Do you recognize the name in the title of this post? I admit that at first I didn’t even know who was being mentioned. Despite history being one of my favorite subjects, I admit that I never even heard of Sybil Ludington until I happened to be watching a show about historical monuments in America last night. I’ve read numerous history books, seen countless shows on the Revolutionary War, and yet, none of them ever mentioned Sybil Ludington and what she did. We all know the story with Paul Revere and his famous night ride on April 18, 1775 because of its historic importance.
So, have you heard about the second night ride in 1777? That’s right, Sybil Ludington was only 16 years old at the time, and traveled the dangerous road alone to alert the colonial militia. Did you see her age? Yeah, a 16 year old girl traveling alone through a forest at night during that time took some serious bravery. From what I know, she only had a stick with her that she used to knock on doors, and even her statue near Lake Gleneida in Carmel, New York is holding a stick. But the most noticeable thing about her night ride was the distance. No, it wasn’t 12 miles, or 18, or even 25, it was a whopping 40 mile ride. 40 MILES. That’s insane especially on horseback during the dead of night. The difference in distances is relatively substantial.
So I was left wondering why many of the history books, and TV shows about the Revolutionary War never bothered to mention Sybil’s ride to warn the militia that Danbury, Connecticut was under attack by the British. Ok, so I guess I'll stop with the history lesson, but if you want to read a little more about Sybil feel free to follow the links below:
Historic Patterson New York
National Women's History Museum
Sybil Ludington Wikipedia Page
Sybil Ludington Wikipedia Page
So tell me, have you heard of Sybil Ludington before? Or is this the first time you’re hearing about her?
