Sibbell Ludington: In Memory of

"Sybil Ludington was born April 5, 1761, and raised in what was then part of Dutchess County, New York, near the Hudson river (what was then Fredericksburg, but now Ludingtonville). The eldest of 12, she was often responsible for looking after her younger siblings (Rebecca, Mary, Abigail, Archibald, Henry, Derick, Tertullus, Anna, Fredrick, Sophia, and Lewis). On the night of April 26, 1777, she was putting them to bed when her family received word that British troops had begun burning Danbury, Connecticut, which was only 25 miles away. Her father's troops were scattered over a large area around the house, and Sybil convinced her father to let her ride to warn them. At the time of the ride, she was 16 years old and would have been considered a young adult.

Sybil Ludington's ride started at 9:00 P.M. and ended around dawn. She rode 40 miles, more than twice the distance of Paul Revere, into the damp hours of darkness. She is also known as the "female Paul Revere". She could see the sky aglow from the burning town. "Muster at Ludington's", she shouted at the farmhouses of the millitiamen. She rode through Carmel, on to Mahopac, thence to Kent Cliffs, from there to Farmers Mills and back home. She used a stick to prod her horse and knock on doors. She managed to defend herself against a highway man with her father's musket. When, soaked from the rain and exhausted, she returned home, most of the 400 soldiers were ready to march.

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.

Sybil was congratulated for her heroism by friends and neighbors, and by General George Washington.

After the war, in 1784, Sybil married a lawyer from Catskill named Edmund Ogden. They had one child, Henry, whose son founded Fort Riley, Kansas. Sybil lived in Unadilla until her death on February 26, 1839. She was 77 years old. She was buried near her father in the Patterson Presbyterian Cemetery in Patterson, New York."

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sybil_Ludington

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Education

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• american
• history

[JoAnnzk]

Lovely! My daughter's enacting Sibbell (as on her grave), Sybil (as most spell her name) or Sybil (as her sister wroter her name) in a 5th grade play. Enjoyed your tribute in memory of her courageous ride! DOUBLE THE LENGTH OF PAUL REVERE'S RIDE!!!!!!!! Sybil rode 40 miles!