On April 19, 1775, the Battles of Lexington and Concord marked the start of the American Revolution. Four riders set out to warn colonists of the start of the war. They are Paul Revere, Samuel Prescott, William Dawes, and Israel Bissell. Paul Revere is the most famous because he was immortalized in the poem "Paul Revere's Ride" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. However Israel Bisell, whose name is harder to rhyme, actually traveled farther and faster than any other rider.
Post rider Israel Bissel left Watertown, MA on horseback at 10 a.m. on April 19, 1775 and reached Philadelphia, PA on April 24th at 5 p.m. Covering a distance of 345 miles in four days and seven hours while passing through Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey before reaching Philadelphia, PA.
Afterward he returned to Hartford, CT and and enlisted in the Connecticut regiment and become a sergeant under the command of Colonel Erastus Wolcott.