The Midnight Ride of Sybil Ludington

I am sure most of you have heard of Paul Revere and his midnight ride on April 18, 1775. His exploits were immortalized in a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-Five:
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.

Paul Revere was a forty-year-old silversmith from Boston and a courier for the Massachusetts Assembly, tasked with carrying messages to the Continental Congress on a regular basis.

On the night of April 18, 1775, the sexton of North Church in Boston placed two lanterns in the steeple of his church. This signal informed Revere, as well as the Charlestown colonists, that the British troops would be crossing the Charles River to Charlestown enroute to Lexington and Concord.

The king’s troops were to proceed from Boston with “with utmost expedition and secrecy to Concord, where you will seize and destroy…all Military stores.” The capture of the Patriot leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock was also desirable.

Revere crossed the Charlestown River by rowboat undetected and embarked on his famous 12-mile journey. Riding through the towns of Somerville, Medford and Arlington, just outside of Boston, Revere warned patriots and colonial militias that the king’s troops were on their way.

His actions ensured the safety of the Patriot leaders and the readiness of the colonial militia who were in place for the battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775.

Paul Revere has been heralded for since that day in 1775 for his determination and bravery.

But did you know that Sybil Ludington, a young girl of just sixteen years, rode a forty mile circuit in the dead of night on April 26, 1777, to warn the local militia of the approach of British forces?

Sybil Ludington was the eldest of twelve children of Henry Ludington and his wife Abigail of Fredericksburg, Dutchess County. Henry was born in Branford, CT on May 25, 1739, the son of William Ludington and Mary Knowles.

The Ludington family proudly traced their roots back to William Luddington who was born about 1607 in England and was said to have arrived in America in 1640, settling in Charlestown, Massachusetts.

Henry, the great-great grandson of William, was the first to spell the Luddington name with just one “d.” He enlisted in the Colonial forces at the tender age of sixteen and fought in Canada during the French and Indian War.

After the Canadian campaign ended, he married his cousin Abigail Luddington, the daughter of his uncle Elisha, on May 1, 1760. Born May8, 1745, Abigail was just shy of her fifteenth birthday.

Henry moved his young bride to Dutchess County, New York in1761 and settled on 229 acres of undeveloped land in the Phillipse Patent. Intime the Ludington farm was located in Fredericksburg Precinct and in 1812 it became part of the Town of Kent in Putnam County.

The first grist and sawmills in the area were built on the Ludington homestead. As was the custom of the times, Henry leased his land and it wasn’t until July 15, 1812 that he was able to persuade the owners to sell him the farm that he had so lovingly farmed for over fifty years.

Henry had a long and distinguished civic career. He was a member of the Legislature for Dutchess County in 1777-1781 and again in 1786-1787. He held numerous local offices: sub-sheriff, Justice of the Peace, supervisor, overseer of the poor and assessor.

Most importantly for our story, however, he was a military man. He was appointed as a Captain of the Fifth Company of the Second Battalion of the Fredericksburg Regiment of Militia in Dutchess County by William Tryon, the captain-general and governor of the Province of New York. Henry’s loyalty to the British crown was unquestioned.

By 1773, however, Henry began to question that loyalty andhe resigned from his commission as Captain in Colonel Beverly Robinson’sDutchess County regiment.

In the summer of 1776 Henry was commissioned a colonel ofthe seventh regiment of the Dutchess County Militia. Forever known as ColonelLudington’s Regiment, it was one of the many Patriot militia regiments in NewYork State.

Henry’s commission covered an area that included Dutchessand Westchester counties and the inhabitants were Patriots, Loyalists, andopportunists.

The opportunists were known as Cowboys or Skinners.

The Cowboys were more formally known as the WestchesterLight Horse Battalion, a Loyalist provincial corps of the British Army,commanded by Col. James de Lancey. They would plunder cattle from Patriot farmsand herd the cattle to New York City for the British troops stationed there.

As wranglers of cattle, they received the nickname cow-boy.The name stuck and became a part of the American lexicon. When cattle wranglerswere needed in the Old West, they became known as cowboys, a nod to the castlerustlers of the American Revolution.

Skinners, on the other hand, were named after General Cortland Skinner’s Brigade of New Jersey Volunteers. They had no real organization, nor any real loyalty. They plundered both Loyalist and Patriot farms and attacked and robbed local citizens throughout the term of the American Revolution and sold their plunder to the highest bidder.

Both the Cowboys and the Skinners struck terror in the hearts and minds of settlers in Westchester and lower Dutchess counties.

Colonel Ludington’s Regiment was very successful at foiling the exploits of the Cowboys and Skinners, so much so that General Howe, who depended on the plunder to feed his British troops, put a price on Henry’s head of 300 English guineas, “dead or alive”.

It was into this uncertain world that Sybil grew to young womanhood. She was fiercely protective of her father and as the eldest of twelve children, felt a responsibility for the care of the younger children.

Louis J. Patrick, in his article “Secret Service of the American Revolution” found in The Connecticut Magazine in 1907 describes how Sybil and her sister Rebecca outsmarted Ichobod Prosser, a notorious Tory, who came to the Ludington homestead with his men, intent on getting the large reward for the capture of Henry.

“These fearless girls, with guns in hand were acting as sentinels, pacing the piazza to and fro in true military style and grit 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 the few occupants marched 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 toward New York City, ignorant of how they had been foiled by clever girls.”

“The Colonel’s most vigilant and watchful companion was his sentinel daughter, Sibbell. Her constant care and thoughtfulness, combined with fortuitous circumstances, prevented the fruition of many an intrigue against his life and capture.”

During the American Revolution, Connecticut provided enormous amounts of agricultural supplies for the Continental Army. Recognizing that the destruction of these supplies would severely weaken the Patriot military units, General William Howe, the British Commander-in-Chief in North America, ordered the destruction or capture of the military supplies in Danbury in the spring of 1777.

William Tryon and Henry Duncan led the British forces, comprised of a fleet of 26 ships carrying 2,000 men. Their target – the Continental Army supply depots in Danbury, CT.

The attack on Danbury began on April 27, 1777 and outmanned, the Patriots lost Danbury and the British torched the village. A messenger was dispatched to Colonel Ludington, requesting the assistance of his regiment.

Willis Fletcher Johnson in his book, Colonel Henry Ludington: A Memoir, published in 1907 described the scene at the Ludington household when the courier arrived.

“At eight or nine o’clock that evening, a jaded horseman reached Colonel Ludington’s home with the news. We may imagine the fire that flashed through the veteran’s veins at the report of the dastardly act of his former chief. But what to do?”

“His regiment was disbanded; its members scattered at their homes, many at considerable distances. (As it was April, the militia had been granted leave to return home and plant their fields – author’s note) 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.”

“In this emergency he turned to his daughter Sybil, who, afew days before, had passed her sixteenth birthday, and bade her to take ahorse, ride for the men, and tell them to be at his house by daybreak.”

“One who even rides now (in 1907) from Carmel to Cold Springs will find rugged and dangerous roads, with lonely stretches. Imagination only can picture what it was a quarter and a century 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 was. 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.”

Colonel Ludington’s regiment was 400 men strong as they marched to intercept the British forces at Danbury. They were too late to save Danbury, however the combined Patriot forces fought at the Battle of Ridgefield.

Willis Fletcher Johnson described the assembled Patriotarmy.

“They were a motley company, some without arms, some half dressed, but allfilled with a certain berserk rage. That night they reached Redding and joined(General Benedict) Arnold, (General David) Wooster and (General Gold Selleck)Silliman.”

“The next morning, they encountered the British at Ridgefield. They were short of ammunition and were outnumbered by the British three to one. But they practiced the same tactics that Paul Revere’s levies at Lexington and Concord found so effective.”

“Their scattering sharpshooter fire from behind trees and fences and stone walls, harassed the British sorely, and made their retreat to their ships at Compo resemble a rout. Nor were instances of individual heroism in conflict lacking.”

“Arnold had his horse shot from under him as, almost alone, he furiously charged the enemy, and the gallant Wooster received a wound from which he died a few days later.”

“There were far greater operations in the war than this, butthere was scarcely one more expeditious, intrepid and successful. Writing of itto Gouverneur Morris, Alexander Hamilton said” I congratulate you on theDanbury expedition. The stores destroyed there have been purchased at a highprice to the enemy.”

“The spirit of the people on the occasion does them great honor – it is pleasing proof that they have lost nothing of that primitive zeal with which they began the contest, and will be a galling discouragement to the enemy from repeating attempts of the kind.”

Reports indicate that the burning of the military stores in Danbury, CT destroyed a considerable amount of supplies: “a quantity of ordnance stores with iron, etc, 4000 barrels of beef and pork, 100 large tierces of biscuits, 89 barrels of rice, 120 puncheons of rum, several large stores of wheat, oats and Indian corn in bulk, the quantity of which could not be ascertained, 30 pipes of wine, 100 hogshead of sugar, 50 dittos of molasses,20 casks of coffee, 15 large casks filled with medicines of all kinds, 10barrels of saltpeter, 1020 tents and marquees, a number of iron boilers, a large quantity of hospital bedding, engineer’s, pioneer’s and carpenter’s tools, a printing press, tar, tallow, etc and 5000 pairs of shoes and stockings.”

Within the village of Danbury, 19 dwelling houses, a meetinghouse of the New Danbury Society, 22 stores and barns were lost in the fire set by the British.

In terms of men lost, the British claimed to have lost one drummer, one fife and 23 rank and file as well as 3 field officers, 6 captains,3 subalterns, 9 sergeants and 92 rank and file wounded. Missing in action were1 drummer, 1 fife and 27 rank and file. In the royal artillery there were 2killed in action, 3 matrosses and 1 wheeler wounded and 1 matross missing.

The British also provided a list of “rebels” killed and wounded: General Wooster, Colonel Gould, Colonel Lamb, Colonel Henman, Captain Cooe, Lt. Thompson and Dr. Atwater, “a man of considerable influence” were killed as were 100 privates. Wounded in action were 3 officers and 250privates. Taken as prisoners of war were fifty privates, including several committeemen.

Sybil’s role in rousing her father’s militia played an important role in the success of the Patriot forces in driving the British back to Long Island Sound and discouraging further raids in Connecticut.

Her midnight ride of 40 miles on her horse Star ranks as one of the most stirring stories from the American Revolution. Yet, it is also one of the most unheralded stories of the war.

Today, there is some question about the veracity of Sybil’s story. Documented evidence proves that Sybil was the daughter of Col. Henry Ludington, who marched his militia regiment in response to the Danbury Alarm and that, at that time, she was around sixteen years of age.

The story of Sybil’s ride appeared for the first time in print in 1880 in a book by Martha Lamb. The author tells the tale of Sybil’s midnight ride, citing numerous primary sources, the most important being a memoir written by Col. Ludington, in which he wrote that he had asked his daughter to ride the countryside to alert the Militia.

Although it is entirely possible that some of the details of Sybil’s ride were embellishments to the tale (the name of the horse, the hemp bridle and even the length of the ride), it seems likely that Sybil did make that midnight journey.

In 1961, a commemorative statue sculpted by Anna Hyatt Huntington was erected near Carmel, NY. It shows Sybil atop her horse, a stick held high in her right hand, a look of fierce determination on her face. Smaller versions of the statue were placed on the grounds of the Daughters of the Revolution headquarters in Washington, D.C., on the grounds of the library at Danbury, CT and at Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina.

In 1975, Ludington was recognized on a postage stamp as one of the "Contributors to the Cause" by the United States Postal Service in their United States Bicentennial postal series.

However, in 1996, the Daughters of the American Revolution stated that there was not enough primary evidence to support Sybil’s inclusion as a heroine of the American Revolution and removed a book about her from their headquarters bookstore.

Historians and fans are deeply divided on this issue. The hope remains that more primary evidence will one day surface, proving that Sybil did, indeed, make that fateful ride in 1777.

You may wonder why I wrote about Sybil Ludington. Sybil’s exploits did not end at the end of the American Revolution. She played an important role in the early business community of Catskill and that is where her story will continue next week.

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