Paul Revere is a Boston silversmith and colonial patriot. He waits impatiently on the Charlestown shore, watching the Old North Church for a sign of British troop movements. He aims to wake the sleeping Massachusetts countryside to the approaching military threat by riding his horse through the dark to Lexington and Concord.

This unnamed compatriot remains in Boston to monitor the grenadiers. He is tasked with climbing the belfry of the Old North Church to hang a lantern signal to indicate the route of the British advance. As he moves through the silent churchyard and dark tower, he pauses to meditate on the solemn reality of death and the perilous nature of their undertaking.

The occupying British regulars and grenadiers prepare to swarm Lexington and Concord to arrest colonial leaders and seize gunpowder stores. They move stealthily to their boats on the shore, supported by the massive warship Somerset. Their presence over the harbor represents the military threat against which the colonists rally.

The Landlord is the proprietor of the Wayside Inn in Sudbury, Massachusetts. As the fictional speaker of the poem's frame narrative, he shares the history of Paul Revere with a convivial gathering of tavern patrons. His storytelling aims to awaken patriotic pride in a younger generation with little memory of America's fight for independence.

John Hancock is a prominent leader of the independence movement residing in the Massachusetts countryside. He and his fellow leaders are the specific targets of the British military advance, prompting the urgent need for a midnight warning.

Samuel Adams serves as a key leader in the colonial independence movement. His presence in the area surrounding Lexington and Concord makes him a primary target for the British regulars, necessitating the warning ride.