Paul Revere gets credit for being the rider who warned colonists of the approach of British soldiers. But Revere was not the only rider. There were others, perhaps 40 riders. Among them was Isaac Bissell of Suffield.
The riders carried a message from Joseph Palmer of the Massachusetts Committee of Safety. Committees of Safety consisted of leading men in each colony who opposed and undermined the British by passing laws and regulations prior to the Declaration of Independence in July 1776.
Here is Joseph Palmer’s message:
Wednesday morning near 10 of the clock—Watertown.
To all the friends of American liberty be it known that this morning before break of day, a brigade, consisting of about 1,000 to 1,200 men landed at Phip’s Farm at Cambridge and marched to Lexington, where they found a company of our colony militia in arms, upon whom they fired without any provocation and killed six men and wounded four others. By an express from Boston, we find another brigade are now upon their march from Boston supposed to be about 1,000. The Bearer, Isaac Bissell, is charged to alarm the country quite to Connecticut and all persons are desired to furnish him with fresh horses as they may be needed. I have spoken with several persons who have seen the dead and wounded. Pray let the delegates from this colony to Connecticut see this. —J. Palmer, one of the Committee of Safety.
Unfortunately, Isaac’s name was mutated when the message was copied at each stop; he became Isaac Russell, Trail Bissell, Train Bissel and Tryal Bissel. But through the centuries, the name which is generally credited for Isaac’s ride is Israel Bissell. A 2024 article by J.L. Bell (https://allthingsliberty.com/2024/06/the-story-of-isaac-bissell-and-the-legend-of-israel-bissell) corrects the confusion.
Israel Bissell (1742-1823) was living in East Windsor. He served for a month as a Continental soldier, married Lucy Hancock (1757-abt.1843), and died in Hinsdale, Mass., with no mention of Revolutionary service on his gravestone.
Isaac Bissell (1749-1822) was born in Windsor, but was living in Suffield. He carried the mail between Boston and Hartford. He married Amelia Leavitt (1757-1809) on July 4th, 1776. They had fourteen children, several who died young. They moved to Hancock, New Hampshire but Isaac returned to Suffield after his wife died. He was buried here, although later reburied in Hancock. On April 20, 1775, Isaac rode from Watertown, traveling on the Upper Boston Post Road which from Springfield dropped straight south through Suffield, to Hartford, his final destination.
It was from Isaac’s ride that armed companies of men from Springfield, West Springfield, and Suffield immediately marched to aid Boston on the same day that Bissell rode through the towns. Captain Elihu Kent, Sr. (1713-1814) marched from Suffield with 59 men. The next day, 52 additional Suffield men marched to Boston, led by Captain Daniel Austin (1720-1804). Isaac also marched to Boston either that day or the next. He served in the Connecticut Militia throughout the Revolutionary War, delivering the New Haven Alarm in July 1779.
An interesting aside is that Palmer’s message was sent from Hartford to Silas Deane, a member of the Wethersfield Committee of Safety and a delegate to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Deane didn’t believe the veracity of the message. He did not know Palmer and was suspicious of the message because it arrived so fast. As a consequence, some town militias did not respond as quickly.
Isaac was due two pounds, one shilling for his ride but was not paid until April 23, 1776, a year later. First, he appealed to the Mass. provisional government which dissolved before his request was approved. His appeal to Joseph Palmer finally yielded results. These late payment documents identify Isaac Bissell as the real post rider.
Unfortunately, Suffield history does not commemorate Isaac. In Robert Alcorn’s book, The Biography of a Town, Isaac is portrayed as a poor blacksmith who was constantly in debtor’s prison, continuously bailed out by his patient brother-in-law Squire Thaddeus Leavitt, a wealthy merchant. Isaac deserves more credit than that.