillery units for the expedition, and was responsible for organizing the artillery train.{{sfn|Miller|2010|pp=224–225}} He participated in the taking of Bank's Island, from which artillery batteries could reach the British ships anchored before [[Fort George (Castine, Maine)|Fort George]]. He next oversaw the transport of the guns from Bank's Island to a new position on the heights of the Bagaduce Peninsula that commanded the fort.{{sfn|Miller|2010|p=229}} Although Revere was in favor of storming the fort, Brigadier General [[Solomon Lovell]] opted for a siege instead. After further disagreements on how to proceed between Lovell and fleet commander [[Dudley Saltonstall]], Lovell decided to return to the transports on August 12, a decision supported by Revere.{{sfn|Triber|1998|p=136}}

Late the next day British sails were spotted. A mad scramble ensued, and on the 14th the fleet was in retreat heading up the [[Penobscot River]]. Revere and his men were put ashore with their stores, and their transports destroyed. At one point Brigadier General [[Peleg Wadsworth]] ordered Revere to send his barge in an attempt to recover a ship drifting toward the enemy position. Revere at first resisted, but eventually complied, and Wadsworth told him to expect formal charges over the affair.{{sfn|Miller|2010|pp=234–236}} The incident separated Revere from his men. Moving overland, he eventually managed to regroup most of his troops, and returned to Boston on August 26. A variety of charges were made against Revere, some of which were exaggerated assignments of blame{{sfn|Triber|1998|pp=136–138}} made by enemies he had made in his command at Castle William. The initial hearings on the matter in September 1779 were inconclusive, but he was asked to resign his post.{{sfn|Triber|1998|pp=136–138}} He repeatedly sought a full [[court-martial]] to clear his name, but it was not until February 1782 that a court martial heard the issue, exonerating him.{{sfn|Miller|2010|pp=238–239}}{{sfn|Triber|1998|p=139}}

===Business and social connections===

[[File:Tea Urn MET DP208084.jpg|thumb|Tea urn for [[John Rowe (merchant)|Hannah Rowe]], 1791, [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]].]]
During the Revolutionary War, Revere continued his efforts to move upwards in society into the gentry. After his failed efforts to become a military officer he attempted to become a merchant, but was hindered by a number of factors: while he was a fairly well-off member of the artisan class, he did not have the resources to afford the goods he would have sold as a merchant, nor were lenders in England willing to lend him the required startup capital. Other American merchants of the time were able to continue their business with colleagues in England. However, Revere's inexperience as a merchant meant that he had not yet established such relationships and was not able to communicate as effectively on unfamiliar matters. Another factor preventing Revere's success as a merchant was the economic climate of the time period after the war known as the [[Confederation Period]]; while the colonies had seen a time of economic growth before the war, the colonies experienced a severe post-war depression, constraining the overall success of his business.{{sfn|Martello|2010|p=94}}

[[File:Revere Coat-of-Arms engraved by Paul Revere.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Revere Coat-of-Arms engraved by Paul Revere]]While Revere struggled as a merchant, his success as a silversmith enabled him to pursue and leverage more advanced technological developments for the purposes of mass production. For example, [[Rolling (metalworking)|rolling]] mills greatly improved the productivity of his silver shop and enabled his business to move further away from manufacturing high-end customized products in order to focus instead on the production of a more standardized set of goods.{{sfn|Martello|2010|pp=107–110}} In the 18th century, the standard of living continuously improved in America, as genteel goods became increasingly available to the masses.{{sfn|Federhen|1988|p=153}} Revere responded particularly well to this trend because his business was not solely manufacturing custom, high end purchases. Smaller products like teaspoons and buckles accounted for the majority of his work, allowing him to build a broad customer base.{{sfn|Federhen|1988|p=154}}

Revere's increased efficiency left financial and human resources available for the exploration of other products, which was essential to overcoming the fluctuating post-war economic climate.{{sfn|Falino|2001|p=77}} In addition to increasing production, the flatting mill enabled Revere to move towards a more managerial position.{{sfn|Martello|2010|pp=111–114}}