Jump to content

Sybil Ludington: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Back to December 11, restore cited text, remove off-topic, UNDUE or dubious
 
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|American woman (1761–1839)}}
[[File:Ludington statue 800.jpg|thumb|Statue of Sybil Ludington in [[Carmel, New York]] by [[Anna Hyatt Huntington]].]]
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}
'''Sybil Ludington''' (April 16, 1761 – February 26, 1839), daughter of Col. [[Henry Ludington]], was a heroine of the [[American Revolutionary War]] who became famous for her night ride on April 26, 1777 to alert American colonial forces to the approach of enemy troops. Her action was similar to that performed by [[Paul Revere]],<ref name="memoir">Johnson, "Memoir," Colonel Henry Ludington, Google Books</ref><ref>It was first mentioned by Lewis S. Patrick (Connecticut historian and Ludington descendant, great nephew of Sybil Ludington) in ''The Connecticut Magazine'' II (no. 2, 1907) and credit was given to Patrick by Willis Fletcher Johnson in the memoirs of Colonel Henry Ludington. [http://books.google.com/books?id=eNK555NzSm0C&pg=PA92&dq=Connecticut+magazine+Lewis+S.+Patrick+Ludington&cd=1#v=onepage&q=Connecticut%20magazine%20Lewis%20S.%20Patrick%20Ludington&f=false Hauntings of the Hudson River Valley: An Investigative Journey By Vincent T. Dacquino], p. 93</ref><ref name ="news08152009">''Ludington Daily News'' front page, Saturday, August 15, 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/350766/Sybil Ludington - American Revolutionary War heroine, remembered for her valiant role in defense against British attack]</ref><ref>[http://ludingtonsride.com/history.htm Sybil's Story], footnotes 20, 21, 23</ref><ref>[http://www.anb.org/articles/20/20-01901.html American National Biography Online - Sybil Ludington]</ref> though she rode more than twice the distance of Revere and was only 16 years old at the time of her action. She was an aunt of [[Harrison Ludington]], the [[Governor of Wisconsin]].
{{Infobox person
| name = Sybil Ludington
| image = Ludington statue 800.jpg
| birth_date = {{birth date|1761|4|5}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{death date and age|1839|2|26|1761|4|5}}
| death_place = [[Unadilla, New York]]
| spouse = {{marriage|Edmond Ogden|1784|1799|end=d}}
}}


''' Sybil''' (or '''Sibbell''')''' Ludington''' (April 5, 1761 – February 26, 1839) was an American woman who made an alleged ride during the [[American Revolutionary War]], though modern accounts dispute this. On April 26, 1777, at age 16, Ludington, the daughter of a Colonel [[Henry Ludington]], was claimed to have made an all-night horseback ride {{convert|40|miles}} to rally American militiamen in neighboring towns after British forces raided and burnt [[Danbury, Connecticut]].
==Childhood==
As a child Sybil (who was born on the 5th of April 1761) had 11 siblings Rebecca, Mary, Archibald, Henry, Derick, Tertullus, Abigail, Anna, Frederick, Sophia, and Lewis. Her father’s name was Henry who was a colonel in the in French & Indian War in 4/10/1756. Her mother’s name was Abigail Ludington.booger bootie!!


Accounts of Ludington's ride are based on a brief mention in 1907 memoirs about her father, published privately by his grandchildren. A 2015 report in ''[[The New England Quarterly]]'' says there is little evidence backing the story,<ref name= Hunt/> and whether the ride occurred has been questioned<ref name=Tucker>{{cite news |title= Did the Midnight Ride of Sibyl Ludington Ever Happen? |last= Tucker |first= Abigail |date= March 2022 |access-date= July 6, 2022 |url= https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/did-midnight-ride-sibyl-ludington-ever-happen-180979557/ |work= [[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224121009/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/did-midnight-ride-sibyl-ludington-ever-happen-180979557/ |archive-date=February 24, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name= Eschner/><ref name= Lewis>{{cite web |url= https://www.thoughtco.com/sybil-ludington-biography-3530671 |title= Sybil Ludington, Possible Female Paul Revere |publisher= [[ThoughtCo]] |date= August 15, 2019 |access-date= July 6, 2022 |last= Lewis |first= Jone Johnson |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015075316/https://www.thoughtco.com/sybil-ludington-biography-3530671 |archive-date=October 15, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name= Pollak/> since at least 1956.<ref name= Hunt220/>
==The Ride==
Ludington's ride started at 9:00 P.M. and ended around dawn.<ref name="historicsybil">[http://www.historicpatterson.org/Exhibits/ExhSybilLudington.php Historic Patterson, New York - Sybil Ludington]</ref> She rode 40 miles, more than twice the distance of Paul Revere, into the damp hours of darkness. She rode through [[Carmel, New York|Carmel]] on to [[Mahopac, New York|Mahopac]], thence to [[Kent Cliffs, New York|Kent Cliffs]], from there to [[Farmers Mills, New York|Farmers Mills]] and back home. She used a stick to prod her horse and knock on doors. She managed to defend herself against a highwayman with her father's musket. When, soaked with rain and exhausted, she returned home, most of the 400 soldiers were ready to march.<ref name ="sybilgravedata">[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=2539 Sybil Ludington ]</ref><ref name ="Sybil Ludington: a Revolutionary Hero">[http://traverseforwomen.com/Herstory/SybilLudington.htm Sybil Ludington: a Revolutionary Hero]</ref>


Relatively unknown through the 1870s, Ludington's story gained recognition around the time of World War II, after [[New York State]] was convinced to place [[commemorative plaque|historic roadmarkers]] in locations she was speculated to have visited on her ride. The myth grew thereafter, from memorial statues honoring her, to books being written about her, culminating with being honored on a [[United States Bicentennial]] postage stamp that was released on March 25, 1975, which depicts her on a horse.
The memoir for Colonel Henry Ludington states,
{{cquote|''Sybil, who, a few days before, had passed her sixteenth birthday, and bade her to take a horse, ride for the men, and tell them to be at his house by daybreak. 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 with 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 Fredericksburgh, and an hour or two later was on the march for vengeance on the raiders.''<ref name="memoir"/>}}


==Early life, family and death==
The men arrived too late to save [[Danbury, Connecticut]]. At the start of the [[Battle of Ridgefield]], however, they were able to drive General [[William Tryon]], then governor of the colony of [[New York]], and his men to [[Long Island Sound]].<ref name ="sybilgravedata"/><ref name ="Sybil Ludington: a Revolutionary Hero"/>
[[File:Sybil Ludington grave.jpg|thumb|Grave of Sybil Ludington, bearing a spelling variation of her first name]]
Ludington was born on April 5, 1761, in [[Patterson, New York|Fredericksburg, New York]].<ref name= Hunt189/> She was the first of 12 children<ref>Johnson 1907, p. 45.</ref> of Abigail{{efn|Abigail was Henry's cousin, according to Johnson.<ref>Johnson 1907, p. 35.</ref>}} 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 [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]].<ref name=memoir/>


At the age of 23, in 1784 Ludington married Edmond Ogden. They had a son named Henry in 1786.<ref name= Hunt189/>{{efn| A ''[[New York Times]]'' article says Ludington raised six children.<ref name= Pollak/>}} In 1792, the family settled in Catskill, and Ogden died in 1799. In 1811 Ludington moved to [[Unadilla, New York]].<ref name="historicsybil">{{cite web |url= http://www.historicpatterson.org/Exhibits/ExhSybilLudington.php |title= Sybil Ludington |publisher= The Town of Patterson, NY |access-date= February 23, 2015}}</ref><ref name=Hunt18990>Hunt 2015, pp. [http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/TNEQ_a_00452 189–190].</ref>
Sybil was congratulated for her heroism by friends and neighbors and also by General [[George Washington]].<ref name ="sybilgravedata"/><ref>[http://womenshistory.about.com/od/waramrevolution/p/ludington_ride.htm Sybil Ludington article by Jone Johnson Lewis]</ref><ref>[http://www.lindseywilliams.org/index.htm?LAL_Archives/Her_Midnight_Ride_-_Sybil_Ludington.htm~mainFrame Sybil Ludington - Her Midnight Ride]</ref><ref>Miller, p. 18, ''Later, America's general George Washington came to Sybil's house to thank her.''</ref><ref>Moore, p. 300, ''Afterward, General George Washington made a personal visit to Ludington's Mills to thank Sybil for her courageous deed.''</ref>
<ref>[http://www.mhschool.com/ss/ny/u3ch5_bio.html Macmillan/McGraw-Hill, ''Biography - Sybil Ludington 1761—1839'', Unit 3, Chapter 5, The American Revolution] ''Later, Sybil was thanked personally by General George Washington.''</ref><ref>Binkley, p. 18, ''Afterward, General George Washington made a personal visit to Ludington's Mill to thank Sybil for her courageous deed.''</ref><ref>[http://www.smithsoniansource.org/display/lesson/viewdetails.aspx?LessonPlanId=1022&LessonId=1113 Smithsonian Source - Confirmation Readings (Sybil Ludington)]</ref><ref>Weatherford, p. 31, ''... After the battle at Danbury, George Washington and French General Rochambeau came to the Ludington home to thank Sybil.''</ref>


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]].<ref name=Hunt18990/> Her tombstone shows a different spelling of her first name.<ref name= Tucker/>
[[File:File-Sybil Ludington statue close up, Offner museum.JPG|left|thumb|Close-up of smaller version of statue by [[Anna Hyatt Huntington]]. Offner Museum, [[Brookgreen Gardens]], South Carolina]]
[[File:Sybil Ludington grave.jpg|thumb|The grave of Sybil Ludington]] After the war, in 1784, "when she was twenty-three years old, Sybil Ludington married Edmund Ogden, with whom she had six children. Edmund was a farmer and innkeeper, according to various reports. In 1792 Sybil settled with her husband and six children in Catskill, where they lived 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]].<ref name ="historicsybil"/> Her tombstone, at right, shows a different spelling of her first name.


==Ludington's ride==
In 1935 New York State erected a number of markers along her route. A statue of Sybil, sculpted by [[Anna Hyatt Huntington]], was erected near Carmel, New York, in 1961 to commemorate her ride. Smaller originals<ref>"Original" defined as a sculpture cast under the supervision of original artist during his/her lifetime.</ref> of the statue exist on the grounds of the [[Daughters of the American Revolution]] Headquarters in [[Washington, DC]]; on the grounds of the public library, Danbury, Connecticut; and in the Elliot and Rosemary Offner museum at [[Brookgreen Gardens]], [[Murrells Inlet, South Carolina]].


Accounts that did not emerge until the 20th century, about her alleged 18th century ride, recognize Ludington as a heroine of the [[American Revolutionary War]].<ref name= Hunt188_212>Hunt 2015, pp. [http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/TNEQ_a_00452 188, 212, 214].</ref><ref name=CauseStamp/><ref name=NRAAward/><ref>Bohrer 2003</ref>
[[File:Sybil Ludington stamp.jpg|left|thumb|Sybil Ludington commemorative stamp]]
In 1975 Sybil Ludington was honored with a [[postage stamp]] in the "[[Contributors to the Cause]]" [[United States Bicentennial]] series.<ref name ="historicsybil"/><ref name ="sybilgravedata"/>


=== Historical accounts ===
Each April since 1979, the Sybil Ludington 50-kilometer footrace has been held in Carmel, New York. The course of this hilly road race approximates Sybil's historic ride, and finishes near her statue on the shore of [[Lake Gleneida]], Carmel, New York.<ref name ="sybilgravedata"/>


Accounts originating in the 20th century, from the [[Ludington family]], say Sybil played an important role after the British raid on [[Danbury, Connecticut]].<ref name=Hunt/><ref name= Pollak/><ref name= "memoir"/>
== Sources ==
* Binkley, Marilyn R., ''Reading Literacy in the U.S.: Findings from the IEA Reading Literacy Study'', DIANE Publishing, 1996, ISBN 0788145126
* Bohrer, Melissa Lukeman, ''Glory, passion, and principle: the story of eight remarkable women at the core of the American Revolution'', Simon and Schuster, 2003, ISBN 0743453301
* {{cite book |title=Colonel Henry Ludington: A Memoir |last=Johnson |first=Willis Fletcher |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1907 |publisher=self-published |location=Connecticut |isbn= |page= |pages= |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=NIeEKMRxxX4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Johnson,+Willis+Fletcher,+Henry+Ludington:+A+Memoir&cd=2#v=onepage&q=&f=false|accessdate=March 24, 2010}}
* Miller, Brandon Marie, ''Growing up in revolution and the new nation, 1775 to 1800'', Lerner Publications, 2003, ISBN 0822500787
* Moore, David W., ''Developing readers and writers in the content areas K-12'', Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, 2006,ISBN 0205494749
* Weatherford, D., '' Milestones : A chronology of American women's history.'' New York: Facts on File, 1997, ISBN 0816032009


According to the story printed 140 years after the alleged feat,<ref name= Hunt/> on April 26, 1777, then 16-year-old Sybil Ludington rode {{convert|40|mile}} from her hometown in Fredericksburg, New York (near Danbury, Connecticut) through [[Putnam County, New York]], to rally approximately 400 militiamen under the command of her father, Colonel Henry Ludington, after British forces raided Danbury,<ref name="Frank">{{cite book |title=An Encyclopedia of American Women at War: From the Home Front to the Battlefields, Volume 1 |first=Lisa Tendrich |last=Frank |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2013 |page=365 |isbn=9781598844436 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=drE50WEN1WUC&pg=PA365}}</ref> where the [[Continental Army]] had a [[supply depot]].<ref name=Hunt187>Hunt 2015, p. [http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/TNEQ_a_00452 187].</ref> American troops from New York and Connecticut rallied to engage the British the next day in the [[Battle of Ridgefield]], forcing them to retreat.<ref name= Tucker/>
== Footnotes==
{{Reflist}}


A brief mention<ref name=Lewis/> of Ludington's ride was published by his grandchildren in 1907 as part of Ludington's father's memoirs.<ref name="memoir">{{cite book|title=Colonel Henry Ludington: A Memoir| first=Willis Fletcher | last= Johnson|year=1907|page=90|publisher = privately printed by his grandchildren, Lavinia Elizabeth Ludington and Charles Henry Ludington |location= New York|access-date= April 24, 2021|url= https://archive.org/details/colhenrylud00johnrich}} ([https://www.gutenberg.org/files/58125/58125-h/58125-h.htm Project Gutenberg file])([https://books.google.com/books/about/Colonel_Henry_Ludington.html?id=YqQUAAAAYAAJ google books]).</ref> Modern accounts say Ludington was congratulated for her heroism by General George Washington;<ref name=CauseStamp/> more recent scholarship has raised doubt that the ride even took place.<ref name=Hunt>{{Cite journal|last=Hunt|first=Paula D.|date=June 2015|title=Sybil Ludington, the Female Paul Revere: The Making of a Revolutionary War Heroine |journal=[[The New England Quarterly]]|volume=88|issue=2|pages=187–222|doi=10.1162/TNEQ_a_00452|s2cid=57569643|issn=0028-4866|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name= Tucker/><ref name= Eschner/><ref name=Lewis/>
==External links==
{{Commons category|Sybil Ludington}}
*{{Find a Grave|2539}}
*[http://www.historicpatterson.org/Exhibits/ExhSybilLudington.php Sybil Ludington at HistoricPatterson.org]
*[http://traverseforwomen.com/Herstory/SybilLudington.htm Sybil Ludington: A Revolutionary Hero, by Jennifer Hartwell-Jackson]


=== Research history ===
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
[[File:File-Sybil Ludington statue close up, Offner museum.JPG|right|thumb|Close-up of smaller version of a statue representing Ludington by [[Anna Hyatt Huntington]] at [[Brookgreen Gardens]], South Carolina]]
| NAME =Ludington, Sybil
A 2022 ''[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]'' magazine article written by Abigail Tucker states that the earliest known record of the 1777 account of Ludington's ride came in 1854 from Sybil's nephew, Charles H. Ludington, who sought to have his aunt recognized as a hero.<ref name= Tucker/> Ludington was included in an 1880 book about the [[New York City]] area by local historian Martha Lamb.<ref name=Eschner/> A brief{{efn|Lewis states that only 2 out of the 300 pages in the book cover Sybil's ride.<ref name=Lewis/>}} later reference appeared in the 1907 memoirs{{efn|The privately published ''Colonel Henry Ludington, a Memoir'' is characterized by Hunt as "a not wholly reliable source".<ref name=Hunt189>Hunt 2015, p. [http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/TNEQ_a_00452 189].</ref>}} written by Willis Fletcher Johnson about Sybil's father and published privately by his grandchildren.<ref name=Eschner>{{cite news |url= https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonianmag/was-there-really-teenage-female-paul-revere-180962993/ |work= [[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]] |title= Was There Really a Teenage, Female Paul Revere? |last= Eschner |first= Kat |date= April 26, 2017 |access-date= July 6, 2022}}</ref><ref name="memoir"/>
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =

| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
Tucker states that letters written by Ludington herself do not mention the ride.<ref name= Tucker/> Accounts vary as to whether she rode [[bareback riding|bareback]] or [[sidesaddle]], what the name of the horse was, and how her name was spelled (Sybil, Cybal, Sibyl, Sebil, Sybille, or Sibbell).<ref name= Tucker/>
| DATE OF BIRTH = April 16, 1761

| PLACE OF BIRTH =
In 1838, Ludington asked for a pension based on her husband, Ogden, having fought in the Revolutionary War, but she could not prove that she was married to him. According to Paula Hunt, writing in ''[[The New England Quarterly]]'' journal, "None of the sworn affidavits attesting to Henry Ogden’s military service and the legitimacy of Sybil's marriage mentioned her ride, nor did she attempt to claim it as justification for a pension."<ref name=Hunt189/>
| DATE OF DEATH = February 26, 1839

| PLACE OF DEATH =
Lamb stated that her account relied on sources including letters, sermons, genealogical compilations, wills, and court records to document details.<ref>Lamb 1986, [https://archive.org/details/historycitynewy02lambgoog pp. v–vi].</ref> She cites no sources,<ref name= Tucker/> nor provides documentation of the ride. Hunt suggests the account may have been told to Lamb by Ludington's descendants.<ref>Hunt 2015, p. [http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/TNEQ_a_00452 190].</ref>
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ludington, Sybil}}
Owing partly to a lack of contemporary accounts, Hunt raises questions about the events.<ref name=Hunt/> She writes that neither of the original publications about the ride "had offered any information about Sybil's course",<ref>Hunt 2015, p. [http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/TNEQ_a_00452 199].</ref> and the purported route was devised speculatively by the project managers who later installed [[Commemorative plaque|historic marker]]s, a "relatively inexpensive but increasingly popular means for states and localities to promote tourism".<ref>Hunt 2015, pp. [http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/TNEQ_a_00452 196–199], quote on p. 196.</ref> 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.<ref>Hunt 2015, pp. [http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/TNEQ_a_00452 196–201].</ref> Doubts about the story had been raised as early as 1956;<ref name=Hunt220>Hunt 2015, p. [http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/TNEQ_a_00452 220, note 114].</ref> 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,<ref name=Pollak/><ref>{{cite news|last= Bernstein |first= Paula |title= A Legendary Woman Rides onto a Stamp |work= Daily News |date= March 20, 1975 |page= 164}}</ref> 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.<ref name=Hunt220/></blockquote>

Hunt has provided a history of how the Ludington story has been portrayed in the media and literature, and in efforts to promote tourism.<ref name= Hunt/> Pollak wrote in 1975 in the ''New York Times'' that "Many children's books treat the account as historical fact", although the Putnam County Historian indicated there was "no solid evidence that Sybil actually made the ride".<ref name= Pollak/> Hunt states that many popular details were [[fiction]], such as the horse named Star, the stick she held, and the distance of 40 miles.<ref>Hunt 2015, pp. [http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/TNEQ_a_00452 202, 207].</ref> 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 history of the United States|colonial era]] proliferated by the 1870s, the only published accounts of Ludington were Lamb's and Johnson's.<ref>Hunt 2015, p. [http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/TNEQ_a_00452 195].</ref> 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.<ref name="Hunt-2">Hunt 2015 pp. 187–222; quote p. [http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/TNEQ_a_00452 187].</ref></blockquote>

Contemporaneous sources suggest that the Americans, including the residents of Danbury, were already aware of the approaching British forces,<ref>{{cite news |url= https://hvmag.com/life-style/history/sybil-ludington/ |work= Hudson Valley |title= A Look Back at Sybil Ludington's Historic Hudson Valley Ride |last= Levine |first= David |date= March 25, 2022 |access-date= July 9, 2022}}</ref> as noted in ''The New-York Gazette'' and the ''Weekly Mercury'', May 19, 1777, which stated:<ref>The New-York Gazette and the Weekly Mercury, May 19, 1777</ref> <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, Connecticut|Compo]], a point of land between [[Fairfield, Connecticut|Fairfield]] and [[Norwalk, Connecticut|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."<ref>Hunt 2015, pp. [http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/TNEQ_a_00452 217–218].</ref> The DAR chapter near her historic home says that her exploit was documented, and it continues to honor her.<ref>Hunt 2015, p. [http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/TNEQ_a_00452 218].</ref>

Hunt concludes, "The story of the lone, teenage girl riding for freedom, it seems, is simply too good not to be believed."<ref>Hunt 2015, p. [http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/TNEQ_a_00452 222].</ref>

==Legacy and honors==
[[File:Sybil Ludington stamp.jpg|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.<ref>Hunt 2015, pp. [http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/TNEQ_a_00452 196–200].</ref>

A commemorative sculpture by [[Anna Hyatt Huntington]] was erected at [[Lake Gleneida]] near [[Carmel, New York]], in 1961.<ref name= Pollak>{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/22/nyregion/heroine-of-1777-still-all-in-a-revolutionary-lather.html |work= [[New York Times]] |title= Heroine of 1777 Still All in a Revolutionary Lather |first= Michael |last= Pollak |date= October 22, 1995 |access-date= July 9, 2022}}</ref> Smaller versions of the statue are at the Daughters of the American Revolution headquarters in [[Washington, D.C.]],<ref>Hunt 2015, p. [http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/TNEQ_a_00452 217].</ref> the public library in Danbury, Connecticut, and at [[Brookgreen Gardens]], [[Murrells Inlet, South Carolina]].<ref name=Offner>{{cite web |url= https://newyorkmakers.com/blogs/magazine/113200196-sybil-ludington-nys-lesser-known-teenage-female-paul-revere#0 |title=Sybil Ludington: NY's Lesser-known (Teenage, Female) Paul Revere |last= Willicox |first= Kathleen |date=March 18, 2014 |publisher= New York Makers Magazine|access-date= May 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171005051748/https://newyorkmakers.com/blogs/magazine/113200196-sybil-ludington-nys-lesser-known-teenage-female-paul-revere |archive-date=October 5, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1975, Ludington was honored with a postage stamp in the "Contributors to the Cause" [[United States Bicentennial]] series.<ref name=CauseStamp>{{cite web |url= https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/women-on-stamps-part-1-forming-the-nation-revolutionary-fighters/sybil-ludington |title= Sybil Ludington |publisher= Smithsonian National Postal Museum |work= Women on Stamps: Part I |access-date= July 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220709070511/https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/women-on-stamps-part-1-forming-the-nation-revolutionary-fighters/sybil-ludington |archive-date=July 9, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[National Rifle Association of America]] instituted the Sybil Ludington Women's Freedom Award in 1995.<ref name=NRAAward>{{cite web |url= https://awards.nra.org/awards/sybil-ludington-womens-freedom-award/the-extraordinary-story-of-sybil-ludington/ |title= The Extraordinary Story of Sybil Ludington |website=awards.nra.org |publisher= [[National Rifle Association of America]] |access-date= July 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419141738/https://awards.nra.org/awards/sybil-ludington-womens-freedom-award/the-extraordinary-story-of-sybil-ludington/ |archive-date=April 19, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name= Hunt214>Hunt 2015, p. [http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/TNEQ_a_00452 214].</ref>

Composer [[Ludmila Ulehla]] wrote the 1993 chamber opera ''Sybil of the American Revolution'' based on the story of Ludington's ride.<ref name=portrayed>{{cite web |url= http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/bic1/BiographiesDetailsPage/DocumentToolsPortletWindow?displayGroupName=Biographies&p=BIC1&catId=&u=cnciss&u=cnciss&action=2&documentId=GALE%7CK1631010495&zid=0360feb3655f2d45d6952720a0b99d7d |title= Sybil Ludington |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=July 8, 2016 |website= Encyclopedia of World Biography |publisher=Gale |access-date=June 15, 2017}}</ref> In 2014, Ludington was featured on the [[American Heroes Channel]] documentary ''American Revolution: Patriots Rising''.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/American-Heroes-Channel-Orders-New-Miniseries-THE-AMERICAN-REVOLUTION-20141110 |publisher= Broadway World |title= American Heroes Channel Orders New Miniseries ''The American Revolution'' |date= November 10, 2014 |access-date= July 9, 2022 |first= Tyler |last=Peterson}}</ref> The movie ''Sybil Ludington: The Female Paul Revere'' was produced in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sybil_ludington |publisher = [[Rotten Tomatoes]] |title= Sybil Ludington: The Female Paul Revere |date= 2010 |access-date= July 8, 2022}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Betsy Ross]] – credited by relatives with making the first US flag; accounts dismissed by historians
* [[Laura Secord]], heroine of [[War of 1812]]
* [[Women in the American Revolution]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Sources ==
{{commons category}}
* {{cite book |last= Bohrer |first=Melissa Lukeman |title=Glory, Passion, and Principle: The Story of Eight Remarkable Women at the Core of the American Revolution |publisher= [[Simon and Schuster]] |year= 2003 |isbn=0-7434-5330-1}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Hunt|first=Paula D.|date=June 2015|title=Sybil Ludington, the Female Paul Revere: The Making of a Revolutionary War Heroine |journal=[[The New England Quarterly]]|volume=88|issue=2|pages=187–222|doi=10.1162/TNEQ_a_00452|s2cid=57569643|issn=0028-4866|doi-access=free}}
* {{cite book|last=Johnson|first=Willis Fletcher|title=Colonel Henry Ludington: A Memoir|url=https://archive.org/details/colhenrylud00johnrich/page/n5/mode/2up|year=1907|publisher=Printed by his grandchildren Lavinia Elizabeth Ludington and Charles Henry Ludington : New York|isbn=978-0548540381}}
* {{cite book|first1=Martha Joanna |last1=Lamb|first2=Mrs. Burton |last2=Harrison|title=History of the City of New York: The century of national independence, closing in 1880, vol. 2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d0M4AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA160|year=1880|publisher=[[A. S. Barnes]]|pages=159–60, vi}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ludington, Cybil}}
[[Category:1761 births]]
[[Category:1761 births]]
[[Category:1839 deaths]]
[[Category:1839 deaths]]
[[Category:Women in the American Revolution]]
[[Category:Women in the American Revolution]]
[[Category:New York colonial people]]
[[Category:People from colonial New York]]
[[Category:People of New York in the American Revolution]]
[[Category:People of New York (state) in the American Revolution]]
[[Category:People from Dutchess County, New York]]
[[Category:Ludington family]]
[[Category:People from Catskill, New York]]

[[Category:American legends]]
[[de:Sybil Ludington]]
[[Category:American folklore]]

Latest revision as of 17:25, 27 December 2024

Sybil Ludington
Born(1761-04-05)April 5, 1761
DiedFebruary 26, 1839(1839-02-26) (aged 77)
Unadilla, New York
Spouse
Edmond Ogden
​
​
(m. 1784; died 1799)​

Sybil (or Sibbell) Ludington (April 5, 1761 – February 26, 1839) was an American woman who made an alleged ride during the American Revolutionary War, though modern accounts dispute this. On April 26, 1777, at age 16, Ludington, the daughter of a Colonel Henry Ludington, was claimed to have made an all-night horseback ride 40 miles (64 km) to rally American militiamen in neighboring towns after British forces raided and burnt Danbury, Connecticut.

Accounts of Ludington's ride are based on a brief mention in 1907 memoirs about her father, published privately by his grandchildren. A 2015 report in The New England Quarterly says there is little evidence backing the story,[1] and whether the ride occurred has been questioned[2][3][4][5] since at least 1956.[6]

Relatively unknown through the 1870s, Ludington's story gained recognition around the time of World War II, after New York State was convinced to place historic roadmarkers in locations she was speculated to have visited on her ride. The myth grew thereafter, from memorial statues honoring her, to books being written about her, culminating with being honored on a United States Bicentennial postage stamp that was released on March 25, 1975, which depicts her on a horse.

Early life, family and death

[edit]
Grave of Sybil Ludington, bearing a spelling variation of her first name

Ludington was born on April 5, 1761, in Fredericksburg, New York.[7] She was the first of 12 children[8] of Abigail[a] 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.[10]

At the age of 23, in 1784 Ludington married Edmond Ogden. They had a son named Henry in 1786.[7][b] In 1792, the family settled in Catskill, and Ogden died in 1799. In 1811 Ludington moved to Unadilla, New York.[11][12]

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.[12] Her tombstone shows a different spelling of her first name.[2]

Ludington's ride

[edit]

Accounts that did not emerge until the 20th century, about her alleged 18th century ride, recognize Ludington as a heroine of the American Revolutionary War.[13][14][15][16]

Historical accounts

[edit]

Accounts originating in the 20th century, from the Ludington family, say Sybil played an important role after the British raid on Danbury, Connecticut.[1][5][10]

According to the story printed 140 years after the alleged feat,[1] on April 26, 1777, then 16-year-old Sybil Ludington rode 40 miles (64 km) from her hometown in Fredericksburg, New York (near Danbury, Connecticut) through Putnam County, New York, to rally approximately 400 militiamen under the command of her father, Colonel Henry Ludington, after British forces raided Danbury,[17] where the Continental Army had a supply depot.[18] American troops from New York and Connecticut rallied to engage the British the next day in the Battle of Ridgefield, forcing them to retreat.[2]

A brief mention[4] of Ludington's ride was published by his grandchildren in 1907 as part of Ludington's father's memoirs.[10] Modern accounts say Ludington was congratulated for her heroism by General George Washington;[14] more recent scholarship has raised doubt that the ride even took place.[1][2][3][4]

Research history

[edit]
Close-up of smaller version of a statue representing Ludington by Anna Hyatt Huntington at Brookgreen Gardens, South Carolina

A 2022 Smithsonian magazine article written by Abigail Tucker states that the earliest known record of the 1777 account of Ludington's ride came in 1854 from Sybil's nephew, Charles H. Ludington, who sought to have his aunt recognized as a hero.[2] Ludington was included in an 1880 book about the New York City area by local historian Martha Lamb.[3] A brief[c] later reference appeared in the 1907 memoirs[d] written by Willis Fletcher Johnson about Sybil's father and published privately by his grandchildren.[3][10]

Tucker states that letters written by Ludington herself do not mention the ride.[2] Accounts vary as to whether she rode bareback or sidesaddle, what the name of the horse was, and how her name was spelled (Sybil, Cybal, Sibyl, Sebil, Sybille, or Sibbell).[2]

In 1838, Ludington asked for a pension based on her husband, Ogden, having fought in the Revolutionary War, but she could not prove that she was married to him. According to Paula Hunt, writing in The New England Quarterly journal, "None of the sworn affidavits attesting to Henry Ogden’s military service and the legitimacy of Sybil's marriage mentioned her ride, nor did she attempt to claim it as justification for a pension."[7]

Lamb stated that her account relied on sources including letters, sermons, genealogical compilations, wills, and court records to document details.[19] She cites no sources,[2] nor provides documentation of the ride. Hunt suggests the account may have been told to Lamb by Ludington's descendants.[20]

Owing partly to a lack of contemporary accounts, Hunt raises questions about the events.[1] She writes that neither of the original publications about the ride "had offered any information about Sybil's course",[21] 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".[22] 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.[23] Doubts about the story had been raised as early as 1956;[6] 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,[5][24] writing that:

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.[6]

Hunt has provided a history of how the Ludington story has been portrayed in the media and literature, and in efforts to promote tourism.[1] Pollak wrote in 1975 in the New York Times that "Many children's books treat the account as historical fact", although the Putnam County Historian indicated there was "no solid evidence that Sybil actually made the ride".[5] Hunt states that many popular details were fiction, such as the horse named Star, the stick she held, and the distance of 40 miles.[25] 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.[26] She writes:

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.[27]

Contemporaneous sources suggest that the Americans, including the residents of Danbury, were already aware of the approaching British forces,[28] as noted in The New-York Gazette and the Weekly Mercury, May 19, 1777, which stated:[29]

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.

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."[30] The DAR chapter near her historic home says that her exploit was documented, and it continues to honor her.[31]

Hunt concludes, "The story of the lone, teenage girl riding for freedom, it seems, is simply too good not to be believed."[32]

Legacy and honors

[edit]
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.[33]

A commemorative sculpture by Anna Hyatt Huntington was erected at Lake Gleneida near Carmel, New York, in 1961.[5] Smaller versions of the statue are at the Daughters of the American Revolution headquarters in Washington, D.C.,[34] the public library in Danbury, Connecticut, and at Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.[35]

In 1975, Ludington was honored with a postage stamp in the "Contributors to the Cause" United States Bicentennial series.[14] The National Rifle Association of America instituted the Sybil Ludington Women's Freedom Award in 1995.[15][36]

Composer Ludmila Ulehla wrote the 1993 chamber opera Sybil of the American Revolution based on the story of Ludington's ride.[37] In 2014, Ludington was featured on the American Heroes Channel documentary American Revolution: Patriots Rising.[38] The movie Sybil Ludington: The Female Paul Revere was produced in 2010.[39]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Abigail was Henry's cousin, according to Johnson.[9]
  2. ^ A New York Times article says Ludington raised six children.[5]
  3. ^ Lewis states that only 2 out of the 300 pages in the book cover Sybil's ride.[4]
  4. ^ The privately published Colonel Henry Ludington, a Memoir is characterized by Hunt as "a not wholly reliable source".[7]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f Hunt, Paula D. (June 2015). "Sybil Ludington, the Female Paul Revere: The Making of a Revolutionary War Heroine". The New England Quarterly. 88 (2): 187–222. doi:10.1162/TNEQ_a_00452. ISSN 0028-4866. S2CID 57569643.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Tucker, Abigail (March 2022). "Did the Midnight Ride of Sibyl Ludington Ever Happen?". Smithsonian. Archived from the original on February 24, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d Eschner, Kat (April 26, 2017). "Was There Really a Teenage, Female Paul Revere?". Smithsonian. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d Lewis, Jone Johnson (August 15, 2019). "Sybil Ludington, Possible Female Paul Revere". ThoughtCo. Archived from the original on October 15, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Pollak, Michael (October 22, 1995). "Heroine of 1777 Still All in a Revolutionary Lather". New York Times. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Hunt 2015, p. 220, note 114.
  7. ^ a b c d Hunt 2015, p. 189.
  8. ^ Johnson 1907, p. 45.
  9. ^ Johnson 1907, p. 35.
  10. ^ a b c d Johnson, Willis Fletcher (1907). Colonel Henry Ludington: A Memoir. New York: privately printed by his grandchildren, Lavinia Elizabeth Ludington and Charles Henry Ludington. p. 90. Retrieved April 24, 2021. (Project Gutenberg file)(google books).
  11. ^ "Sybil Ludington". The Town of Patterson, NY. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
  12. ^ a b Hunt 2015, pp. 189–190.
  13. ^ Hunt 2015, pp. 188, 212, 214.
  14. ^ a b c "Sybil Ludington". Women on Stamps: Part I. Smithsonian National Postal Museum. Archived from the original on July 9, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  15. ^ a b "The Extraordinary Story of Sybil Ludington". awards.nra.org. National Rifle Association of America. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  16. ^ Bohrer 2003
  17. ^ Frank, Lisa Tendrich (2013). An Encyclopedia of American Women at War: From the Home Front to the Battlefields, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. p. 365. ISBN 9781598844436.
  18. ^ Hunt 2015, p. 187.
  19. ^ Lamb 1986, pp. v–vi.
  20. ^ Hunt 2015, p. 190.
  21. ^ Hunt 2015, p. 199.
  22. ^ Hunt 2015, pp. 196–199, quote on p. 196.
  23. ^ Hunt 2015, pp. 196–201.
  24. ^ Bernstein, Paula (March 20, 1975). "A Legendary Woman Rides onto a Stamp". Daily News. p. 164.
  25. ^ Hunt 2015, pp. 202, 207.
  26. ^ Hunt 2015, p. 195.
  27. ^ Hunt 2015 pp. 187–222; quote p. 187.
  28. ^ Levine, David (March 25, 2022). "A Look Back at Sybil Ludington's Historic Hudson Valley Ride". Hudson Valley. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  29. ^ The New-York Gazette and the Weekly Mercury, May 19, 1777
  30. ^ Hunt 2015, pp. 217–218.
  31. ^ Hunt 2015, p. 218.
  32. ^ Hunt 2015, p. 222.
  33. ^ Hunt 2015, pp. 196–200.
  34. ^ Hunt 2015, p. 217.
  35. ^ Willicox, Kathleen (March 18, 2014). "Sybil Ludington: NY's Lesser-known (Teenage, Female) Paul Revere". New York Makers Magazine. Archived from the original on October 5, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  36. ^ Hunt 2015, p. 214.
  37. ^ "Sybil Ludington". Encyclopedia of World Biography. Gale. July 8, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
  38. ^ Peterson, Tyler (November 10, 2014). "American Heroes Channel Orders New Miniseries The American Revolution". Broadway World. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  39. ^ "Sybil Ludington: The Female Paul Revere". Rotten Tomatoes. 2010. Retrieved July 8, 2022.

Sources

[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sybil Ludington.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Sybil_Ludington&oldid=1265589033"