America250: Setting the Facts Straight on the American Revolution

Highlights

• UCF history professor John Sacher shares insight on topics from Paul Revere's midnight ride to what date we should actually be celebrating as our nation's birthday.

• Sacher specializes in American history and has authored two books, Confederate Conscription and the Struggle for Southern Soldiers and A Perfect War of Politics: Parties, Politicians, and Democracy in Louisiana.

• Orlando Shakes, in partnership with UCF, presents its funny, fast-paced production of What the Constitution Means to Me as an enhanced staged reading at UCF Celebrates the Arts on Friday, April 10, at 7 p.m.

In 2026, we celebrate the United States of America's 250^th birthday - also known as the semiquincentennial (a word so convoluted that spellcheck doesn't recognize it, so we have decided America250 is simpler). As we do so, we should take some time to reflect on what we think we know about our bold declaration of independence and the American Revolution that followed.

Here are some common misconceptions about the revolutionary era that show popular memory doesn't necessarily reflect reality.

An illustration of Paul Revere's ride from the New York Public Library's Digital Library.

"The British(?) are Coming!"

Legend has it that in Boston on the evening of April 18, 1775, silversmith and now folk hero Paul Revere watched for flashing lanterns from the Old North Church - one if by land and two if by sea - and when he saw the two flashes, he jumped onto his horse for his midnight ride through the Massachusetts countryside yelling the "British are coming!"

This shout brought out the militia in Lexington and Concord and also warned Sam Adams and John Hancock, two revolutionaries who some believed were the target of this secret British military mission. Armed and ready for the British soldiers to enter their villages, early the next morning, the militia fired the first shots of the American Revolution and pushed the Redcoats back to Boston. A fighting war had begun.

If one ponders the date for long enough, one might see the problem with the words that Revere allegedly shouted. In April 1775 (and for 14 months thereafter), Revere, the militia, and everyone he woke up were still British. Most likely, he shouted "the Regulars," "the Redcoats," or "the king's men," were coming, which all have less catchy rings to them.

Emanuel Leutze's version of George Washington crossing the Delaware River, painted in 1851.

Washington's (Perilous?) Crossing.

If we can't believe our ears regarding Paul Revere's Midnight Ride, we also cannot believe our eyes about one of the most famous images of the American Revolution, Washington Crossing the Delaware. The giant (12 feet by 21 feet) painting depicts Christmas evening 1776 when the United States' independence hung in the balance.

General George Washington and his army traveled from Pennsylvania where they would surprise Hessian mercenaries at Trenton, New Jersey. After a tough few months which included the evacuation of New York City, these victories helped restore the Americans' morale.

Mort Kunstler's more historically accurate version of George Washington crossing the Delaware River, painted in 2011.

German American artist Emanuel Leutze painted the image in Germany almost 75 years later. Meant to inspire German revolutionaries more than serve as an exact depiction of the event, the painting is filled with inaccuracies. It contains a flag that did not yet exist, ice bergs that did not appear in the Delaware River, Washington positioned in a manner which unnecessarily courted the danger of falling overboard, too much light for the crossing, and far too small a boat (in 2011, Mort Kunstler painted a more accurate version).

Yet, at the same time, others have praised Leutze's version for sacrificing precise details for a larger truth. His painting has a wide cross section of Americans including farmers, riflemen, a Scotsman, two future presidents (Washington and James Monroe), men from a variety of states, an African American, and perhaps a woman. Thus, it is the archetypal American melting pot and conveys Americans' determination in the time that tried men's souls.

All Colonists were not Team Rebel.

We know that 13 original colonies revolted against British rule. In 1776, however, Britain had more than 30 colonies stretching from Canada through the Caribbean. Among those was Florida. Technically, Florida was two colonies (East Florida and West Florida). One would think that the two Floridas would have excitedly joined their neighbors to the north in rebellion as they had only been British colonies for 13 years (having been under Spanish rule from 1565-1763).

The two Floridas (Map courtesy of Colonial Research Associates)

Yet, when news of the Declaration of Independence reached St. Augustine, instead of embracing the document, the settlers reaffirmed their loyalty to the king and hung effigies depicting two leading revolutionaries that Revere had warned: John Hancock and Sam Adams. The former was the first signer of the Declaration of Independence and the president of Continental Congress, and the latter was a Boston radical, better known today as a brewery owner.

Why didn't the Floridas revolt? Frankly, they disliked the British colonies more than they disliked England. They saw themselves as connected to the British Caribbean colonies, which also remained loyal to the king.

The Legend Behind A Cherry Tree.

In myth busting about the American Revolution, one can also tackle George Washington - he did tell lies, he didn't chop down a cherry tree (that anecdote was invented by 19th-century bookseller Parson Weems), and the once commander-in-chief didn't win many major battles in the early years of the revolution. However, Washington, if anything, is underestimated for his contributions to American history.

Washington did what many of his contemporaries considered to be unthinkable - he gave up power. Not once but twice.

General George Washington Resigning His Commission, by John Trumbell, depicts George Washington's resignation as commander-in-chief of the Army to the Congress, which was then meeting at the Maryland State House in Annapolis, on December 23, 1783. (Credit: Architect of the Capitol)

When the war ended in 1783, Washington was a conquering hero who could have asked for anything. Instead, he simply requested retirement to Mount Vernon. Later, he returned to politics at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and then was elected the nation's first president in 1789. After serving two terms, he retired again (the constitutional provision limiting a president to two terms didn't come until the 22^nd amendment in 1951).

Thus, he set a precedent that president would not serve for life but instead would rotate regularly out of office.

Carol M. Highsmith's America, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

A Day to Celebrate - But Which Day?

None of the above should stop you from celebrating in July. After all, as one of the declaration's authors and our second president John Adams wrote in letter to his wife about Independence Day, it "will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America.-I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival . . . It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other."

Other than omitting hot dog eating contests, this sounds fairly accurate. Alas, nothing is ever simple. Adams wrote this prediction on July 3, 1776, about future July 2s (not July 4s).

On July 2, the Continental Congress voted to declare independence. Two days later, on July 4, its members adopted the Declaration of Independence with John Hancock, the president of the Continental Congress, putting his John Hancock on the document.

Historians just have to ruin everything, don't we?

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College of Arts and Humanities History UCF Celebrates the Arts John Sacher America250