The Ride of Paul Revere and William Dawes occurred on the night of April 18, 1775, and was a pivotal event leading up to the American Revolutionary War. Paul Revere and William Dawes were two of the riders sent to warn the colonial militias in Massachusetts about the British army's movements.

As tensions between the American colonies and Britain grew, the British planned to march on Lexington and Concord to seize colonial weapons and arrest rebel leaders. Paul Revere, a silversmith and member of the Sons of Liberty, was tasked with riding to alert Samuel Adams and John Hancock, who were in Lexington. William Dawes, a shoemaker and fellow member of the Sons of Liberty, also set out to warn the countryside.

Revere took a more direct route through the countryside, while Dawes took a different path, both spreading the warning of the British advance. Revere is more famous for the ride, partly due to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1861 poem Paul Revere's Ride. However, Dawes and a third rider, Dr. Samuel Prescott, who joined them along the way, were also crucial in delivering the warning.

Their efforts helped mobilize the local militias, leading to the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, the first military engagements of the Revolutionary War. The "shot heard 'round the world" was fired at the Battle of Concord, signaling the start of the revolution.