Speaker 1: You know, history is filled with stories about everyday people
Speaker 1: who suddenly find themselves doing remarkable things. Paul Revere was
Speaker 1: just a forty year old silversmith in Boston when he
Speaker 1: wrote across the countryside to warn local militia in Massachusetts
Speaker 1: about the arrival of British troops in seventeen seventy five.
Speaker 1: But there's a lesser known story about a similar ride
Speaker 1: warning Connecticut militia in seventeen seventy seven. However, this individual
Speaker 1: was a sixteen year old girl. I'm Patti Steele the
Speaker 1: Midnight Ride of Sybil Luddington. Next on the backstory, We're
Speaker 1: back with the backstory. This episode, by the way, inspired
Speaker 1: by backstory fan James Davy of Verona, New Jersey. Thank you, James. So.
Speaker 1: Paul Revere was a forty year old silversmith in the
Speaker 1: lead up to the Revolutionary War. A devoted member of
Speaker 1: the Sons of Liberty, he organized an intelligence and alarm
Speaker 1: system up an eye on British troops. In seventeen seventy five,
Speaker 1: the drive toward independence was getting really hot. The Sons
Speaker 1: of Liberty found out that the British had plans to
Speaker 1: crack down on anybody supporting the revolutionary cause. They kept
Speaker 1: an eye on British troop movements, but there was no
Speaker 1: way to warn any militia members across Massachusetts other than
Speaker 1: in person, so they set up a plan. Late on
Speaker 1: the night of April eighteenth, seventeen seventy five, they put
Speaker 1: everything into motion. The sexton at Boston's Old North Church
Speaker 1: had been told to put one lantern in the steeple
Speaker 1: if the British were attacking by land, too if they
Speaker 1: were arriving on water. In this case, the British were
Speaker 1: trying to quietly slip in via the Charles River. While
Speaker 1: the two lanterns were only hung for about a minute,
Speaker 1: they did the trick. Paul Revere then set out with
Speaker 1: several others on the ride that readied the Continental troops,
Speaker 1: telling forty more riders along the way to spread the word. Ultimately,
Speaker 1: because they were ready, the Colonists beat the British at
Speaker 1: Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the Revolution. It
Speaker 1: was a shock to the arrogant British military commanders. So
Speaker 1: Paul Revere went on to fame and fortune as a silversmith,
Speaker 1: a military leader, and an industrialist, and of course his
Speaker 1: ride was forever remembered in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem Paul
Speaker 1: Revere's Ride, also known as the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.
Speaker 1: But there was another ride during the Revolution a couple
Speaker 1: of years later in Connecticut. Though pretty much undocumented historically
Speaker 1: except in family writings, it's the story of sixteen year
Speaker 1: old Sybil Luttington, and it was given enough credence that
Speaker 1: there were statues, historical plaques, and commemorative postage stamps created
Speaker 1: in her honor. The story wasn't printed until one hundred
Speaker 1: and forty years after the fact by the Luddington family
Speaker 1: as they published the Memoirs of Sybil's father. It's April
Speaker 1: twenty sixth, seventeen seventy seven. The British had attacked Danbury, Connecticut,
Speaker 1: and they began to burn the city, where the Continental
Speaker 1: Army had a supply depot. Sibyll's family lived nearby in Fredericksburg,
Speaker 1: New York, but her father, Colonel Henry Luddington, was forty
Speaker 1: miles away commanding four hundred militiamen. Once again, the only
Speaker 1: way to warn the troops was in person. The story
Speaker 1: goes that Sybil made an all night horseback ride. She
Speaker 1: traveled twice as far as Paul Revere did, forty miles
Speaker 1: on dirt roads in the pouring rain, facing attacks by
Speaker 1: outlaws and capture by the British. Her ride through Putnam County,
Speaker 1: New York was to rally militia forces in neighboring towns
Speaker 1: after the burning of Danbury, Connecticut by the British. The
Speaker 1: alerted troops from New York and Connecticut were ready for
Speaker 1: the British the next day and took them on in
Speaker 1: the Battle of Ridgefield. The British were forced to retreat.
Speaker 1: But here's the question, did it really happen? History is
Speaker 1: filled with undocumented story, largely because there weren't many ways
Speaker 1: to document events for most of history. Right well as
Speaker 1: far as Sibyl's ride goes, there are arguments on both sides.
Speaker 1: Sybil herself never wrote about it, but she was known
Speaker 1: as a modest, hard working woman who lost her husband
Speaker 1: early in life and worked very hard as an innkeeper
Speaker 1: in Catskill, New York to raise her son as a
Speaker 1: single mother. Her son went on to become a prominent
Speaker 1: lawyer and a New York State assemblyman. The first mention
Speaker 1: of her heroic ride didn't come until eighteen fifty four.
Speaker 1: It was from her nephew, Charles, who wanted his aunt
Speaker 1: to be recognized as a hero for her Now, as
Speaker 1: I mentioned later, in nineteen oh seven, there was a
Speaker 1: brief ride up of her ride that was published by
Speaker 1: descendants as part of Sibyl's father's memoirs, And there's even
Speaker 1: word from other sources that she was congratulated for her
Speaker 1: heroism by General George Washington and by Alexander Hamilton. Now,
Speaker 1: those that dispute her story base it on a lack
Speaker 1: of heard eva evidence. They say it never became a
Speaker 1: story until decades after her death in eighteen thirty nine.
Speaker 1: But here's the thing, a lot of similar stories about
Speaker 1: the Revolution didn't really take off until the eighteen seventies,
Speaker 1: when the United States was celebrating its centennial. Even Paul
Speaker 1: Revere's ride got no traction until the release of Henry
Speaker 1: Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, written in eighteen sixty and heavily publicized
Speaker 1: in the mid eighteen seventies. In fact, when Paul Revere
Speaker 1: died in eighteen eighteen, there was no mention of his
Speaker 1: midnight ride in his obituaries. The other argument about whether
Speaker 1: Sybyl's ride took place comes from historians who say, along
Speaker 1: with no hard proof, they also think the story, the monuments,
Speaker 1: the plaques, and postage stamps commemorating her all arrived simply
Speaker 1: thanks to New York and Connecticut pr types anxious to
Speaker 1: encourage tourism. Her story really took off around World War II,
Speaker 1: when New York State placed those histories road markers in
Speaker 1: spots where they believe she likely visited on her ride.
Speaker 1: Sybil's myth grew, More statues were built in her honor,
Speaker 1: books were written about her, and of course, there was
Speaker 1: the United States Bicentennial postage stamp, which was released March
Speaker 1: twenty fifth, nineteen seventy five. It shows Sybil galloping on
Speaker 1: her horse, shouting to militia on a rainy night, with
Speaker 1: fires burning in the background. It was part of Contributors
Speaker 1: to the Cause, a set of four stamps from the
Speaker 1: Postal Service recognizing unsung heroes. Did she do what some
Speaker 1: say she did or was she a perfect subject for
Speaker 1: a twenty century pr person working to beef up tourism? Well,
Speaker 1: the bottom line is we all want to believe in possibilities.
Speaker 1: The thought of a sixteen year old girl risking her
Speaker 1: life to deliver an existential message inspires us. And when
Speaker 1: you study the Founding fathers, you discover they weren't all
Speaker 1: that much older than Sybil herself. James Monroe and the
Speaker 1: Marquis de Lafayette were just eighteen in seventeen seventy six.
Speaker 1: Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton were twenty and twenty one,
Speaker 1: James Madison just twenty five, Thomas Jefferson was only thirty two.
Speaker 1: All making folks in their early forties like John Adams,
Speaker 1: George Washington, and Paul Revere looked positively ancient. And then
Speaker 1: there was a guy who was everybody thought pretty ancient,
Speaker 1: Ben Franklin. He was seventy years old that year. Sybil
Speaker 1: Luddington's story tells us about courage, and what all these
Speaker 1: people teach us is that having the guts to stand
Speaker 1: up for what you believe in isn't about age or
Speaker 1: even gender. It's about passion and determination. Again, I want
Speaker 1: to thank our backstory listener, James Davy of Verona, New Jersey,
Speaker 1: for suggesting this story. I hope you like the backstory
Speaker 1: with Patty Steele. I would love it if you would say.
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Speaker 1: and feel free to DM me like James did if
Speaker 1: you have a story you would like me to cover.
Speaker 1: On Facebook, It's Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele.
Speaker 1: I'm Patty Steele. The Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks,
Speaker 1: the Elvis Durand Group, and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer
Speaker 1: is Doug Fraser. Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new
Speaker 1: episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free to reach out
Speaker 1: to me with comments and even story suggestions on Instagram
Speaker 1: at Real Patty Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to the Backstory with Patty Steele, the
Speaker 1: pieces of history you didn't know you needed to know.