Sybil Ludington Statue

Statue commemorating the 16-year-old whose midnight ride was longer than Paul Revere's

The statue of Sybil Ludington, created by sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington in 1961, stands on the shores of Lake Gleneida in Carmel, New York, about 15 miles southwest of Danbury — but it commemorates a Danbury event and is closely associated with the city's Revolutionary War history. Sybil Ludington's midnight ride in 1777 rallied the local militia after British troops burned Danbury to the ground.

A copy of the statue also stands near Lake Carmel and several plaques around Danbury mark the event. The original burning of Danbury and subsequent Battle of Ridgefield is one of the more significant Revolutionary War actions in Connecticut, and the Danbury Museum covers the episode in detail. If you are visiting by car, the Carmel statue is a worthwhile stop on the drive south.

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A story
On the night of April 26, 1777, Sybil Ludington rode 40 miles through the darkness — twice the distance of Paul Revere's famous ride — to rally militia fighters after British forces burned Danbury. She was 16 years old. Congress has honored her, the postal service has issued a stamp, and historians acknowledge her ride but she has never quite entered the national mythology the way Revere did. The statue is partly an act of correction.

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