Sybil (or Sibbell) Ludington (April 5, 1761 – February 26, 1839) was an alleged heroine of the American Revolution and daughter of Patriot colonel Henry Ludington. Relatives of Ludington have claimed that on April 26, 1777, at age 16, she made an all-night horseback ride to stir American militiamen to attack British forces near Danbury, Connecticut, though scholars largely reject this story. According to the legend, Ludington rode near the Connecticut–New York border after British forces raided and burned Danbury, rallying combatants for the Battle of Ridgefield the following day.
Printed accounts of Ludington's ride first appeared in an 1880 local history and then a 1907 posthumous publication of her father's memoirs, with Ludington often now described as a female Paul Revere. of Abigail and Henry Ludington, a gristmill owner. According to his relatives, Sybil's father had fought in the French and Indian War, and volunteered to head the local militia during the Revolutionary War.
Ludington lived in Unadilla until her death on February 26, 1839, at the age of 77. She was buried near her father in the Patterson Presbyterian Cemetery in Patterson, New York (previously, her hometown of Fredericksburg).
Historical accounts
Accounts originating in the 20th century, from the Ludington family, say Sybil played an important role immediately after the British raid on Danbury, Connecticut. where the Continental Army had a supply depot. American troops from New York and Connecticut rallied to engage the British the next day in the Battle of Ridgefield, forcing them to retreat. Modern accounts say Ludington was congratulated for her heroism by General George Washington; She cites no sources,
Owing partly to a lack of contemporary accounts, Hunt raises questions about the events. and the purported route was devised speculatively by the project managers who later installed historic markers, a "relatively inexpensive but increasingly popular means for states and localities to promote tourism". The installation of the historic roadside markers beginning in 1934 – although based on speculative locations according to Hunt – led to publications that propelled Sybil to the status of a heroine by 1937, and the publication of a 1940 poem about her brought the story to a national audience. Doubts about the story had been raised as early as 1956; contrasting it to the Betsy Ross story, Hunt cites Henry Noble McCracken's, Old Dutchess Forever! The Story of an American County and two New York news articles from 1995, writing that:<blockquote>In Sybil's case, the state-sanctified historical roadside markers, statue, and postage stamp celebrating her ride, and the many books and newspaper and magazine articles that retold her story, had created an aura of authority that effectively dispelled any intermittent bouts of skepticism. Hunt states that the two accounts of Ludington's ride were not mentioned in any other significant history produced in the same era, and that even as stories of heroic women of the colonial era proliferated by the 1870s, the only published accounts of Ludington were Lamb's and Johnson's. She writes:
<blockquote>Sybil's ride embraces the mythical meanings and values expressed in the country's founding. As an individual, she represents Americans' persistent need to find and create heroes who embody prevalent attitudes and beliefs.</blockquote>
Contemporaneous sources suggest that the Americans, including the residents of Danbury, were already aware of the approaching British forces, as noted in The New-York Gazette and the Weekly Mercury, May 19, 1777, which stated: <blockquote>On Saturday, the 26th of April, express came to Danbury from Brigadier General Silliman, advising that a large body of enemy had landed the day before at sun set, at Compo, a point of land between Fairfield and Norwalk, and were marching toward Danbury. Measures were immediately taken.</blockquote>
In 1996, the national Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) said that the evidence was not strong enough to support their criteria for a war heroine, and added a note to an exhibition saying of the ride, "It's a great story, but there is no way to know whether or not it is true." The DAR chapter near her historic home says that her exploit was documented, and it continues to honor her.
Hunt concludes, "The story of the lone, teenage girl riding for freedom, it seems, is simply too good not to be believed."
Legacy and honors
thumb|right|alt=Image of US 8-cent stamp is labeled, "Sybil Ludington Youthful Heroine".|Sybil Ludington commemorative stamp
In 1934, New York State began to install a number of historic markers along Ludington's purported route.
A commemorative sculpture by Anna Hyatt Huntington was erected at Lake Gleneida near Carmel, New York, in 1961. Smaller versions of the statue are at the Daughters of the American Revolution headquarters in Washington, D.C., the public library in Danbury, Connecticut, and at Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.
In 1975, Ludington was honored with a postage stamp in the "Contributors to the Cause" United States Bicentennial series. The National Rifle Association of America instituted the Sybil Ludington Women's Freedom Award in 1995.
Composer Ludmila Ulehla wrote the 1993 chamber opera Sybil of the American Revolution based on the story of Ludington's ride. In 2014, Ludington was featured on the American Heroes Channel documentary American Revolution: Patriots Rising. The movie Sybil Ludington: The Female Paul Revere was produced in 2010.
See also
- Betsy Ross – credited by relatives with making the first US flag; accounts dismissed by historians
- Laura Secord, Canadian heroine of War of 1812
- Women in the American Revolution