Historians Say Palin Was Right About Paul Revere

Sarah Palin insists her claim that Paul Revere "warned the British that they weren’t going to be taking away our arms" was actually not a flub, and it turns out some historians are backing her up on this one—reluctantly, notes the Boston Herald. In a 1798 letter wherein Revere describes his famous ride, he recalls being captured by British officers and warning them "there would be five hundred Americans there in a short time for I had alarmed the Country all the way up."

A history professor acknowledges that Revere warned the British of the Americans' mobilization, and adds that Palin was right about church bells ringing and warning shots being fired, too. Even so, he thinks she was mostly just "lucky in her comments," he says. The Paul Revere House's research director notes that Revere was probably bluffing when he talked to the Brits, but concedes that his words could be taken as a warning. "But," he adds, "I don't know if that's really what Mrs. Palin was referring to." Click to see how Palin fans are responding to the whole brouhaha. (More Sarah Palin stories.)