LUDINGTON, SYBIL

born April 5, 1761, Fredericksburg [now Ludingtonville], N.Y. died Feb. 26, 1839, Unadilla, N.Y., U.S. married name Sybil Ogden American Revolutionary War heroine, remembered for her valiant role in defense against British attack. Ludington was the daughter of Henry Ludington, a New York militia officer and later an aide to General George Washington. On April 26, 1777, a messenger reached the Ludington house with news of Governor William Tryon's attack on Danbury, Connecticut, some 15 miles (25 km) to the southeast, where the munitions and stores for the militia of the entire region were stored. Colonel Ludington began immediately to organize the local militia. The messenger and his horse being exhausted, Sybil volunteered to bear the order for muster and to rouse the countryside. Through the night the 16-year-old girl rode her horse nearly 40 miles (65 km) on unfamiliar roads around Putnam county, spreading the alarm. She ranged south to Mahopac and north to Stormville before returning home. In October 1784 Sybil married Edward Ogden, a lawyer, and she lived in Unadilla until her death.