Dawes, William (1745-1799), was an American patriot who helped Paul Revere warn colonists about a British attack at the start of the American Revolution (1775-1783). On April 18, 1775, British troops stationed in Boston headed for Concord, Massachusetts, intending to destroy American military supplies there. Patriot leader Joseph Warren first sent Dawes, and later sent Revere, to warn the colonists at Concord and nearby Lexington. The two men, traveling on horseback, were sent separately from Boston by different routes to try to ensure the success of the mission. On the night of April 18, Dawes sneaked past a British guard post in Boston. He arrived in Lexington shortly after 12:30 a.m. on the 19th—about a half hour after Revere.
Dawes and Revere left for Concord at about 1:00 a.m. Samuel Prescott joined them as they left. The British soon captured the three men, but Dawes and Prescott escaped. While escaping, Dawes was thrown from his horse, and the horse ran away. Dawes walked back to Lexington. Prescott rode on to Concord.
Dawes was born on April 6, 1745, in Boston. He became a tanner. He may have fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775. After the Revolutionary War ended in 1783, Dawes became a prosperous grocer in Boston. He died on Feb. 25, 1799.
See also Prescott, Samuel; Revere, Paul.
