Who was Israel Bissell?  Heard of Paul Revere's ride? Same thing, but much, much…much more... It's the difference between 20 miles and 345 miles.

Israel Bissell was a 23-year old, little known post rider who carried the "call to arms" from Watertown, Massachusetts to the City Hall in Philadelphia.  He alerted the colonists along the way of the British attack on April 19, 1775 in Lexington. He rode day and night for four days, six hours and some minutes covering 345 miles and roused citizens in tiny hamlets, towns and cities shouting of the impending danger that started with the "shot heard round the world" for American independence.

"To arms to arms, the war has begun" he warned. Sleeping little, eating sparingly, changing horses, he persevered and sounded the alarm. The exhausted and disheveled Bissell delivered the message which was to change the course of this country. The rest is history

Despite the wording of the “call to arms” which says Bissell should ride “quite to Connecticut” to sound the alarm, he rode all the way to Philadelphia, the seat of the founding fathers’ continental congress.

To reach his destination, Bissell had to race over rugged terrain at break neck speed with a relay of horses.  His stops were quick; a short nap here, a hasty meal there.  His message was signed and copied by the locals, who, once they were convinced of it’s authenticity, sent Bissell on his way.

It is said that his first horse fell dead from under Bissell as he pulled into Worcester at noon April 19, barely two hours after he started on the first leg of his journey.  He had traveled about 40 miles from Watertown, normally more than a days distance for a postal rider.

Making many stops along the way to deliver his message, Bissell made his way to New Haven, upon reaching that city he  decided to race on to New York.  Why he did this is not clear since his orders only were to deliver the message “quite to Connecticut”.

According to newspaper reports, he persevered and on April 23, 1775, he crossed Kings bridge to Bloomingdale Road and Wall Street, arriving at Merchants Coffee House in New York City at noon.

“There Bissell’s message was greeted with immense excitement.  The whole city became the scene of riot, tumult and confusion.  The colonial patriots took to looting British property and troops were enlisted for the service of rebellion,” according to newspaper accounts.

He arrived in Philadelphia on the evening of April 24 to deliver the message at the city hall.

Below is an image of the call to arms:

CALL TO ARMS:

Wednesday Morning near 10 of the clock

“Watertown,

To all friends of American Liberty be it known that this morning before break of day a Brigade consisting of about 1,000 or 1,200 men landed at Phip’s farm at Cambridge and Marched to Lexington, where they found a company of our Colony Militia in Arms, upon whom they fired without provocation, and killed six men and wounded 4 others. By an express from Boston we find that another brigade is now upon their march from Boston, supposed to be about 1,000.  The bearer, Israel Bissell, is charged to alarm the country quite to Connecticut, and all persons are desired to furnish him with fresh horses, as they may be need.”

Israel Bissell was born in East Windsor, Conn., in 1752, and died in Hinsdale, Mass., in 1823 at the age of 71.

There is a bit of controversy about Israel Bissell, the following is a quote from the website https://www.founderoftheday.com/founder-of-the-day/israel-bissell which discusses this issue:

"Legitimate Legitimacy Questions.

Historians have legitimately questioned Israel Bissell’s full involvement with spreading the Lexington Alarm. His normal postal route did not pass New York City and this would have been quite an achievement for one man. Also, his name is misspelled on some of the copies which were made. Furthermore, his name does not appear very often in any records before or after this ride. However, there are several reasons to believe he did make the trip. Most importantly, his name was written by Joseph Palmer in the letter itself. This was uncommon but was most likely done to give an air of legitimacy to his alarm (other false alarms had gone out in the past and people would have been hesitant to believe him). Additionally, future President of the Continental Congress Elias Boudinot acknowledged Bissell’s arrival in New Jersey in his diary.  Lastly, Bissell was reimbursed for his whole ride by the Massachusetts Provincial Government."

A link to the Bissell Family History, put up by Craig Parker https://craigwhitmoreparker.wixsite.com/bissell-history/bissell-israel