1. Sybil Ludington’s Wild Midnight Ride
Paul Revere cemented his place in history with an 18-mile midnight ride in April of 1775, to alert the Patriots of the approaching British. In 1777, Sybil Ludington (1761 – 1839) made a 40-mile midnight ride to warn the Patriots of approaching British troops – over twice as long as Revere’s ride, and when she was only 16. Sybil’s 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.
She rode her horse, Star, throughout a rainy night on a 40-mile careen around the region. Sybil traveled over unfamiliar roads, prodding the horse with a stick that she also used to knock on doors, and that came in handy to beat back a highwayman who 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.
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Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources and Further Reading
ABC News – Leaving Hollywood For a Higher Calling
Ancient Origins – Tomoe Gozen: A Fearsome Japanese Female Samurai of the 12th Century
The Archive, Mar 27, 2019 – 30 Important Women in History You May Not Have Heard Of
Cracked – 31 Women Who Deserve to be Way More Famous
Encyclopedia Britannica – Belva Ann Lockwood
Encyclopedia Britannica – Teuta, Queen of Illyria
Find a Grave – Sergeant Roza Georgiyevna Shanina
Chinafetching dot com- Fu Hao: China‘s First Female General
Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation – Eta Wrobel
National Public Radio, November 18th, 2017 – The Tiny, Murderous World of Frances Glessner Lee
