The Teenage Girl Who Outdid Paul Revere
Paul Revere’s place in history was cemented when his 18-mile midnight ride in April of 1775, to alert the colonial militia of the approaching British, was dramatized by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in Paul Revere’s Ride. In 1777, Sybil Ludington (1761 – 1839) made a 40-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 16.
Sybil Ludington was born in Fredericksburg (now Ludington), the eldest of what would become a large family of 12 children. Her father, Henry Ludington, was a New York militia officer, and later an aide to George Washington. On the night of April 26th, 1777, word reached the Ludington household that New York’s governor, General William Tryon, was about to attack nearby Danbury, Connecticut, where the supplies and munitions for the entire region’s militia were stored.
Sybil 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 16-year-old girl rode her horse, Star, throughout a rainy night on a 40-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 400 militia were ready to march to Danbury. They managed to beat Governor Tryon and his men, forcing 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 – or perhaps none could find anything good to rhyme with “Ludington”. Either way, Sybil never garnered as much attention as Revere, and her heroics were largely forgotten.
