Sybil Luddington: Better, Faster, Stronger

Note: This post is an expanded version of a Facebook post from 7/12/19

It’s the second Friday of the month, so that means it’s #FeministFriday! I thought I would resurrect and expand on a previous post from the early days of #FF when it was just starting out on Facebook. I always really liked this story, and it’s like a modern-day legend in that there’s a chance it was greatly exaggerated or possibly didn’t happen at all. But hey, if men can become legends, so can women! Everyone has heard of Paul Revere. But did you know that he was not the only messenger to warn Revolutionary soldiers of the incoming British? There were actually several riders, one of whom was a teenage girl named Sybil Ludington.

Statue of Sybil Ludington on Gleneida Avenue in Carmel, New York by Anna Hyatt Huntington

Early Life

Sybil (also spelled Cybal, Sebil, Sybille, Sibbell, Sibyl, and Sebal, because the only spelling rule back then was screw all rules) was born April 5, 1761, in Fredericksburg, New York, and was the oldest of 12 children. And that’s pretty much all we really know about her youth before the ride. We know more about her father, Colonel Henry Ludington, mainly because he was kind of a big deal. He owned 229 acres of undeveloped land, as well as the local mill. He was also the volunteer commander of the 7th regiment of the Dutchess County militia. Of course, not only were records of women rarely kept in early America; but records, in general, were not super detailed back then. It’s not like they had computers. Or ballpoint pens. Or a general consensus on how words were spelled.

There is a story that, sometime before her famous ride, she prevented her father’s capture by British Loyalists. The story goes that she and her siblings lit many candles and marched in front of their home in military fashion, tricking the Loyalists into believing Col. Ludington was heavily guarded and abandoning their plan. However, I only found one source that mentions this, so I’m not going to spend much time talking about it (we’ll cover Luddington’s legend status in a bit).

Ride, Sybil, Ride

On April 26, 1777, it was discovered that British troops were planning to attack a Continental supply depot in Danbury, Connecticut; Col. Ludington had to stay and organize the local troops. Sybil took the initiative and jumped on her horse, Star, and rode 40 miles throughout Putnam County, New York, rallying some 400 militiamen and warning the people of Danbury of the imminent attack. She not only had to avoid British Loyalists but “Skinners,” outlaws with no allegiance (I did no research into why they were named “Skinners” because I was not in the mood for nightmares, thank you very much). At some point on her nighttime journey, it started to rain, and by the time she arrived home at dawn, she was soaked, but the 400 troops were ready to march. Some even say that a man offered to ride with her, but she sent him in another direction to rally more people. Unfortunately, they did not arrive in time to save the town but were able to drive the British to Long Island Sound, and thanks to Sybil’s warning, few of the residents died in the attack.

A map of Sybil's ride. Take that Paul Revere! Via Scholastic Books

Fact or Fiction? Try Legend

Now, why does everyone want to call into question such a dope lady? Well, to be honest, there’s not a lot of evidence to concretely say, “yup, this happened.” The first account of Sybil’s ride didn’t appear in print until 1880 in History of the City of New York: Its Origin, Rise and Progress by Martha J. Lamb. Around this time, America was celebrating 100 years of independence, and there was a huge wave of highlighting stories from the Revolutionary War, to celebrate the pioneering heroes that fought for this country (Paul Revere didn’t even get famous until this time). In 1907 Willis Fletcher Johnson wrote Colonel Henry Ludington, a Memoir, which was privately published by Col. Ludington’s grandchildren, but that’s maybe not the best source. Sybil herself didn’t even mention the ride in her own letters and writings. That doesn’t mean the ride absolutely didn’t happen, but it would have been nice if she could have mentioned it once so that we could know for sure. All of you reading this, keep a diary, journal, or commonplace book, something that future generations can check to make sure you did the dope things you’re doing right now.

But for me, the question of whether it happened doesn’t bother me so much. I mean, it does a little because I strive for accuracy, but is a legend required to be factual? Legends are meant to teach and inspire us. Did Johnny Appleseed really go around planting apple trees everywhere he went? Highly doubtful, but still a fun story that encourages us to plant trees and eat fruit or something (I researched Sybil Luddington, not Johnny Appleseed, don’t @ me).

Later Days

So once again, we don’t have much information about Sybil’s life after her famous ride. In 1784, at 23, she married Edmond Ogden, with whom she had one son, Henry Ogden. In 1792 the family moved to Catskill, NY, where Edmond passed in 1799. Sybil, Henry, and Henry’s wife moved to Unadilla, NY, where she lived until she died in 1839 at age 77.

Conclusion

So did Sybil ride longer and farther than her famous counterpart, Paul Revere, or is she just a feminist legend? I’ll leave that up to you to decide. Either way, Sybil Ludington, we honor you!

Sources:

“Did the Midnight Ride of Sibyl Ludington Ever Happen?” Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/did-midnight-ride-sibyl-ludington-ever-happen-180979557/

“Was There Really a Teenage, Female Paul Revere?” Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonianmag/was-there-really-teenage-female-paul-revere-180962993/

“Biography of Sybil Ludington, Possible Female Paul Revere,” ThoughtCo.: https://www.thoughtco.com/sybil-ludington-biography-3530671

“Sybil Luddington,” Historic Patterson, New York: https://www.historicpatterson.org/Exhibits/ExhSybilLudington.php

“A Look Back at Sybil Ludington’s Historic Hudson Valley Ride,” Hudson Valley: https://hvmag.com/life-style/history/sybil-ludington/

“Sybil Ludington: NY's Lesser-Known (Teenage, Female) Paul Revere,” New York Makers: https://newyorkmakers.com/blogs/magazine/113200196-sybil-ludington-nys-lesser-known-teenage-female-paul-revere#0