Post by hi224 on Nov 28, 2020 7:16:30 GMT
Everyone's heard the famous story of Paul Revere and his midnight ride. However heroic his actions may have been, however, they're not as remarkable as those of Sybil Ludington. She was the daughter of Colonel Henry Ludington, a leader of the Patriots in the early years of the American Revolution, who commanded a 400-man militia in Dutchess County, New York. On the evening of April 16, 1777, a messenger arrived at his farm with the news that British soldiers were ransacking the town of Danbury, just over the line in Connecticut. Col. Ludington had to assemble his militiamen for a counterattack, unfortunately all of them had returned to their farms in the area for the start of spring planting. How to get the word out to them?
Enter his 16-year-old daughter Sybil. Hopping aboard her horse Star, she spent the entire night - in the pouring rain and through areas known to harbor bandits - racing around 40 miles to the militamens' farms and alerting them to the situation. Whenever Star began slowing down Sybil whacked the horse with a stick to keep it running. At one point a man offered to accompany her for her safety, but Sybil declined his offer. At another point during the ride Sybil pointed her musket at a thief and scared him off. All in all Sybil summoned anywhere from 200 to 400 of her father's militiamen.
Not only was Sybil's ride longer than Paul Revere's, and conducted in the rain, but she also managed to avoid capture. While the summoned militiamen arrived too late to save Danbury from ransacking, within a short time thereafter they confronted the British and drove them out of the area. Sybil's heroic ride earned her widespread acclaim and even a congratulatory message from George Washington. New York State erected historical markers along the route of her ride in the 1930's and a statue in 1961.
It's an inspiring story of heroism ... assuming, that is, it was true. There were no contemporaneous reports of Sybil's ride. Even the letter from George Washington, obviously something she would have treasured, disappeared without a trace if it ever existed. The first mention of her ride was in a book of New York history by Martha Lamb, written in 1880, decades after Sybil's death. Lamb said she based her account on correspondence and interviews with family members, but she was not more specific and provided no copies of any documentation. In 1907 two of Sybil's grandchildren published a biography of Colonel Ludington in which there was a very brief reference to Sybil's ride, just two pages out of a 300-page book. No other references or documentation has ever been found.
Sybil's story is clearly inspiring, a case of a plucky young lady performing an act of heroism, and also highlights the often-neglected role of women in early American history. It's the story that many people want to be true, but whether it actually was true remains a mystery.
www.thoughtco.com/sybil-ludington-biography-3530671
www.revolutionary-war.net/sybil-ludington/
www.historicpatterson.org/Exhibits/ExhSybilLudington.php
Enter his 16-year-old daughter Sybil. Hopping aboard her horse Star, she spent the entire night - in the pouring rain and through areas known to harbor bandits - racing around 40 miles to the militamens' farms and alerting them to the situation. Whenever Star began slowing down Sybil whacked the horse with a stick to keep it running. At one point a man offered to accompany her for her safety, but Sybil declined his offer. At another point during the ride Sybil pointed her musket at a thief and scared him off. All in all Sybil summoned anywhere from 200 to 400 of her father's militiamen.
Not only was Sybil's ride longer than Paul Revere's, and conducted in the rain, but she also managed to avoid capture. While the summoned militiamen arrived too late to save Danbury from ransacking, within a short time thereafter they confronted the British and drove them out of the area. Sybil's heroic ride earned her widespread acclaim and even a congratulatory message from George Washington. New York State erected historical markers along the route of her ride in the 1930's and a statue in 1961.
It's an inspiring story of heroism ... assuming, that is, it was true. There were no contemporaneous reports of Sybil's ride. Even the letter from George Washington, obviously something she would have treasured, disappeared without a trace if it ever existed. The first mention of her ride was in a book of New York history by Martha Lamb, written in 1880, decades after Sybil's death. Lamb said she based her account on correspondence and interviews with family members, but she was not more specific and provided no copies of any documentation. In 1907 two of Sybil's grandchildren published a biography of Colonel Ludington in which there was a very brief reference to Sybil's ride, just two pages out of a 300-page book. No other references or documentation has ever been found.
Sybil's story is clearly inspiring, a case of a plucky young lady performing an act of heroism, and also highlights the often-neglected role of women in early American history. It's the story that many people want to be true, but whether it actually was true remains a mystery.
www.thoughtco.com/sybil-ludington-biography-3530671
www.revolutionary-war.net/sybil-ludington/
www.historicpatterson.org/Exhibits/ExhSybilLudington.php