Sybil Ludington Thesis

The Revolutionary War was fought by average men against the tyrannical rule of the British Empire. This was when Americans fought for their independence against Britain. Paul Revere warned patriots about the British on April 18, 1775 and is well-known. However, a sixteen-year-old rode more than twice the distance as Paul Revere and in more dangerous conditions. On April 26, 1777, Sybil Ludington took a stand in history, because the British were attacking Danbury, Connecticut, and she rode 40 miles from Carmel to Farmers Mills to gather her father's militia.
Sybil Ludington was born on April 5, 1761 in Fredericksburg, New York and was the oldest of twelve children. Her father, Henry Ludington was born on May 25, 1739 in Branford, Connecticut

and her mother, Abigail Knowles Ludington was born on May 8, 1745. On May 1, 1760, Henry Ludington married his cousin, Abigail Ludington, after meeting her during his enlistment in the French and Indian War. They later moved to Dutchess County, New York, where they raised their children. During the Revolutionary War Henry Ludington became commander of the 7th Regiment of the Dutchess County Militia.
Throughout Colonel Henry Ludington's enlistment in the American Revolution, he was involved with spies, such as Enoch Crosby, who often hid at the Ludington's house while loyalists were looking for him. Henry Ludington trusted his secret codes to his two oldest daughters, Rebecca Ludington, who was born on January 24, 1763 and was the second oldest and Sybil. "Colonel Ludington's daughters, Sibyl and Rebecca, were also privy to Crosby's doings, and had a code of signals. By means of which they frequently admitted him in secrecy and safety to the house, where he was fed and lodged." (Johnson 132) They were often put on guard during their father's absence to protect their family. The loyalists in the surrounding area placed a large bounty reward on Colonel Ludington. One night Ichabod Prosser and his men surrounded the Ludington house hoping to collect the bounty reward for Colonel Ludington, but Sybil and Rebecca Ludington took a stand:
These fearless girls, with guns in their hands, were acting as sentinels, pacing the piazza to and fro in true military style and spirit to guard their father against surprise and to give him warning of any approaching danger. They discovered Prosser and his men and gave the alarm. In a flash candles were lighted in every room of the house, and counter-marched before the windows and from this simple and clever ruse Prosser was led to believe that the house was strongly guarded and did not dare to make an attack. He kept his men concealed behind the trees and fences until daybreak, when with yells they resumed their march and hastened southwards towards New York, ignorant of how they had been foiled by clever girls. (Clemons 269)
On April 24, 1777 , Newly appointed Major General William Tryon was ordered
to destroy the arsenal in Danbury, which the Continental Army was using as an important military supply depot.

He burned the arsenal along with several buildings in Danbury. The loyalists living in Danbury marked their chimneys to avoid their houses from being burned. After he carried out his order, General Tryon went south towards Ridgefield. "Patriot messengers rode at top speed in three directions – toward New Haven to hasten Generals Arnold and Wooster, who were already on their way; to meet General Silliman... and to Fredericksburgh to tell the news to Colonel Ludington" (Johnson 89)
On April 26, "At eight or nine o'clock that evening a jaded horseman reached Colonel Ludington's home with the news." (Johnson 89) informing Colonel Ludington about the British attack on Danbury and requesting assistance. "He must stay there, to muster all who came in. The messenger from Danbury could ride no more, and there was no neighbor within call."(Johnson 89) Thus sixteen-year-old Sybil Ludington took a stand and gathered her father's militia and warned the countryside of the British. On her horse Star, she traveled through the night for more than forty miles. Through dangerous weather, she traveled through Carmel, Mahopac, Kent Cliffs, and Farmers Mills. While avoiding the British on the roads with only a stick to protect herself and knock on the doors of the soldiers. Sybil Ludington took a stand and gathered four hundred men. "By daybreak , thanks to her daring, nearly the whole regiment was mustered before her father's house at Fredericksburg, and an hour or two later was on the march for vengeance on the raiders."(Johnson

90)
When Colonel Ludington and his militia arrived at Danbury, it too late to save Danbury. Colonel Ludington then marched his troops to Ridgefield to fight the British."That night they reached Redding, and joined Arnold, Wooster and Silliman." (Johnson 90) At the Battle of Ridgefield, General William Tryon and his troops burned down six houses and the Episcopal church. "They were short of ammunition and were outnumbered by the British three to one." (Johnson 90) Because of the stand Sybil Ludington took to gather her father's militia they had enough soldiers to defeat the British troops and chase General Tryon and his men out of Ridgefield to Long Island Sound.
ImageAfter the Battle of Ridgefield Sybil Ludington was personally thanked for her contribution in the Battle by General George Washington. Sybil continued to assist in the Revolutionary War as a messenger. After the war, at the age of 23, Sybil married a lawyer named Edward Ogden. Together they had one son named Henry. After her husband's death in 1799, she ran a tavern to earn money. On February 26, 1839 at the age of 77, Sybil Ludington Ogden died.
Today there are several things honoring Sybil Ludington's stand in history. For example, in Carmel, New York there is Anna Hyatt Huntington's statue of Sybil Ludington and her horse, Star and a fifty-kilometer marathon dedicated to her. There is also a Berton Braley's poem "Sybil Ludington's Ride", which is similar to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere". In 1975, an eight cent postage stamp was dedicated to Sybil Ludington. Her hometown, Fredericksburg was renamed Ludingtonville, honoring her stand in history to gather her father's militia.