1775 – American Revolution: The British advancement by sea begins; Paul Revere and other riders warn the countryside of the troop movements. The Midnight Ride was the alert to the American colonial militia in April 1775 to the approach of British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord. The ride occurred on the night of April 18, 1775, immediately before the first engagements of the American Revolutionary War. In the preceding weeks, British Army activity indicated a planned crackdown on the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, then based in Concord. Paul Revere and William Dawes prepared the alert, which began when Robert Newman, sexton of Boston's Old North Church, used a lantern signal to alert colonists in Charlestown to the Army's advance by way of the Charles River. Revere and Dawes then rode to meet John Hancock and Samuel Adams in Lexington, ten miles distant, alerting up to 40 other riders along the way. Revere and Dawes then headed towards Concord with Samuel Prescott. The three were captured by British troops in Lincoln. Prescott and Dawes escaped but Revere was returned to Lexington and freed after questioning. By giving the Colonists advance warning of the British Army's actions, the ride played a crucial role in the Colonists' victory in the subsequent battles.