1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:08,400 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:11,600 Speaker 1: a show that believes you're never too old or too 4 00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:16,640 Speaker 1: young to make history. I'm Gabe Lucier, and today we're 5 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:19,840 Speaker 1: talking about a heroic teenager who said to have braved 6 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:24,040 Speaker 1: bad weather and evaded capture to deliver an important message 7 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:37,680 Speaker 1: during the American Revolution. The day was April seventeen, seventy eight. 8 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:42,320 Speaker 1: Sixteen year old Sibyl Luddington rode more than forty miles 9 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:46,920 Speaker 1: overnight to warn American militiamen of an impending British attack. 10 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:51,000 Speaker 1: Sibyls set out on horseback from her home in what's 11 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:54,920 Speaker 1: now Putnam County, New York, at about nine pm that night. 12 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:58,360 Speaker 1: By dawn the next morning, she had rode all the 13 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:01,120 Speaker 1: way to Connecticut and back at In and had alerted 14 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:05,520 Speaker 1: approximately four hundred militiamen along the way. Thanks to her 15 00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:08,760 Speaker 1: all night ride, American forces were able to mount a 16 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:13,040 Speaker 1: counter attack in Connecticut, eventually pushing the British right back 17 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:17,120 Speaker 1: to their boats. If you're familiar with early US history, 18 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:20,600 Speaker 1: you're probably thinking this story sounds a lot like the 19 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 1: midnight ride of Paul Revere. The famous silversmith and Sons 20 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:28,399 Speaker 1: of Liberty patriot who rode through Boston warning residents that 21 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:32,240 Speaker 1: the British were coming. In reality, Paul Revere was just 22 00:01:32,319 --> 00:01:36,520 Speaker 1: one of many notable night riders who launched desperate bids 23 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:40,120 Speaker 1: to spread the word of British movements. In fact, two 24 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:44,120 Speaker 1: other men, William Dawes and Samuel Prescott, were on the 25 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:47,320 Speaker 1: road the same night as Paul Revere, spreading the same 26 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 1: news along different routes. All of these riders provided a 27 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:55,280 Speaker 1: crucial service to their fellow colonists, but it's worth noting 28 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:58,960 Speaker 1: that Sybil reportedly rode more than twice the distance of 29 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:03,280 Speaker 1: the others, and not for nothing. She was also much younger, 30 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 1: more than twenty years younger in the case of Paul Revere. 31 00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:11,720 Speaker 1: Sibyl Luddington was born on April fifth, seventeen sixty one, 32 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:15,800 Speaker 1: in Fredericksburg, New York. She was the eldest of twelve 33 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:20,360 Speaker 1: children born to Henry and Abigail Luddington. Sybil's father was 34 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:23,840 Speaker 1: Colonel Henry Luddington. He had made a name for himself 35 00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:26,440 Speaker 1: fighting for the British during the French and Indian War, 36 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:30,000 Speaker 1: but by the seventeen seventies he had sided with the 37 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:34,920 Speaker 1: colonists in the fight for American independence. His farm in Paterson, 38 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:38,240 Speaker 1: New York became a stopping point for American spies to 39 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 1: pass on the information they'd collected. As the commander of 40 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:45,640 Speaker 1: his local militia, Luddington was able to either coordinate a 41 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:49,000 Speaker 1: response to these reported threats or to make sure the 42 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:52,799 Speaker 1: information got to someone who could. At just before nine 43 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:57,639 Speaker 1: o'clock on the evening of April seventeen seventy seven, Colonel 44 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 1: Luttington received word that British soldiers were in the process 45 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:04,919 Speaker 1: of burning the town of dan Berry, Connecticut. The town 46 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:07,800 Speaker 1: was a key supply post for the Continental Army, and 47 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:10,880 Speaker 1: losing all the food and weapons and munitions that were 48 00:03:10,919 --> 00:03:14,360 Speaker 1: stowed there would be a punishing blow to the American cause. 49 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:19,840 Speaker 1: According to the messenger, General gold Selek Silliman was requesting 50 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:22,720 Speaker 1: that the county Militia joined the fight for dan Berry 51 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:27,200 Speaker 1: as reinforcements. There was a problem, though a few weeks earlier, 52 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:30,760 Speaker 1: the members of Luddington's militia would have been nearby and 53 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:33,640 Speaker 1: ready to fight at a moment's notice, but in late 54 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 1: April they had all scattered to their respective farms because 55 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:40,760 Speaker 1: it was planting season. Someone would have to ride through 56 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:43,720 Speaker 1: the countryside and the dead of night to wake them 57 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 1: up and send them over to Luddington's farm. For a minute, 58 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:50,520 Speaker 1: it didn't seem like anyone was up to the task. 59 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:53,680 Speaker 1: The colonel needed to stay put in order to direct 60 00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:56,920 Speaker 1: the troops once they arrived at his farm. The messenger 61 00:03:56,960 --> 00:03:59,600 Speaker 1: would have gone back out himself, but his horse was 62 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:02,880 Speaker 1: ex usted from the ride there, and besides, he wasn't 63 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:06,119 Speaker 1: all that familiar with the area, so finding the isolated 64 00:04:06,200 --> 00:04:09,320 Speaker 1: farms of the various militiamen would have taken him much 65 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:12,920 Speaker 1: more time than they had. That's where Sibyl came in. 66 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:16,039 Speaker 1: She knew where each member of the militia lived and 67 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:19,120 Speaker 1: could reach them all before daybreak if she acted quickly. 68 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:22,479 Speaker 1: Some accounts say Sybil was asked to take the ride 69 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:25,640 Speaker 1: by her father, while others report that she volunteered for 70 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:29,520 Speaker 1: the job herself. In either case, Sibyl mounted her horse, 71 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:32,720 Speaker 1: named Star, and set out into the night to warn 72 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:37,000 Speaker 1: that Danberry was under attack. First, she rode south to 73 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:40,160 Speaker 1: the village of Carmel and then further down into Mayo 74 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:44,160 Speaker 1: pac before turning north to Kent Mills, Farmer Mills, and 75 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:48,560 Speaker 1: then on to Stormville. She rode through a rainstorm over muddy, 76 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:52,400 Speaker 1: unmarked roads, and at every stop along her route, Sybil 77 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:55,039 Speaker 1: banged on doors with a stick and shouted that the 78 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:58,640 Speaker 1: British were sacking Danberry. She called for the militia to 79 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:01,920 Speaker 1: assemble at her father's farm, ready to march in defense 80 00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:06,320 Speaker 1: of the town. After riding through Stormville, Sybil turned south 81 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:10,080 Speaker 1: and headed for home. She arrived at dawn and discovered 82 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:13,680 Speaker 1: that nearly the entire regiment had heeded her call, some 83 00:05:13,839 --> 00:05:17,159 Speaker 1: four hundred men in total. The militias set out for 84 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 1: Danberry early that morning, but by the time they arrived 85 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:24,000 Speaker 1: it was too late. British soldiers had already looted all 86 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:27,599 Speaker 1: the food and munitions they could carry and burned everything else, 87 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:31,680 Speaker 1: including the rest of the town. However, the fight wasn't 88 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:36,600 Speaker 1: over just yet. Luddington's militia followed the British seventeen miles 89 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:39,760 Speaker 1: south the Ridge Field, where they then joined forces with 90 00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:45,160 Speaker 1: other American militias. The next morning, on April, the British 91 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:48,919 Speaker 1: troops were soundly defeated at the Battle of Ridgefield. The 92 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:53,240 Speaker 1: Americans had lost their Danberry stronghold, but they successfully cut 93 00:05:53,279 --> 00:05:56,479 Speaker 1: off the British advance and sent their enemies retreating to 94 00:05:56,520 --> 00:06:01,240 Speaker 1: the sea. As for Sybil, she married a fellow revolutionary 95 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:05,120 Speaker 1: named Edmund Ogden and had a son together named Henry, 96 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:08,760 Speaker 1: named after her father. The couple ran a tavern together 97 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:12,520 Speaker 1: in Catskill, New York, but after her husband died prematurely, 98 00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:14,760 Speaker 1: she spent the rest of her life as a widow 99 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:19,080 Speaker 1: until her death in eighteen thirty nine. Her wartime efforts 100 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:23,480 Speaker 1: were reportedly acknowledged during her lifetime by General George Washington, 101 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 1: but after that there wasn't much talk of Sibyl's midnight 102 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:32,320 Speaker 1: ride until nearly a hundred years later. In eighteen fifty four, 103 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:35,719 Speaker 1: Sibyl's nephew wrote a letter asking that she be included 104 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:39,360 Speaker 1: in a ceremony dedicated to heroes of the American Revolution. 105 00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:43,960 Speaker 1: My aunt Sybil, he wrote, rode on horseback in the 106 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:47,360 Speaker 1: dead of night through a country infested with cowboys and 107 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:52,400 Speaker 1: skinners to inform General Putnam in case you're wondering. The 108 00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:56,000 Speaker 1: skinners mentioned in the letter were a roving gang of 109 00:06:56,080 --> 00:06:59,800 Speaker 1: outlaws who pledged no loyalty to either side of the war. 110 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:05,159 Speaker 1: Her nephew's letter is the earliest known report of Sybil's ride, 111 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:09,480 Speaker 1: but there were others Not long after. In eighteen eighty, 112 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:12,920 Speaker 1: a New York history book recounted the episode, though the 113 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:15,800 Speaker 1: author only said she had gotten her information from the 114 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:20,520 Speaker 1: Luddington family and didn't cite specific sources. There was also 115 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:24,040 Speaker 1: a biography of Colonel Luddington released in nineteen oh seven 116 00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:27,920 Speaker 1: that included mention of Sybil's ride, but it's worth noting 117 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:31,480 Speaker 1: that the book was privately funded by Luddington's grandchildren and 118 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:36,640 Speaker 1: once again relied solely on family accounts. Of course, there's 119 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:40,840 Speaker 1: nothing inherently strange about sibyl story being forgotten for over 120 00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:44,320 Speaker 1: a hundred years. In fact, the same thing happened with 121 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:47,600 Speaker 1: Paul Revere. He didn't become a household name until the 122 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:51,600 Speaker 1: late nineteenth century, around the same time Sybil came to prominence. 123 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:57,160 Speaker 1: That timing wasn't a coincidence either. Eighteen seventy six mark 124 00:07:57,240 --> 00:08:01,160 Speaker 1: the country's centennial celebration, and in the patriotic build up 125 00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:05,080 Speaker 1: to that event, there was a renewed interest in colonial history. 126 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 1: This prompted many Americans to share old family stories for 127 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:11,560 Speaker 1: the first time, with some of the most interesting ones 128 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:14,960 Speaker 1: becoming a matter of public knowledge. All of this is 129 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:18,880 Speaker 1: to say that Sybil Luddington was absolutely a real person, 130 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 1: and it's entirely possible that her actions unfolded just as 131 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:27,440 Speaker 1: you've heard them today. However, because there is no impartial 132 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:31,320 Speaker 1: historical evidence of Sybil's ride, it's still a matter of 133 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:35,840 Speaker 1: debate among many historians. Of course, Sybil has no shortage 134 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:39,720 Speaker 1: of supporters either. In nineteen seventy five, the US Postal 135 00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:42,800 Speaker 1: Service featured an illustration of her on horseback for a 136 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:46,640 Speaker 1: series of commemorative stamps honoring the unsung heroes of the 137 00:08:46,679 --> 00:08:52,520 Speaker 1: Revolutionary War. There's also an annual Sibyl Luddington Ultra Marathon 138 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:55,760 Speaker 1: that follows the same route the teenagers believed to have 139 00:08:55,840 --> 00:09:00,360 Speaker 1: taken in seventeen seventy eight. More recently, sibyl story was 140 00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:04,880 Speaker 1: dramatized on Comedy Central's Drunk History Show, which might not 141 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:08,439 Speaker 1: be the most authoritative source for history, but is still 142 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:11,400 Speaker 1: a sign of how much more well known Sybils become 143 00:09:11,559 --> 00:09:16,280 Speaker 1: in the last few decades. Plenty of reputable outlets, authors, 144 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:20,840 Speaker 1: and organizations still believe the story of Sibyl Luttington's midnight ride, 145 00:09:21,280 --> 00:09:24,600 Speaker 1: but even those who don't still recognize the value in 146 00:09:24,679 --> 00:09:30,120 Speaker 1: what her story represents for example, in Paula D. Hunt 147 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:33,920 Speaker 1: published a paper in the New England Quarterly examining how 148 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:37,760 Speaker 1: Sybil's place in history has changed along with American culture 149 00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:42,040 Speaker 1: and politics. She's clear about the lack of definitive evidence 150 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:46,720 Speaker 1: for Sibyl's ride, but she also recognizes that ambiguity doesn't 151 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:49,840 Speaker 1: invalidate the story. As she says at the end of 152 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:56,400 Speaker 1: her paper, quote Sybil Luttington has embodied the possibilities, courage, individuality, 153 00:09:56,640 --> 00:10:02,319 Speaker 1: loyalty that Americans of different genders, generations, and political persuasions 154 00:10:02,559 --> 00:10:06,439 Speaker 1: have considered to be the highest aspirations for themselves and 155 00:10:06,559 --> 00:10:10,319 Speaker 1: for their country. The story of a lone teenage girl 156 00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:15,440 Speaker 1: writing for freedom, it seems, is simply too good not 157 00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:21,480 Speaker 1: to be believed. I'm Gabe Louisier and hopefully you now 158 00:10:21,559 --> 00:10:25,199 Speaker 1: know a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 159 00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:27,800 Speaker 1: If you want to keep up with the show, you 160 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:31,360 Speaker 1: can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t 161 00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:35,319 Speaker 1: d I HC Show, and if you have any comments 162 00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:38,240 Speaker 1: or suggestions, you can always send them my way at 163 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:41,840 Speaker 1: this day at I heeart media dot com. Thanks to 164 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:44,679 Speaker 1: Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thanks to you 165 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:47,840 Speaker 1: for listening. I'll see you back here again tomorrow for 166 00:10:47,920 --> 00:11:01,800 Speaker 1: another day in history class.