Christ Church, long known as Old North", has deep roots in Boston’s North End. Although remembered today as a symbol of patriotic challenge, the history of the Old North is a reflection of the deep divisions between Friends of Government and Sons of Liberty in revolutionary Boston.
Built in 1723, the Old North was an Anglican church, or official church of England, rather than a congregational, or puritanical church. Although the 1692 Charter required greater religious tolerance in Massachusetts, many Bostonians still feared the influence of the official Church of England. Nevertheless, many wealthy merchants, government officials and skilled merchants were attracted to the Old North & Quot. The stained glass windows, expensive pews and Georgian architecture were a striking contrast to the simplicity of congregational churches such as the Old South Meeting House.
Although it was an Anglican church, the Old North & Quot; it was different from other parishes of the Church of England in New England. While many Anglican churches were seen as congregations, the Christ Church was divided. Political and financial disputes plagued the church to such an extent that on April 18, 1775 the church minister and loyalist vocalist Rev. Mather Byles Jr. resigned. That same night, the church’s sexton, Robert Newman, and a vestrmano (lay leader) of the church, John Pulling, entered the sanctuary to help the patriotic cause.
According to a story by Paul Revere, on the night of April 18, 1775, he " called a friend and asked him to do the Signals ". That friend was John Pulling, and Pulling, with the help of Robert Newman, secretly fulfilled Revere’s request. The signal was arranged a few days before: one lantern if regular British troops marched from Boston by land, two if they left by boat across the river. Revere himself was not waiting for this signal. He arranged the signal because it would be the fastest and most reliable way to send a warning outside Boston. After conferring with Pulling, Revere still had to stop at his home, get on a boat, and be carefully rowed to Charlestown passing a British warship. There were many occasions when Revere could have been arrested or arrested before he even got on the horse.
After the lanterns were briefly hung, Pulling fled Boston to escape arrest. Newman, who lived with his mother, had British soldiers as boarders in his house. Newman had to climb through his bedroom window to avoid detection. The next day, Newman was arrested and interrogated, but was eventually released. At the end of that same day, on April 19, 1775, a twenty-mile long running battle took place in the M
