Sybil Ludington

Sybil Ludington
Born	(1761-04-05)April 5, 1761
Died	February 26, 1839(1839-02-26) (aged 77) Unadilla, New York
Spouse	Edmond Ogden ​ ​ (m. 1784; died 1799)​

Sybil (or Sibbell) Ludington (April 5, 1761 – February 26, 1839) was an alleged heroine of the American Revolutionary War, though modern accounts dispute this. On April 26, 1777, at age 16, Ludington, the daughter of a colonel in the Colonial militia, Henry Ludington, is said to have made an all-night horseback ride 40 miles (64 km) to rally militia forces in neighboring towns after the burning of Danbury, Connecticut, by British forces.

Accounts of Ludington's ride are based on a brief mention in 1907 memoirs about her father, published privately by his grandchildren. A 2015 report in The New England Quarterly says there is little evidence backing the story,^[1] and whether the ride occurred has been questioned^[2][3][4][5] since at least 1956.^[6]

Relatively unknown through the 1870s, Ludington's story gained recognition around the time of World War II, after New York State was convinced to place historic roadmarkers in locations she was speculated to have visited on her ride. The myth grew thereafter, from memorial statues honoring her, to books being written about her, culminating with being honored on a United States Bicentennial postage stamp that was released on March 25, 1975, which depicts her on a horse.