Sybil Ludington

Sybil Ludington
Statue of Sybil Ludington in Carmel, New York by Anna Hyatt Huntington.
Born	(1761-04-05)April 5, 1761 Kent, New York
Died	February 26, 1839(1839-02-26) (aged 77) Catskill, New York, U.S.
Spouse(s)	Edward Ogden (m.1784)
Children	1

Sybil Ludington (April 5, 1761 – February 26, 1839), daughter of Colonel Henry Ludington, was a heroine of the American Revolutionary War who mounted on her horse, Star, became famous for her night ride on April 26, 1777 to alert American colonial forces to the approach of the British. Her action was similar to that allegedly performed by Paul Revere,^{[1][2][3][4][5]} though she rode more than twice the distance of Revere and was only 16 years old at the time of her action. She was an aunt of Harrison Ludington, the Governor of Wisconsin.

Early life

Sybil was born in 1761 in what was then known as Fredericksburg, and is now known as the Ludingtonville section of the town of Kent, New York. Her father was Colonel Henry Ludington, a respected militia officer who commanded the 7th Regiment of the Dutchess County Militia, a volunteer regiment of local men during the Revolutionary War. He and his wife, Abigail Ludington, ran a mill in Patterson, New York. He later became an aide to General George Washington. She was the oldest of Col. Ludington's 12 children.

There is much confusion concerning the spelling of her first name. Although it is mostly spelled "Sybil", her tombstone displays her name as "Sibbell". However, she signed her Revolutionary War pension application as "Sebal", which is apparently the spelling she preferred. Her sister Mary spelled her name "Sebil." In the 1810 census, she is listed as "Sibel.", and appears on other records as "Cybil." Her name does not seem to appear on any official documents as "Sybil."

Ride

On April 26, 1777, British troops raided Danbury, Connecticut, which housed numerous Continental Army supplies.^[6] A messenger was dispacted to alert Col. Ludington.^[7] Ludington's ride started at 9:00 P.M. and ended around dawn.^[8] She rode 40 miles, through Carmel, New York on to Mahopac, thence to Kent Cliffs, from there to Farmers Mills and back home. She used a stick to prod her horse and knock on doors.^[9] She managed to defend herself against a highwayman with a long stick. When, soaked with rain and exhausted, she returned home, most of her father's 400 soldiers were ready to march.^[7][9]

The memoir for Colonel Henry Ludington states,

“	Sybil, who, a few days before, had passed her sixteenth birthday, and bade her to take a horse, ride for the men, and tell them to be at his house by daybreak. One who even now rides from Carmel to Cold Spring will find rugged and dangerous roads, with lonely stretches. Imagination only can picture what it was a century and a quarter ago, on a dark night, with reckless bands of "Cowboys" and "Skinners" abroad in the land. But the child performed her task, clinging to a man's saddle, and guiding her steed with only a hempen halter, as she rode through the night, bearing the news of the sack of Danbury. There is no extravagance in comparing her ride with that of Paul Revere and its midnight message. Nor was her errand less efficient than his. By daybreak, thanks to her daring, nearly the whole regiment was mustered before her father's house at Fredericksburgh , and an hour or two later was on the march for vengeance on the raiders.[1]	”

The men arrived too late to save Danbury, Connecticut. At the start of the Battle of Ridgefield, however, they were able to drive General William Tryon, then governor of the colony of New York, and his men to Long Island Sound.<ref name ="Sybil Ludington: a Revolutionary Hero"

Later Years

After the war, in 1784, "when she was twenty-three years old, Sybil Ludington married Edmond Ogden, with whom she had one child and named him Henry. Edmond was a farmer and innkeeper, according to various reports. In 1792 Sybil settled with her husband and Henry (their son) in Unadilla, New York, where they lived until her death on February 26, 1839, at the age of 77. She was buried near her father in the Patterson Presbyterian Cemetery in Patterson, New York.^[8]

^[10]

Legacy

Sybil was congratulated for her heroism by friends and neighbors and also by General George Washington.^{[9][11][12][13][14] [15][16][17][18]}

In 1935 New York State erected a number of markers along her route. A statue of Sybil, sculpted by Anna Hyatt Huntington, was erected near Carmel, New York, in 1961 to commemorate her ride. Smaller versions^[19] of the statue exist on the grounds of the Daughters of the American Revolution Headquarters in Washington, DC; on the grounds of the public library, Danbury, Connecticut; and in the Elliot and Rosemary Offner museum at Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.

In 1975 Sybil Ludington was honored with a postage stamp in the "Contributors to the Cause" United States Bicentennial series.^[8][9]

Each April since 1979, the Sybil Ludington 50-kilometer footrace has been held in Carmel, New York. The course of this hilly road race approximates Sybil's historic ride, and finishes near her statue on the shore of Lake Gleneida, Carmel, New York.^[9]

Sources

• Binkley, Marilyn R., Reading Literacy in the U.S.: Findings from the IEA Reading Literacy Study, DIANE Publishing, 1996, ISBN 0-7881-4512-6

Footnotes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cybil Ludington.

• Sybil Ludington at Find a Grave
• Sybil Ludington at HistoricPatterson.org
• Sybil Ludington: A Revolutionary Hero, by Jennifer Hartwell-Jackson

Authority control VIAF: 13706290

Persondata
Name	Ludington, Sybil
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	April 16, 1761
Place of birth	Fredericksbourg (now Ludingtonville in Kent, New York)
Date of death	February 26, 1839
Place of death	Catskill, New York, U.S.