Old North Church lantern signal (April 18, 1775)

On the night of April 18, 1775, two lanterns were displayed in the steeple of the Old North Church to signal the route by which British troops were reported to be moving, a detail preserved in local Revolutionary lore. The church (Christ Church in the City of Boston) preserves accounts linking the lanterns to the alarms that preceded the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Some historians debate aspects of how the signal was coordinated and its relative role compared with riders like Paul Revere; that debate is noted in scholarly accounts.