[6] Relatively unknown through the 1870s, Ludington's story gained recognition around the time of World War II, after New York State was convinced to place historic roadmarkers in locations she was speculated to have visited on her ride.

[13][14][15][16] Accounts originating in the 20th century, from the Ludington family, say Sybil played an important role after the British raid on Danbury, Connecticut.

[1][5][10] According to the story printed 140 years after the alleged feat,[1] on April 26, 1777, then 16-year-old Sybil Ludington rode 40 miles (64 km) from her hometown in Fredericksburg, New York (near Danbury, Connecticut) through Putnam County, New York, to rally approximately 400 militiamen under the command of her father, Colonel Henry Ludington, after British forces raided Danbury,[17] where the Continental Army had a supply depot.

[10] Modern accounts say Ludington was congratulated for her heroism by General George Washington;[14] more recent scholarship has raised doubt that the ride even took place.

According to Paula Hunt, writing in The New England Quarterly journal, "None of the sworn affidavits attesting to Henry Ogden’s military service and the legitimacy of Sybil's marriage mentioned her ride, nor did she attempt to claim it as justification for a pension.

"[7] Lamb stated that her account relied on sources including letters, sermons, genealogical compilations, wills, and court records to document details.

[1] She writes that neither of the original publications about the ride "had offered any information about Sybil's course",[21] and the purported route was devised speculatively by the project managers who later installed historic markers, a "relatively inexpensive but increasingly popular means for states and localities to promote tourism".

The Story of an American County and two New York news articles from 1995,[5][24] writing that:In Sybil's case, the state-sanctified historical roadside markers, statue, and postage stamp celebrating her ride, and the many books and newspaper and magazine articles that retold her story, had created an aura of authority that effectively dispelled any intermittent bouts of skepticism.

[1] Pollak wrote in 1975 in the New York Times that "Many children's books treat the account as historical fact", although the Putnam County Historian indicated there was "no solid evidence that Sybil actually made the ride".

Measures were immediately taken.In 1996, the national Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) said that the evidence was not strong enough to support their criteria for a war heroine, and added a note to an exhibition saying of the ride, "It's a great story, but there is no way to know whether or not it is true.

[5] Smaller versions of the statue are at the Daughters of the American Revolution headquarters in Washington, D.C.,[34] the public library in Danbury, Connecticut, and at Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.