Sybil Ludington Patroness of the CROTON RIVER NUMISMATIC SOCIETY This brave, sixteen year old woman, living in what was then Dutchess County, New York, ( since 1812 Putnam County ) was a young heroine of America’s Revolutionary War with Britain. Her circuitous forty mile ride in the dark of night encompassing: Redding Corners, Stormville, Lake Carmel, Carmel and Mahopac on the 26 th of April 1777, upon her horse “ Star “, succeeded in alerting her father’s militiamen to the fact that the enemy was burning the City of Danbury, Connecticut, a strategic warehousing point for the colonies. Her route today is marked by six New York State Historical Markers. Sybil rode her route with a tree branch in her hand that her father had given her to rap on the houses visited rather than dismount to raise the alarm. Once the militia was gathered in formation at Colonel Ludington’s farm, in Fredericksburg, they marched towards the city afire where they engaged and harassed the enemy into traveling south to Long Island Sound where their 20 transports and 6 warships were waiting to evacuate some 2000 British troops. During this encounter with the enemy, Sybil’s father, Henry, was the Commander of the 7 th Dutchess County Militia. He had formerly been a British soldier but then, enlightened to the colonist’s cause he switched allegiances. Later on in the war he was an Aide de Camp to General George Washington at the Battle of White Plains. It is interesting to note at this time that the spelling of Sybil’s name, S Y B I L wasn’t always so. The eight ( 8 ) other spellings are as follows: S I B Y L S I B E L S Y B E L C Y B A L S E B A L S E B E L S I B B E L L S Y B I L L E Despite that fact that the New York State marker at the former Presbyterian ( now Patterson Community ) Church says Sybil, her headstone in the cemetery reads: S I B B E L L , wife of Edmond Ogden who died Feb. 26, 1839, 77 Yrs, 10 Mo, 21 Days. Within the same line-plot as Sybil are her: father Henry, her mother Abigail, her sisters Sophia and Abigail as well as her brother Derick. Other siblings not in this plot are: Rebecca Mary Archibald Henry Tertullus Anne Frederick Lewis Today in Carmel, New York near the shoreline of Lake Gleneida, stands an impressive statue of our patroness in a pose that reflects her evening ride over 244 years ago. The piece was sculpted by the renown artist Anna Hyatt Huntington ( March 10, 1976 – October 4, 1973 ). The bronze work was dedicated on June3, 1961 with Anna and local dignitaries in attendance. Sitting astride her horse “ Star “, she is depicted grasping the reins in her left hand while holding a sizeable stick in her right to rap on the militiamen’s front doors to spread the alarm. She has an open mouth of “ alert “ and the facial expression of determination. Another interesting fact about this young heroine of ours is that in 1940 a man named Berton Braley wrote a poem about her entitled:” Sybil Ludington’s Ride”. The work is similar to the one written by Longfellow about the ride of Paul Revere. The final mention in this abbreviated history of Sybil Ludington is that in the year 1975 the United States Postal Service, in connection with the Daughters of the American Revolution issued an 8 cent stamp depicting the night ride she took with the caption “ Contributors To The Cause “ ( Youthful Heroine ). The stamp’s reverse does contain an error though. The USPS has her riding through the Connecticut countryside not New York. References used for this work are: Patriot Hero by Vincent T. Dacquino, The History Press. Rodeside America.com Wikipedia