Robert Newman - Boston, MA
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Metro2
N 42° 22.036 W 071° 03.386
19T E 330670 N 4692602
Robert Newman hung lanterns on the Old North Church's steeple on April 18, 1775, part of a warning signal devised by Paul Revere during the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
One if by land, two if by sea.
Waymark Code: WMHKN0
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 07/20/2013
Views: 9
This gravesite is located in Copp's Hill Burying Ground along Boston's Freedom Trail.
The gravestone reads:
"HERE RESTS
ROBERT NEWMAN
BORN IN BOSTON MCH.20, 1752
DIED IN BOSTON MAY 26, 1804
THE PATRIOT WHO HUNG THE SIGNAL LANTERNS
IN THE CHURCH TOWER APRIL 12, 1775"
Wikipedia (
visit link) adds:
"Robert Newman (March 20, 1752 – May 26, 1804) was an American sexton at the Old North Church in Boston, Massachusetts. He is considered a Patriot in the American Revolution for hanging lanterns in his church's steeple on April 18, 1775, part of a warning signal devised by Paul Revere during the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
Life and career[edit]Newman had become sexton of Christ Church, now known as Old North Church, in 1772. He lived with his mother in 1775, and she was renting part of their home to British officers. After pretending to go to bed on the night of April 18, Newman snuck out of his house undetected by the officers and joined vestryman John Pulling and Thomas Bernard, who assisted him with the signal. Bernard served as a lookout while Pulling and Newman went to the belfry, the tallest structure in the area. Using a code devised by Revere, Newman hung two lanterns in the church's belfry to warn Patriots that the British were about to descend upon Lexington by via the Charles River. The signal was spotted across the river, and allies began spreading the word. He said he had given the keys to Pulling, and when they went to question Pulling, he had already escaped to Nantucket, where he remained until it was safe to return. Newman returned home after the signal was set, and though he was later arrested, nothing could be proven against him.
Newman continued in the position until his death. The famous steeple was toppled by a Snow Hurricane of 1804 in the fall after Newman died. He was survived by his second wife, Mary Hammon, whom he married in 1790. He is buried at Copp's Hill Burying Ground in Boston. His collected letters were published on the bicentennial of his signal, in 1975."