1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,960 Speaker 1: You know, history is filled with stories about everyday people 2 00:00:02,960 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: who suddenly find themselves doing remarkable things. Paul Revere was 3 00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:10,680 Speaker 1: just a forty year old silversmith in Boston when he 4 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:14,640 Speaker 1: wrote across the countryside to warn local militia in Massachusetts 5 00:00:14,920 --> 00:00:18,040 Speaker 1: about the arrival of British troops in seventeen seventy five. 6 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:21,680 Speaker 1: But there's a lesser known story about a similar ride 7 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:27,440 Speaker 1: warning Connecticut militia in seventeen seventy seven. However, this individual 8 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:31,120 Speaker 1: was a sixteen year old girl. I'm Patti Steele the 9 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:40,840 Speaker 1: Midnight Ride of Sybil Luddington. Next on the backstory, We're 10 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:44,560 Speaker 1: back with the backstory. This episode, by the way, inspired 11 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 1: by backstory fan James Davy of Verona, New Jersey. Thank you, James. So. 12 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:52,479 Speaker 1: Paul Revere was a forty year old silversmith in the 13 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:56,080 Speaker 1: lead up to the Revolutionary War. A devoted member of 14 00:00:56,120 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: the Sons of Liberty, he organized an intelligence and alarms 15 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:03,480 Speaker 1: system to keep an eye on British troops. In seventeen 16 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:07,520 Speaker 1: seventy five, the drive toward independence was getting really hot. 17 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:10,640 Speaker 1: The Sons of Liberty found out that the British had 18 00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:14,800 Speaker 1: plans to crack down on anybody supporting the revolutionary cause. 19 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:18,200 Speaker 1: They kept an eye on British troop movements, but there 20 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:21,920 Speaker 1: was no way to warn any militia members across Massachusetts 21 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:24,839 Speaker 1: other than in person, so they set up a plan. 22 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: Late on the night of April eighteenth, seventeen seventy five, 23 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:33,600 Speaker 1: they put everything into motion. The sexton at Boston's Old 24 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:36,679 Speaker 1: North Church had been told to put one lantern in 25 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:39,880 Speaker 1: the steeple if the British were attacking by land, two 26 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:43,080 Speaker 1: if they were arriving on water. In this case, the 27 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:46,759 Speaker 1: British were trying to quietly slip in via the Charles River. 28 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:50,400 Speaker 1: While the two lanterns were only hung for about a minute, 29 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:53,240 Speaker 1: they did the trick. Paul Revere then set out with 30 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 1: several others on the ride that readied the Continental troops, 31 00:01:57,200 --> 00:02:01,560 Speaker 1: telling forty more riders along the way to spread the word. Ultimately, 32 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 1: because they were ready, the Colonists beat the British at 33 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:09,240 Speaker 1: Lexington in Concord, the first battles of the Revolution. It 34 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:13,400 Speaker 1: was a shock to the arrogant British military commanders. So 35 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:16,520 Speaker 1: Paul Revere went on to fame and fortune as a 36 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:20,400 Speaker 1: silver smith, a military leader, and an industrialist, and of 37 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:24,840 Speaker 1: course his ride was forever remembered in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 38 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:28,760 Speaker 1: poem Paul Revere's Ride, also known as the Midnight Ride 39 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 1: of Paul Revere. But there was another ride during the 40 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:35,919 Speaker 1: Revolution a couple of years later in Connecticut. Though pretty 41 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:40,680 Speaker 1: much undocumented historically except in family writings, it's the story 42 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:43,840 Speaker 1: of sixteen year old Sybil Luddington, and it was given 43 00:02:43,919 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 1: enough credence that there were statues, historical plaques, and commemorative 44 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:52,160 Speaker 1: postage stamps created in her honor. The story wasn't printed 45 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 1: until one hundred and forty years after the fact by 46 00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:58,840 Speaker 1: the Luddington family as they published the Memoirs of Sybil's father. 47 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:05,399 Speaker 1: April twenty sixth, seventeen seventy seven, the British had attacked Danbury, Connecticut, 48 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:08,160 Speaker 1: and they began to burn the city, where the Continental 49 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:12,680 Speaker 1: Army had a supply depot. Sybil's family lived nearby in Fredericksburg, 50 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:16,239 Speaker 1: New York, but her father, Colonel Henry Luddington, was forty 51 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:20,840 Speaker 1: miles away commanding four hundred militiamen. Once again, the only 52 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:23,960 Speaker 1: way to warn the troops was in person. The story 53 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:27,280 Speaker 1: goes that Sybil made an all night horseback ride She 54 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:30,920 Speaker 1: traveled twice as far as Paul Revere did, forty miles 55 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 1: on dirt roads in the pouring rain, facing attacks by 56 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:38,560 Speaker 1: outlaws and capture by the British. Her ride through Putnam County, 57 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:42,280 Speaker 1: New York was to rally militia forces in neighboring towns 58 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:45,760 Speaker 1: after the burning of Danbury, Connecticut by the British. The 59 00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 1: alerted troops from New York and Connecticut were ready for 60 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:51,600 Speaker 1: the British the next day and took them on in 61 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:55,040 Speaker 1: the Battle of Ridgefield. The British were forced to retreat. 62 00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:59,520 Speaker 1: But here's the question, did it really happen? History is 63 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 1: filled with undocumented stories, largely because there weren't many ways 64 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:07,440 Speaker 1: to document events for most of history. Right well, as 65 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:10,880 Speaker 1: far as Sibyl's ride goes, there are arguments on both sides. 66 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:14,040 Speaker 1: Sybil herself never wrote about it, but she was known 67 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 1: as a modest, hard working woman who lost her husband 68 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:20,400 Speaker 1: early in life and worked very hard as an innkeeper 69 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:23,200 Speaker 1: in Catskill, New York to raise her son as a 70 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:26,120 Speaker 1: single mother. Her son went on to become a prominent 71 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:29,680 Speaker 1: lawyer and a New York State assemblyman. The first mention 72 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:33,480 Speaker 1: of her heroic ride didn't come until eighteen fifty four. 73 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:36,719 Speaker 1: It was from her nephew, Charles, who wanted his aunt 74 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:40,240 Speaker 1: to be recognized as a hero for her Now, as 75 00:04:40,279 --> 00:04:43,360 Speaker 1: I mentioned later, in nineteen oh seven, there was a 76 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:45,720 Speaker 1: brief ride up of her ride that was published by 77 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:50,120 Speaker 1: descendants as part of Sibyl's father's memoirs, And there's even 78 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:53,320 Speaker 1: word from other sources that she was congratulated for her 79 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:58,160 Speaker 1: heroism by General George Washington and by Alexander Hamilton. Now, 80 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:00,800 Speaker 1: those that dispute her story based on a lack of 81 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:04,760 Speaker 1: hard evidence. They say it never became a story until 82 00:05:04,839 --> 00:05:08,120 Speaker 1: decades after her death in eighteen thirty nine. But here's 83 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:11,360 Speaker 1: the thing, a lot of similar stories about the Revolution 84 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:15,160 Speaker 1: didn't really take off until the eighteen seventies, when the 85 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:19,640 Speaker 1: United States was celebrating its centennial. Even Paul Revere's ride 86 00:05:19,720 --> 00:05:24,400 Speaker 1: got no traction until the release of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, 87 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:28,240 Speaker 1: written in eighteen sixty and heavily publicized in the mid 88 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:32,679 Speaker 1: eighteen seventies. In fact, when Paul Revere died in eighteen eighteen, 89 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:36,440 Speaker 1: there was no mention of his midnight ride in his obituaries. 90 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:40,400 Speaker 1: The other argument about whether Sybil's ride took place comes 91 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:44,320 Speaker 1: from historians who say, along with no hard proof, they 92 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:47,560 Speaker 1: also think the story, the monuments, the plaques, and postage 93 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:51,680 Speaker 1: stamps commemorating her all arrived simply thanks to New York 94 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:56,640 Speaker 1: and Connecticut pr types anxious to encourage tourism. Her story 95 00:05:56,680 --> 00:05:59,720 Speaker 1: really took off around World War II, when New York 96 00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:03,440 Speaker 1: ditty place those historic road markers in spots where they 97 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:07,400 Speaker 1: believe she likely visited on her ride. Sybil's myth grew. 98 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:10,560 Speaker 1: More statues were built in her honor, books were written 99 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:13,320 Speaker 1: about her, and of course, there was the United States 100 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:18,000 Speaker 1: Bicentennial postage stamp, which was released March twenty fifth, nineteen 101 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:22,360 Speaker 1: seventy five. It shows Sybil galloping on her horse, shouting 102 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:25,479 Speaker 1: to militia on a rainy night, with fires burning in 103 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:29,160 Speaker 1: the background. It was part of Contributors to the Cause, 104 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:32,760 Speaker 1: a set of four stamps from the Postal Service recognizing 105 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:36,840 Speaker 1: unsung heroes. Did she do what some say she did 106 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:40,160 Speaker 1: or was she a perfect subject for a twenty century 107 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:44,400 Speaker 1: pr person working to beef up tourism? Well, the bottom 108 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:48,000 Speaker 1: line is we all want to believe in possibilities. The 109 00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:51,159 Speaker 1: thought of a sixteen year old girl risking her life 110 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:55,680 Speaker 1: to deliver an existential message inspires us. And when you 111 00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:59,120 Speaker 1: study the Founding Fathers, you discover they weren't all that 112 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:02,680 Speaker 1: much older than Zibil herself. James Monroe and the Marquis 113 00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:07,240 Speaker 1: de Lafayette were just eighteen in seventeen seventy six. Aaron 114 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:11,160 Speaker 1: Burr and Alexander Hamilton were twenty and twenty one, James 115 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:15,400 Speaker 1: Madison just twenty five, Thomas Jefferson was only thirty two. 116 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:19,080 Speaker 1: All making folks in their early forties like John Adams, 117 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:23,360 Speaker 1: George Washington, and Paul Revere looked positively ancient. And then 118 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:26,679 Speaker 1: there was a guy who was everybody thought pretty ancient, 119 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:30,800 Speaker 1: Ben Franklin. He was seventy years old that year. Sybil 120 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:34,680 Speaker 1: Luddington's story tells us about courage, and what all these 121 00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:37,840 Speaker 1: people teach us is that having the guts to stand 122 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:40,680 Speaker 1: up for what you believe in isn't about age or 123 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:45,520 Speaker 1: even gender. It's about passion and determination. Again, I want 124 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:49,000 Speaker 1: to thank our backstory listener, James Davy of Verona, New Jersey, 125 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:52,240 Speaker 1: for suggesting this story. I hope you like the backstory 126 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:54,680 Speaker 1: with Patty Steele. I would love it if you would 127 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 1: subscribe or follow for free to get new episodes delivered automatically. 128 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:02,600 Speaker 1: Feel free to DM me like James did, if you 129 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:05,240 Speaker 1: have a story you would like me to cover. On Facebook, 130 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:11,760 Speaker 1: It's Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm 131 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:16,360 Speaker 1: Patty Steele. The Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, 132 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 1: the Elvis Durand Group, and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer 133 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:23,760 Speaker 1: is Doug Fraser. Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new 134 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:27,320 Speaker 1: episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free to reach out 135 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:30,800 Speaker 1: to me with comments and even story suggestions on Instagram 136 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:34,000 Speaker 1: at Real Patty Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. 137 00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:37,360 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to the Backstory with Patty Steele, the 138 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:40,400 Speaker 1: pieces of history you didn't know you needed to know.