AMERICAN HISTORY FROM A Spectacular Ride

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Copyright © 2016 by Carus Publishing Company. All rights reserved, including right of reproduction in whole or in part, in any form. by Drollene P. Brown All Cricket Media material is copyrighted by Carus Publishing Company, d/b/a Cricket Media, illustrated by David Harrington and/or various authors and illustrators. Any commercial use or distribution of material without permission is strictly prohibited. Please visit cricketmedia.com/licensing for licensing and cricketmedia.com for subscriptions.

ISBN 978-0-8126-6504-8 he evening sky that appeared on April 26, 1777, was not natural. The red glow was in the east, not in the west where the sun was setting. Sixteen-year-old T Sybil, the eldest of eight children in the Ludington family, could see the worry in her mother’s eyes. Would her husband, Henry Ludington, have to go away again? Henry was the colonel and commander of the only Colonial militia regiment between Danbury, Connecticut, and Peekskill, New York. Thudding hooves in the yard abruptly ended the family’s evening meal. Henry went to the door as Sybil and her sister Rebecca got up and began to clear the table. The girls were washing dishes when their father came back into the room with the courier at his side. “Here,” said the colonel, “sit you down and have some supper.” Sybil glanced over her shoulder and saw that the weary messenger was no older than she.

2 Across the room, her parents were talking together in low tones. Her father’s voice rose. “Sybil, leave the dishes and come here,” he said. Obeying quickly, she overheard her father as he again spoke to her mother. “Abigail, she is a skilled rider. It is Sybil who has trained Star, and the horse will obey her like no other.” Turning to his daughter, Colonel Ludington said, “That red glow in the sky is from Danbury. British soldiers are burning it. There are about 2,000 soldiers, and they’re heading for Ridgefield. I must stay here to organize and prepare for the battle that comes, but someone must alert our men. They will have to leave their families and crops again. The lull in fighting is over.” “I’ll go! Star and I can do it!” Sybil exclaimed. She faced her mother. “Star is sure of foot and will carry me safely.”

3 “There are dangers other than slippery paths,” her mother said. “Outlaws or deserters or even British soldiers may be on the road. You must be wary in a way that Star cannot.” “I can do it,” Sybil declared. Without another word, Abigail turned to fetch a woolen cape to protect her daughter from the wind and rain. One of the boys was sent to saddle Star, and Sybil soon swung up onto her sturdy horse. The colonel placed a stick into her hand. As though reciting an oath, she repeated her father’s directions: “Go south by the river, then along Horse Pound Road to Mahopac Pond. From there, turn right to Red Mills, then go north to Stormville.” And then she was off. As Sybil approached the first few isolated houses, windows or doors flew open. The sound of a galloping horse at that time of night put people on alert. She shouted her message and rode on. As she neared a small hamlet, she could see many small houses at the edge of Shaw’s Road, but everyone was in bed. Lights had not flared up at the Ludington’s regiment marched out to join the Connecticut militia. They helped rout sound of Star’s hoofbeats, and Sybil pulled the horse to a halt. Then she rode up to the British at Ridgefield, driving them back to their ships on Long Island Sound. one cottage after another and beat on each door with her stick. “Look at the sky!” she Afterward, General George Washington gave his personal thanks to Sybil for her shouted. “Danbury’s burning! All men muster at Ludington’s!” courageous deed. Today, visitors to Putnam County, New York, can follow roadside At each village or cluster of houses, she repeated a similar cry. When lights began markers that retrace Sybil’s route. A statue of Sybil on horseback stands at Lake to shine and people were yelling and moving about, she spurred her horse onward. Gleneida in Carmel, New York. And in 1978, a commemorative postage stamp was Sometimes, the paths Sybil rode on were slippery with mud and wet stones, and the issued in her honor, bringing national attention to the heroic terrain was often hilly and wooded. Sybil’s ears strained for sounds of other riders young girl who rode for independence. ❀ who might try to steal her horse or stop her mission. Twice she pulled Star off the path while unknown riders passed within a few feet. By the time they reached Stormville, FAST FACT Sybil’s voice was almost gone. But the town’s call to arms was sounding as horse and Today, it might take an hour to drive Sybil rider turned homeward. Ludington’s nearly 40- Covered with mud and tired beyond belief, Sybil could barely stay on Star’s back mile route. On that rainy night on horseback, it as they rode into their own yard close to dawn. She had ridden nearly 40 miles that probably took Sybil at night. Several hundred men were milling about. She had roused them in time, and least three hours.

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