The Weekend File - October 24, 2020
/Weekend Notes
Who is Sybil Ludington?
Everyone knows who Paul Revere is, and with good reason: "… the midnight ride of Paul Revere, On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-Five: Hardly a man is now alive …" Yes, the famed Paul Revere set out on horseback on April 18, 1775 to raise the alarm that British troops were on their way from Boston to Lexington.
Revere rode about 20 miles through what is now Somerville, Medford, and Arlington, Massachusetts, knocking on doors to raise people to defend Lexington. Revere was captured during his ride. It was a good ride for Revere, and it was good for the revolution.
But have you heard of Sybil Ludington?
A little over two years after Paul Revere's ride, a 16-year-old girl did the original midnight riders one better. Sybil Ludington rode twice as far as Revere did, by herself, over bad roads, and in an area known for outlaws, to raise Patriot troops to fight in the Battle of Danbury and the Battle of Ridgefield in Connecticut.
Sybil was the eldest of 12 children of Col. Henry Ludington, the commander of the militia in Dutchess County, New York. Ludington’s farm was a receiving center for information collected by spies for the American cause.
In April 1777, Colonel Ludington and the members of his militia were at their homes because it was planting season. But about 9 p.m. on the evening of April 26, he received word that the British were burning Danbury. The man who brought the news had worn out his horse and he didn’t know the area. Ludington needed to stay where he was to help arrange the troops as they arrived. So he sent his daughter, who knew the roads well.
Sybil spent the night traveling down narrow dirt roads in the rain with nothing but a stick as protection. To add another element of danger, there were many British loyalists in the area and more than a few outlaws on the roads. One account of her ride says that Sybil used her stick to defend herself against an outlaw who accosted her.
By dawn, Sybil had made it back to her family farm where the militia men were gathering with her father. By this time, the British had gone south from Danbury to Ridgefield. The militia of Dutchess County, led by Colonel Ludington, marched 17 miles to Ridgefield and took part in the battle there, which some considered a strategic victory for the American forces.
So while Henry Wadsworth Longfellow has made it easy for us all to remember Paul Revere's Ride, let's also not forget to teach our children about the brave teenage girl, Sybil Ludington!
Legal Notes
Can I Be Fired Because Of My Political Beliefs?
It's election time, and in these emotionally-charged times there are lots of disputes arising in the workplace over politics. Can you be fired because of your political beliefs? Maybe. It depends on where you live.
Weekend Readings & Entertainment
Nearly 5,000 inmates have died in U.S. jails without getting their day in court. Reuters investigates the fatalities in America’s biggest jails.
“Many women arrived here with only the clothes on their backs and the recipes inside their heads. Cooking again, having a kitchen in which to cook, was a sign of rebuilding; cooking the dishes they knew from home was a comfort and a pleasure, and a way to retain some European identity. You anchored your new family in the tastes of your old home.”
COVID Has Caused Millions to Lose their Sense of Smell
One Writer’s Journey to a Scentless Life and Back
Netflix: The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best streaming video this week is "The Trial of the Chicago 7" on Netflix. Written by Aaron Sorkin (has written a lot of great TV, including the West Wing). Here is a review of the film from NYT.
