You probably know the names of Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Paul Revere. But have you heard of Dr. Joseph Warren?  Well, when it comes to important figures in the fight for American independence, few played a more critical—yet now less appreciated—role. 

Warren was a medical doctor in Boston who got involved in politics and eventually joined the Sons of Liberty.  He was the author of the Suffolk Resolves, which were the colonial resolutions that called for resistance to the British Intolerable Acts.  But he didn’t just practice medicine and write about liberty.  It was also Warren who operated the system of couriers or messengers, which kept the colonists, including Paul Revere, informed of what was going on in Boston. Warren also is the man who secured the information that the British would attempt to capture John Adams and John Hancock in April 1775; he was right when he predicted that they would continue on to Concord to seize colonial property there; and Warren is responsible for sending Paul Revere on his famous ride.

After nearly being killed in battle, (his wig was shot off his head), Warren wrote to his mother, saying, “Where danger is, dear mother, there your son must be.”

But even though he played such an important role in the fight for independence, Warren declined when he was offered command of troops on Breed’s Hill outside of Boston, deferring instead to officers there with more military experience. He fought as an ordinary soldier on the front lines, and was killed in battle. 

About a year before Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that the founders would pledge their “lives, fortunes, and sacred honor” to the cause of liberty, Dr. Joseph Warren had already given his.

Have a wonderful day.

(Credit: https://historycollection.com/18-all-but-forgotten-american-war-heroes/).