Half of Revere’s expenses were for riding. From April 21st to May 7th, he charged five shillings a day for “riding for the Committee of Safety” and £1 for “keeping two Colony horse[s]” for ten days. This was not payment for Revere’s “midnight ride,” but rides afterward spreading news of the famous events of April 19th.

Boston’s selectmen had sent Revere on his first ride “to carry the Account of the Destruction of the Tea” to New York in December 1773. The following spring they sent him to Philadelphia with a message for the Continental Congress. In September 1774 they had him bring the Suffolk County Resolves to Congress, which called for colonial opposition to British tax policies. 

In December Revere rode to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to alert the militia that British troops were on their way and that they needed to remove the cannon and ammunition from Fort William and Mary. Alarmed by Revere, the militia secured the munitions.