23 American History Questions Most Americans Get Wrong

5. What did Paul Revere shout on his midnight ride in 1775?

Correct: “The regulars are coming!”
Incorrect: “The British are coming!”

As it turns out, Paul Revere probably didn’t yell anything on his famous midnight ride, considering that it was a covert mission. And also, back then, no one used the word “British.” If Revere had been yelling the phrase he is now best known for, not only would he have attracted a lot of unwanted attention, but no one would have had any clue of what he was attempting to say— or who he was yelling at.

It is more probable that Revere said something along the lines of, “The regulars are coming,” and that he said it only once: when he arrived at the house, Samuel Adams and John Hancock— the refugees at the time — were trapped in.