Many people did daring deeds or performed significant acts that helped shape the world, but went unnoticed. One such was American Revolutionary War heroine Sybil Ludington. She made a midnight ride to warn Patriots of approaching British soldiers, that draws comparisons with that of Paul Revere. She was only sixteen at the time. Below are some interesting facts about that fascinating but little known historic figure.
A Nearly Forgotten Heroine
On the night of April 18th, 1775, Paul Revere rode on horseback through the darkness to warn local Patriots that the British were coming. He was immortalized in American history when the event was dramatized by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in Paul Revere’s Ride. In 1777, Sybil Ludington (1761 – 1839) made a forty mile midnight ride to warn the colonial militia of approaching British troops. That was more than twice as far as Paul Revere’s ride, and she did it when she was only sixteen-years-old.
Sybil Ludington was born in Fredericksburg (now Ludington), New York. She was the eldest of what became a large family of twelve children. Her father, Henry Ludington, was a New York militia officer, who eventually became an aide to George Washington. On the night of April 26th, 1777, word reached the Ludington household that New York’s Loyalist governor, general William Tryon, was about to attack nearby Danbury, Connecticut. Immediate countermeasures needed to be taken, because Danbury was where the supplies and munitions for the entire region’s militia were stored. First, however, the militia needed to know of the danger. As seen below, that was where Sybil came in.
A Teenage Girl’s Warning Saved the Day
Sybil Ludington volunteered (or was ordered by her father – accounts differ) to deliver the order for an immediate militia muster, and to rouse the countryside. In either case, the sixteen-year-old girl rode her horse, Star, throughout a rainy night on a forty mile careen around the region. She traveled over unfamiliar roads, prodding the horse with a stick that she also used to knock on doors, and that came in handy to defend herself when a highwayman tried to waylay her in the dark.
By the time Sybil returned home, exhausted and soaked to the bone, most of the region’s four hundred militia were ready to march to Danbury. They managed to beat governor Tryon and his men, saved their munitions and supplies, and forced the British to retreat. Sybil was praised by her neighbors, and even by George Washington. Unfortunately for her, no world class poet took an interest in her exploits that night. Perhaps it was difficult to find something good that rhymed with “Ludington”. Either way, Sybil never garnered as much attention as Revere, and her heroics were largely forgotten.
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Some Sources & Further Reading
Encyclopedia Britannica – Sybil Ludington, American Revolutionary War Heroine
History Halls – Soviet Fighting Women of World War II: Roza Shanina, Stalin’s Sniper
