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Oh listen my children to the study I’ve done of the perilous ride of Sybil Ludington. I’m not a poet, but this seems like a good start.
So, who was Sybil Ludington? She was the 16-year-old daughter of Colonel Henry Ludington enlisted by him to warn the colonists of Danbury, Connecticut, about the approach of the British. She made her 40-mile ride, twice as long as that of Paul Revere’s, on April 26, 1777. She rode side saddle as did most women of her time. The 245th anniversary of her ride is next Tuesday.
A synopsis of her ride, as well as those of four other riders (Paul Revere, William Dawes, Samuel Prescott and Israel Bissell), can be found at ConstitutionFacts.com under Voices of the Revolution: The Five Riders.
Her story reminds us that many women played as important and dangerous a role in the founding of America as did the men.
Charlie Potratz
Mercer