OEN enthusiastically announces a new feature, "Uppity Women Wednesdays," a first-Wednesday-of-the-month posting of a story about an uppity woman or two, selected by author Vicki León from one of her books. In this introduction, we celebrate with two exciting stories of inspiring young American Revolutionary horsewomen.

::::::::

OEN enthusiastically announces a new feature, "Uppity Women Wednesdays," a first-Wednesday-of-the-month posting of a story about an uppity woman or two, selected by author Vicki Leónfrom one of her books. In this introduction, we celebrate with two exciting stories of inspiring young American Revolutionary horsewomen.

I interviewed Vicki last month in Uppity Women in History/Herstory: Interview with Author Vicki Leon.

Vickiis the author of a series of inspiring books about "Uppity Women" through the ages. Engaging and humorous, as well as enlightening, all of the books are based on her meticulous research. The series has sold over 350,000 copies, and her newest book is 4000 Years of Uppity Women (MJFine Books, 2011). Vicki has also written a much-praised trilogy on the Greco-Roman world which sheds new light on early science, superstition, and sexuality as well as the workplace shared by men and women of long ago.



We are starting this series in April because it is the traditional beginning of the new year. Pope Gregory replaced the Julian calendar with the Gregorian calendar in 1582, relocating New Year's Day to January first. Prior to that time, people celebrated the new year in late March or early April, close to the time of the vernal equinox, when the earth, herself, births a new cycle. According to tradition, people who chose to continue celebrating the new year according to earth cycles were ridiculed for it, being called "April Fools." But we all know that Mother Nature has the last laugh!

So in honor of our Mother Earth's new annual cycle, we celebrate with a story of two inspiring American Revolutionary heroines excerpted from Leon's book, 4000 Years of Uppity Women, pp 196 - 197 (photos added for this OEN version):

Revered by Far Too Few

Two years after Paul Revere's much-swooned-over midnight ride, a 16-year-old from Fredericksburg, New York, rode her favorite horse, Star, to warn of another British approach. On her rain-soaked ride of April 26, 1777, Sybil Ludington galloped twice as far as Paul Revere, knocking on farmhouse doors along a 40-mile route.

Sybil Ludington, statue by Anna Hyatt Huntington
(Image by (From Wikimedia) Anthony22, Author: Anthony22)   Details   Source   DMCA

"Two thousand Redcoats are raiding Danbury -- muster at Ludington's!" was her message. Sybil must have been quite a horsewoman; her route was rugged, hilly, and fraught with danger. At one point the young woman had to ward off a highwayman with her dad's musket. Although she roused a substantial number of volunteers, enemy troops managed to escape to their ships. Sybil's hometown was later renamed Ludingtonville in her honor.

There were revered deeds by other heroines on horseback, too, including 22-year-old Deborah Champion, who rode from her home in Connecticut for two days to reach George Washington with urgent dispatches from her region.

(Image by CHM)   Details   DMCA

She bluffed her way through enemy lines, later writing about her mission: "Pulling my calash cap still further over my face, I went on with what boldness I could muster. Suddenly I was ordered to halt. . . . A soldier in a red coat proceeded to take me to headquarters, but I told him it was too early to wake the captain and to please let me pass for I had been sent in urgent haste to see a friend in need, which was true if ambiguous. To my joy, he let me go, saying, "Well, you are only an old woman anyway,' evidently as glad to get rid of me as I of him."

(Image by (From Wikimedia) Pearson Scott Foresman, Author: Pearson Scott Foresman)   Details   Source   DMCA

Unlike icon Paul Revere, who was captured by the Brits ten miles into his ride (Longfellow's poem failed to mention that little mishap), Sybil and Deborah both completed their missions.

Meryl Ann Butler: I've been to Sybil's grave site, she is buried near her father in the old Maple Hill cemetery in Patterson, New York, not far from her route during her exciting ride. (During Revolutionary times, variations on spellings of proper names were common, note the use of "Sibbell" here.)

I was surprised to see that her gravestone only mentions that she was the wife of Edward Ogden! But the Enoch Crosby Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution has been instrumental in keeping Ludington's story in the public eye.

Thanks, Vicki, for sharing these great stories with us! I'm thrilled to be introducing this monthly feature. You'll be taking over, starting in May. Do you have anything else to share with us about what we have to look forward to?

Vicki Leon: I'm tickled to be given the opportunity to connect further with your readers about women of long ago! And, since May includes Mother's Day, I will be presenting a trio of very unusual "mother love" stories, extraordinary ones from three different eras. The first involves a mom and son at the ancient Olympic Games in Greece. The second "it's complicated" story comes from first century B.C. Rome, and profiles a mother whose love (and forgiveness) extended to the offspring of her husbands. And ex-husbands! The third woman in my May trio? An aristocratic Englishwoman whose altruistic actions not only saved her own children from a dire disease -- but saved the fledgling American colonies as well.

MAB: Thanks, Vicki, we're looking forward to next month's celebration of uppity women!

See Vicki Leon's Uppity Women Wednesdays series on OpedNews here.

4000 Years of Uppity Women, is only available through Barnes & Noble, at stores everywhere and at bn.com.

Vicki Leon's website is here.

Vicki Leon's Facebook page is here.

Deborah Champion's letter explaining her adventure is here.

Meryl Ann Butler's article about Sybil Ludington's ride is here.

Photos of Deborah Champion's cloak and cup are used by kind permission from the Connecticut Historical Society.

The Connecticut Historical Society is a private, not-for-profit museum, library, research and educational center founded in 1825. It houses an extensive and comprehensive Connecticut-related collection of manuscripts, printed material, artifacts and images that document social, cultural, and family history. The CHS is located at One Elizabeth Street, Hartford, CT 06105. (860) 236-5621 http://www.chs.org

Authors Website: http://www.OceanViewArts.com

Authors Bio:

Meryl Ann Butler is an artist, author, educator and OpedNews Managing Editor who has been actively engaged in utilizing the arts as stepping-stones toward joy-filled wellbeing since she was a hippie. She began writing for OpEdNews in Feb, 2004. She became a Senior Editor in August 2012 and Managing Editor in January, 2013. In June, 2015, the combined views on her articles, diaries and quick link contributions topped one million. She was particularly happy that her article about Bree Newsome removing the Confederate flag was the one that put her past the million mark.

Her art in a wide variety of media can be seen on her YouTube video, "Visionary Artist Meryl Ann Butler on Creativity and Joy" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcGs2r_66QE

A NYC native, her response to 9-11 was to pen an invitation to healing through creativity, entitled, "90-Minute Quilts: 15+ Projects You Can Stitch in an Afternoon" (Krause 2006), which is a bestseller in the craft field. The sequel, MORE 90-Minute Quilts: 20+ Quick and Easy Projects With Triangles and Squares was released in April, 2011. Her popular video, How to Stitch a Quilt in 90 Minutes with Meryl Ann Butler can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrShGOQaJQ8

She has been active in a number of international, arts-related projects as a citizen diplomat, and was arts advisor to Baltimore's CIUSSR (Center for Improving US-Soviet Relations), 1987-89. She made two trips to the former USSR in 1987 and 1988 to speak to artists, craftpeople and fashion designers on the topic of utilizing the arts as a tool for global wellbeing. She created the historical "First US-Soviet Children's Peace Quilt Exchange Project" in 1987-88, which was the first time a reciprocal quilt was given to the US from the former USSR.

Her artwork is in collections across the globe.

Meryl Ann is a founding member of The Labyrinth Society and has been building labyrinths since 1992. She publishes an annual article about the topic on OpEdNews on World Labyrinth Day, the first Saturday in May.

OpEdNews Senior Editor Joan Brunwasser interviewed Meryl Ann in "Beyond Surviving: How to Thrive in Challenging Times" at https://www.opednews.com/articles/Beyond-Surviving--How-to-by-Joan-Brunwasser-Anxiety_Appreciation_Coronavirus_Creativity-200318-988.html

Find out more about Meryl Ann's artistic life in "OEN Managing Ed, Meryl Ann Butler, Featured on the Other Side of the Byline" at https://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/OEN-Managing-Ed-Meryl-Ann-in-Life_Arts-Artistic_Artists_Quilt-170917-615.html

On Feb 11, 2017, Senior Editor Joan Brunwasser interviewed Meryl Ann in Pink Power: Sister March, Norfolk, VA at http://www.opednews.com/articles/Pink-Power-Sister-March--by-Joan-Brunwasser-Pussy-Hats-170212-681.html

"Creativity and Healing: The Work of Meryl Ann Butler" by Burl Hall is at
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Creativity-and-Healing--T-by-Burl-Hall-130414-18.html

Burl and Merry Hall interviewed Meryl Ann on their BlogTalk radio show, "Envision This," at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/envision-this/2013/04/11/meryl-ann-butler-art-as-a-medicine-for-the-soul

Archived articles www.opednews.com/author/author1820.html
Older archived articles, from before May 2005 are here.