Sybil Ludington: The Female Paul Revere
A Look at a Forgotten Revolutionary War Heroine
April 26, 1777. Night.
Two years after Paul Revere's famous midnight ride, on another fateful night, a lone rider, set with purpose and determination, furiously charges his horse up the road to reach Colonel Henry Ludington's home. Darkness surrounds him and a chill has set into the air as the spring storm settles in. His only light, the occasional flashes of lightning. The only sound beyond his own labored breathing and the sounds of his horse was the thunder that shook the night air and the surrounding forest.
He had a message to deliver. The British weren't coming. They were already here and they were stealing provisions, burning homes, and murdering families in Danbury, Connecticut.
Muster the militia! It was time to go to war.
Finally as the hour approached 9, he reached the Colonel's home and delivered his message. The militia, however, was spread throughout the countryside. They were on furlough. There were no other riders to send to deliver the message. No one knew where all the soldiers lived.
Who to send?
Whether she volunteered or was drafted by her father's command, 16-year-old Sybil Ludington saddled her horse and rode out into the stormy night. Braving the elements, wilderness, and capture, she struck out at 9 PM with a message on her lips.
"The British are burning Danbury. Muster at Ludington’s at daybreak!”
Sybil rode for 40 miles that night. For those wondering, that was 20 miles more than Paul Revere.
Unbeknownst to her and Colonel Henry Ludington, William Tryon, the captain of the British militia who attacked Danbury, decided to withdraw towards Long Island Sound. Having received word that the colonial militia was mustering for a fight, he sounded a retreat. The resulting battle became known as the Battle of Ridgefield. During which, the British forces paid dearly for the their destruction of Danbury.
Soaked and exhausted from her breakneck ride, Sybil safely completed the ride and made it back home by daybreak. She was greeted by the welcome sight of the 400 men of the colonial militia mustered on the parade grounds.
This young girl became a revolutionary hero. Her father's memoirs includes this passage:
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 to 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 Fredericksburg.
In appreciation of her heroic ride, Sybil received personal thanks from General George Washington of the Continental Army, as well as General Rochambeau who was the commander of the French forces who fought alongside the Patriots.
Alexander Hamilton would later write Sybil's father, Colonel Ludington: “I congratulate you on the Danbury expedition. The stores destroyed have been purchased at a pretty high price to the enemy.”
In Carmel, New York, there is a statue dedicated to Sybil and her midnight ride to save the town of Danbury.
“Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Of a lovely feminine Paul RevereWho rode an equally famous ride
Through a different part of the countryside,Where Sybil Ludington’s name recalls
A ride as daring as that of Paul’s”
Further Reading:
Historic America: The Revolutionary War Heroine Sybil Ludington
American Battlefield Trust: Sybil Ludington
History Is Now Magazine: Revolutionary War Hero… The Female Paul Revere - Sybil Ludington
I never heard of Sybil and her Midnight ride. Her youth gave her the energy to make that 40 miles ride. She was a Patriot. I hope she had a good life.
Thank you Elizabeth for sharing this piece of history.
Fascinating.