General Thomas Gage, who was the commander of the British forces, (due to the riots, protests, and dispute between the British and the colonists in Boston) was also granted the position of Governor of Massachusetts under the desires of King George. Word spread to General Gage that the colonists had stored arsenals of gunpowder and weapons. General Gage premeditated a secretive plan to destroy the patriots' weaponry. Paul Revere foresaw the British's attempt to attack the military stockpiles and, alongside William Dawes and Samuel Prescott, planned to warn the colonists. The three took separate paths from Boston, and met back in Lexington, where they informed Captain John Parker. Small towns and villages that they passed along the way signaled
