<P> About 700 British Army regulars in Boston , under Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith , were given secret orders to capture and destroy Colonial military supplies reportedly stored by the Massachusetts militia at Concord . Through effective intelligence gathering , Patriot leaders had received word weeks before the expedition that their supplies might be at risk and had moved most of them to other locations . On the night before the battle , warning of the British expedition had been rapidly sent from Boston to militias in the area by several riders , including Paul Revere and Samuel Prescott , with information about British plans . The initial mode of the Army 's arrival by water was signaled from the Old North Church in Boston to Charleston using lanterns to communicate `` one if by land , two if by sea '' . </P>
<P> About 700 British Army regulars in Boston , under Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith , were given secret orders to capture and destroy Colonial military supplies reportedly stored by the Massachusetts militia at Concord . Through effective intelligence gathering , Patriot leaders had received word weeks before the expedition that their supplies might be at risk and had moved most of them to other locations . On the night before the battle , warning of the British expedition had been rapidly sent from Boston to militias in the area by several riders , including Paul Revere and Samuel Prescott , with information about British plans . The initial mode of the Army 's arrival by water was signaled from the Old North Church in Boston to Charleston using lanterns to communicate `` one if by land , two if by sea '' . </P>
who rode ahead of the british army to warn them that they were marching
who rode ahead of the british army to warn them that they were marching
Paul Revere Samuel Prescott
Paul Revere Samuel Prescott