Israel Bissell, Jr.

Revolutionary War Hero. He was a Massachusetts post rider in April, 1775 when he was dispatched by General Joseph Palmer to inform the Continental Congress of the Battle of Lexington and alert citizens of the northeastern colonies that the Revolution had begun. He rode 345 miles from Watertown, Massachusetts to Philadelphia in four days, six hours, a pace so extreme that the horse he rode from Watertown to Worcester on the first leg of his journey died from exhaustion. As he traveled, Bissell shouted a warning that the war had begun, and distributed copies of a written message from Palmer that was copied at each stop so it could be reprinted in newspapers and posters. After informing Congress, Bissell traveled to Connecticut, where he joined the Continental Army. Bissell served until the end of the war, afterwards settling in Middlefield, Massachusetts, and later moving to Hinsdale, where he was a sheep farmer. Bissell's ride, a feat which easily surpassed that of Paul Revere and others who rode to warn that the Revolution had commenced, was less well known than Revere's, largely because of the success of the epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Beginning in the 1920s, the story of Bissell's exploit has gained wider acclaim, and his former homestead has been restored and is a local landmark.

Bio by: Bill McKern

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/28200928/israel-bissell