Teens of the Revolution: Meet five young people who risked their lives during the bloody war for our nations independence.

AuthorBubar, Joe
PositionTIMES PAST

When most people think of the heroes of the American Revolution, icons such as George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and John Adams usually come to mind. But many of the colonists called on to fight the battle for independence were unsung teenagers.

In 1774, fed up with the taxes imposed on the American Colonies by Britain's King George III, colonial leaders held their first Continental Congress in Philadelphia to challenge Britain's rule. The following year, the Congress approved the formation of a Continental Army and named Washington as its commander. But who would fight? Half of the 2.8 million people living in the 13 Colonies then were 16 or younger, so young people were needed to fill the ranks.

Officially, soldiers had to be at least 16, but boys as young as 10 sometimes enlisted, either with their parents' permission or by hiding their age. Young girls aided the cause too, taking care of and defending farms and delivering messages across enemy lines. For some young people, especially the poor, the war offered an opportunity to display their patriotism and forge a new life in a new nation.

"The promise of the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is certainly on the minds of a lot of teens of the period," says Matthew Skic, a curator at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. "They are thinking about how they can take action to help determine their future."

These are the stories of five young people who played important roles in the Revolutionary War.

Sybil Ludington, 16 * Riding in the Dead of Night to Save Her Village

One spring night in 1777, a messenger pounded on the door of the house in Fredericksburg, New York, where 16-year-old Sybil Ludington lived with her parents and siblings. The man had come with a warning: British troops were destroying the nearby town of Danbury.

Located just 12 miles away in Connecticut, Danbury was a key supply base for the Continental Army. Earlier that day, about 2,000 British soldiers had ransacked the town, setting fire to thousands of pounds of goods, torching houses, and forcing the residents to flee.

The messenger had ridden several miles on horseback from Danbury to reach Sybil's father, Colonel Henry Ludington, who was the leader of the local militia of farmers and laborers. The colonel's forces were needed to fight off the British, but his men were spread over many miles. Someone would have to ride into the night and gather them. After his long journey, the messenger was too exhausted to go any further, and Sybil's father needed to stay home to organize his men when they arrived.

Fearing that Fredericksburg could be the British Army's next target, Sybil mounted her horse and made the ride. At houses scattered across the countryside, she banged on doors, waking families and calling the men to battle. By the time she returned home, just before dawn, her father's men were assembling nearby. Militiamen from the area were joining Continental Army units as they rushed to Connecticut to fight.

In end, the British forces got away. But Sybil's ride would make her a symbol of the role everyday people played in winning independence. Her story was kept alive privately by her family, and in 1880 one of her descendants shared it with a historian. From there, the legend of Sybil's ride has grown.

"She was a tough woman who did what she had to do," historian Vincent Dacquino, who has written four books about her, has said. "[She was] exactly what Americans are made of."

--Bryan Brown

Austin Dabney, 14* Fighting for the Nation's Freedom-and His Own

In 1779, Austin Dabney, an enslaved 14-year-old In Georgia, was sent into battle against the British. Austin's owner, Richard Aycock, didn't want to fight in the war. So, like many enslaved people, Austin was forced to serve in his owner's place.

General George Washington had initially sought to bar blacks from joining the Army, amid white Southerners' fears that arming them might lead them to revolt. But in November 1775, the British promised freedom to enslaved people who fought as loyalists, prompting Washington to reverse his stance on allowing freed blacks into the Army. "Success will depend," he stated, "on which side can arm Negroes faster."

In reality, both freed and enslaved blacks served. Austin was one of more than 5,000 blacks who fought on the side of the Patriots. An estimated 20,000 took up arms for the British.

Austin suffered a thigh wound in battle that left him disabled. But after the war, he received better treatment than most black soldiers. The state of Georgia paid 70 pounds to Aycock for Austin's freedom. He also became the only black veteran to be granted land by the state for his "bravery and fortitude" and one of the few to be given a military pension for his injury.

Slavery remained entrenched in the South long after the war. But the efforts of black soldiers like Austin helped fuel an abolitionist movement that led to slavery gradually being outlawed in the North, says Alan Gilbert, the author of Black Patriots and Loyalists.

"Many whites thought rightly that it was completely dishonorable to fight for the rights of human beings--life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," Gilbert says, "and deny them to lots of human beings."

Emily Geiger, 18 Outwitting the British to Deliver a Message

In July 1781, Emily Geiger, 18, set out on a dangerous mission: to deliver a message from General Nathanael Greene to General Thomas Sumter, calling for reinforcements. General Greene's troops had been fighting the British near Greenville, South Carolina, but...

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