April 19, 1775. 251 years ago today. A farmer stood on Lexington Green, 700 British regulars marched out of Boston, and an empire discovered it had misjudged the American character.

October 1781. Washington marched 450 miles in secret to trap Cornwallis. 21 days later, the British Empire blinked. The Revolution was won at a Virginia river.

December 1773. 342 chests of tea. One bitter harbor. The night colonists stopped asking politely and started breaking things. America, unleashed.

April 18, 1775. Longfellow's poem got half the story wrong. The real midnight ride — and why it actually worked — is even better than the legend.