Tinned iron, glass. Rectangular shaped lantern, with four glass panels and a ring on the top. Metal has incised line design. Also known as “Paul Revere’s Lantern.”
Lantern has been identified as one of the lanterns hung as a signal in the belfry of Christ Church (Old North Church) in Boston on the night of April 18, 1775. Paul Revere stopped on his way to Charlestown to arrange that the order be given to the sexton of the church, Robert Newman, to hang the two lanterns. This was a pre-arranged signal to inform the patriots in Charlestown that the British were on the move. Revere’s ride that night was the prelude to the battle of Lexington and Concord.