McGrath- Are you talking about Paul Revere? Because what he said was, "The Regulars are coming..." and "The Red coats are coming..."

At that time, we were still subjects of the British Crown. Saying "The British are coming" would've been akin to saying, "I'm coming."

The poem from which most people draw the quotation took a little poetic license with the actual cry to make it a little more pleasing to the ear, meter-wise.

Beccy