Sybil Ludington’s Midnight Ride by Marsha Amstel has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine. It is a book in the “On My Own History” series.
Sybil Ludington’s Midnight Ride by Marsha Amstel has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine. It is a book in the “On My Own History” series.
In 1777, two years after Paul Revere’s famous midnight ride, 16-year-old Sybil Ludington makes her mark on American history. George Washington had allowed Sybil’s father, Colonel Henry Ludington, and his men to return home to plant their spring crops. It is April 26 when a messenger interrupts the colonel’s bedtime storytelling. He announces that 2,000 British soldiers have attacked the nearby town of Danbury, Conn. Washington and his men are too far away to handle the problem in time. The colonel and his men will have to march.
The farms on which Colonel Ludington’s men live are spread over 40 miles of countryside. General Washington’s messenger is too cold and exhausted to ride any farther, and the colonel needs to stay at home to give orders when the soldiers arrive. Sybil knows she is the only one who can call the men to action. She rides through the dark, rainy night — pounding on doors and windows with a stick to wake people at each farmhouse she passes. Neighbors tell neighbors, and word of the battle begins to spread. Sybil rides all night, braving the cold, wet darkness and avoiding bands of outlaws. Her father and his men surprise the British and force them back to their ships. Sybil’s courageous ride may have changed the outcome of the American Revolution.
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Sybil’s father is a colonel who works quickly to rally his men when the British attack a nearby city. Her mother takes care of eight children on the farm. She is uncomfortable sending Sybil out into the night as a messenger, but she eventually agrees, realizing there is no other option.
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