Posted by R. Ann Siracusa
NEVER
TRUST WHAT A TOUR GUIDE SAYS
Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Paul Revere's Ride)
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Paul Revere's Ride)
Years ago I attended a
Women's History lecture given by a professor of Women's History from UC
Riverside. Among others, she talked about a woman who made a midnight ride similar
to Paul Revere's during the Revolutionary War. I didn't write the name down,
and for a long time I tried to find out who she was.
Later, on a tour of New
England, I visited many historic Revolutionary War sites. I asked every museum
docent and every tour guide about this woman, and the answer was, "No,
there's no such person. No woman did a ride like Paul Revere."
Not true! Who trains these
people?
It's sad that before 1970,
the serious study of women's history was almost non-existent. I suppose it's no
wonder that no one had heard of this woman or the many others who have played
significant roles in American and world history. According to American
Historian Gerda Lerner, before 1970,"People didn't think that women had a
history worth knowing."
MARCH
IS WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH
Today, nearly every
university has Women's History courses and most offer a doctoral degree in the
subject.
"Women's History
Week" began in 1978 in Sonoma County, California and it included March 8,
International Women's Day. In 1987 Congressed declared March as Women's History
Month.
SYBIL
LUDINGTON
Sybil Ludington (April 5,
1761 – February 26, 1839) was born in Fredericksburg, Kent, New York, the
daughter of Colonel Henry Ludington. She was the eldest of twelve children. On
April 26, 1777, at the age of sixteen, Sybil rode her horse, Star, 40 miles (twice
the distance of either Paul Revere or Jack Jouette) to warn the Patriots the
British were coming.
Sybil's
father was in charge of the local volunteers. When a soldier arrived at the
Ludington household with the news that the British had ransacked the supply
center at Danbury, Connecticut, and were heading for Fredericksburg, it was
necessary for the Colonel to muster the troops.
Sybil
jumped at the chance. She started out at 9 p.m. and ended her ride about dawn
the next day. She used a stick to prod her horse, knock on doors, and defend
herself against a highwayman. When she returned home, soaked and exhausted, 400
soldiers were ready to march. Thanks to her long ride, the Patriots were able
to force the British back to Long Island Sound.
Statue of Sybil by
Anna Hyatt Huntington
At the time, her ride wasn't
talked about, and the event wasn't recorded. Her great grandson was the first
to write about it. Today there are quite a few statues and monuments dedicated
to Sybil, so I have no idea why the tour guides I talked to in Connecticut (in
the early 1990's) had never heard of her.
PHILLIS
WHEATLEY
On my quest to find out more
about Sybil Ludington, I ran on to another woman I have to mention.
Phillis Wheatley was
America's first black woman to be published. A respected author and poet, she
was also a patriot and symbol for abolitionists.
Phillis was born in West
Africa (probably present day Gambia or Senegal) and sold into slavery at the
age of seven. In America she was purchased by a Boston family named Wheatley. The
family's 18-year-old daughter, Mary, and son, Nathaniel, taught her to read and
write. By the age of 12 she was reading Greek and Latin; at 14 she wrote her
first poem. John Wheatley, a progressive thinker, recognized her unique talent
and supported Phyllis's education.
Soon she was being praised
for her outstanding poetry. At the time, people questioned that an African
slave could write poetry, and she had to defend her authorship of her poems in
court in 1772. Still, American publishers wouldn't publish her book of poetry.
The next year, in 1773 (age
20), she traveled with Nathaniel Wheatley to London where chances of
publication were better. She was introduced to high society, and they were quite
enthusiastic about her work. Selina Hasting, the Countess of Huntingdon,
supported Phillis's poetry, and Wheatley's first book of poems was published in
London in 1773, dedicated to the Countess.
Phillis's poems were about learning
and virtue, patriotism, battles, and the greatness of America, but she was
reluctant to write about slavery. One poem was about George Washington, then
the leader of the Patriot Army, which she read to him in person. Phillis was
given her freedom in 1778, when John Wheatley provided for her freedom in his
will. Soon after, his daughter Mary died.
Phillis
married a free black grocer, but they lived in poor conditions and lost two
babies. She died in childbirth in 1784 at the age of 31.
"In every human Beast, God has
implanted a Principle, which we call Love of Freedom; it is impatient of
Oppression, and pants for Deliverance."
——Phillis Wheatley
——Phillis Wheatley
DO
YOU KNOW OF A LESSER-KNOWN WOMAN IN HISTORY WHO SHOULD BE MORE RECOGNIZED?
Resourceshttp://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173903
http://www.womeninbio.org/events/special-events/?gclid=CPy8lfvwpMsCFQYIaQodeVYFhA
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womensintro1.html
http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/score_lessons/women_american_revolution/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sybil_Ludington
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillis_Wheatley
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/revolut/jb_revolut_poetslav_1.html
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Phillis_Wheatley.aspx
2 comments:
OMG, I never knew anything or heard of these two women, makes me wonder how many more are never spoken about. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing. I knew about Phyllis and have read her works. There were also a woman who secretly became a Pony Express rider. Her story is told in the children's book Riding Freedom, and there was a female surgeon who masqueraded as a man during the Civil War. Both of these women had to hide their feminine qualities but still stood up for what they believed in.
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