Simon Girty

Simon Girty (14 November 1741 – 18 February 1818) was an interpreter with the British Indian Department during the American Revolutionary War and Northwest Indian War. As a child he and his brothers James and George were captured and adopted by Native Americans. Freed after living with the Seneca for seven years, Girty worked as a trader and interpreter. During the American Revolution he became disillusioned with the Patriot cause, and in 1778, fled to Fort Detroit where he was hired as an interpreter for the British Indian Department. Girty accompanied Britain's Indigenous allies during the 1780 expedition against Kentucky's frontier settlements and was present at Lochry's Defeat in 1781. Girty was held complicit when the Lenape tortured Colonel William Crawford to death following the Battle of Sandusky. He continued to serve with the British Indian Department for many years after the 1783 Peace of Paris. Girty witnessed the defeat of the Northwestern Confederacy at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794. After the British withdrew from Fort Detroit following the Jay Treaty, he settled across the Detroit River near Amherstburg where he died in 1818.

Early life

Simon Girty was born in 1741 to Simon Girtee and Mary Newton in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Girty's father emigrated to Pennsylvania sometime in the early 1730s from Ireland, and was employed as a pack horse driver and trader. Girtee and Mary had four sons: Thomas, Simon, James, and George.

In 1749, Girty's father moved his family across the Susquehanna River and squatted on Shermans Creek on land that had yet to be ceded to the Pennsylvanian government. An Indigenous delegation met with Pennsylvania governor James Hamilton who ordered the squatters evicted. In 1750, Girtee was fined and forced to return to Lancaster County.

Late in 1750, Girty's father was killed during an argument with Samuel Saunders (or Sanders). Saunders was arrested, tried, convicted of manslaughter, and imprisoned. While court records show that Saunders was the culprit, early biographers such as Consul Willshire Butterfield recorded that Girty's father was killed during "a drunken frolic" by an Indigenous man named The Fish.

In 1753, Mary Girty married John Turner. Their son John was born the following year. Following a land purchase by the Penn family in 1755, Turner brought his family across the Susquehanna and settled on Shermans Creek close to where the Girtys had lived previously.

During the French and Indian War, Turner brought his wife and children to Fort Granville for protection. In July 1756, the fort was besieged by a combined French and Indigenous led by Louis Coulon de Villiers. Following the fort's surrender, Turner and his family were taken captive by the Shawnee and brought to Kittanning. Mary and her children were forced to watch as John was tortured to death. Mary and her youngest son were then separated from the older boys and taken to Fort Desquesne.

Kittanning was destroyed in September 1756 in an expedition led by Lieutenant Colonel John Armstrong. Thomas was rescued but Simon, James and George remained captives. The three boys were soon separated. Simon was given to the Seneca, James to the Shawnee, and George to the Lenape (Delaware).

Girty was adopted by a Seneca family following rituals that included running the gauntlet. He lived with the Seneca in western Pennsylvania for several years, and was likely mentored by the influential leader Guyasuta. Girty became fluent in Seneca and also learned to speak several other Iroquoian languages. Some sources state that Girty was turned over to the English at Fort Pitt following the 1758 Treaty of Easton. Other sources maintain that he continued to live with the Seneca until the end of Pontiac's War in 1764.

Lord Dunmore's War

Girty was reunited with his family at the home of his brother Thomas who had settled at Squirrel Hill a few miles east of Fort Pitt. George and their mother had been freed a few years earlier and were living with Thomas. James was returned from captivity at the time as Simon, and their half-brother, John Turner, was repatriated in May 1765. For the next several years Girty was employed as an interpreter by British Indian Department agent Alexander McKee, and as a hunter by George Morgan of the Philadelphia trading firm Baynton, Wharton, and Morgan. In the summer of 1768, Girty was hired by an associate of Morgan as the foreman of a buffalo hunting expedition on the Cumberland River. Girty was one of the few who escaped when the expedition was ambushed by a Shawnee war party. Later that year Girty and McKee served as interpreters at a conference between Sir William Johnson, his deputy George Croghan, and representatives of the Iroquois that led to the Treaty of Fort Stanwix. In 1772 and 1773, McKee hired Girty to escort Guyasuta to meetings with Johnson at Johnson Hall in Tryon County, New York.

The Treaty of Fort Stanwix extended the western boundary of Virginia into present-day Kentucky and West Virginia, and opened the region south of the Ohio River to European settlement. The Shawnee, however, refused to recognize the authority of the Iroquois to cede the area. Although the Iroquois claimed sovereignty by right of conquest, the Shawnee had long used the land as their traditional hunting grounds. Shawnee raids on isolated frontier farms began shortly after settlers began to arrive and soon intensified.

At Fort Pitt, McKee relied on Guyasuta and the Delaware sachem Koquethagechton, commonly known as White Eyes, to dissuade the Delaware, Mingo and Wyandot from joining the Shawnee, with Girty serving as a messenger and interpreter. On 30 April 1774, however, Daniel Greathouse and his followers massacred thirteen peaceable Mingo at Baker’s Bottom on the Ohio River. In retaliation, Talgayeeta, the Mingo leader known as Logan, whose family were among the victims, began attacking farms in the Monongahela River valley.

In May 1774, John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore used his executive power as Virginia's royal governor to mobilize the county militias and take action "to pacify the hostile Indian war bands." By the beginning of October, 1,200 men had assembled at Fort Gower at the confluence of the Ohio and Hockhocking rivers. Dunmore planned to rendezvous with a body of 800 men commanded by Colonel Andrew Lewis (soldier) before moving against the Shawnee villages on the Scioto River.. Girty was employed by Dunmore as a scout and messenger.

Lewis arrived at the confluence of the Kanawha and Ohio rivers on 6 October and established a fortified camp. At dawn on October 10, the encampment was attacked by roughly 800 Shawnee warriors led by Hokoleskwa, commonly known as Cornstalk. The Battle of Point Pleasant lasted for hours until Lewis was able to force the Shawnee to withdraw back across the Ohio River. The Virginian suffered 75 killed and 140 wounded in "a hard-fought battle" that raged from sunrise to sunset. Girty had two days earlier delivered a message to Lewis but had returned to Fort Gower well before the battle.

On Oct 11, Dunmore began advancing along the Hockhocking River towards the main Shawnee town of Chillicothe. Lewis was ordered "to march soon to the hawneeTowns & Join him on the way." A few days later Dunmore established Camp Charlotte on the Pickaway Plains close to several Shawnee villages. Hokleskwa sent a message to the Virginians requesting a meeting to discuss peace. John Gibson and Girty were dispatched with Dunmore's reply. On October 19, Hokleskwa and other Shawnee leaders meet with Dunmore at Camp Charlotte. The Shawnee agreed to end their raiding, repatriate their captives, and relinquish their claim to the territory south of the Ohio River.

Talgayeeta, who had not been at the Battle of Point Pleasant, was not present at the Treaty of Camp Charlotte. Girty was sent to find the Mingo leader and convince him to meet with Dunmore. The Mingo war leader refused but had Girty memorize a carefully worded message in which Talgayeeta declared that "I have fully glutted my vengeance. For my country, I rejoice at the beams of peace." Upon his return to Camp Charlotte, Girty dictated the message to Gibson who presented it to Dunmore.

American Revolutionary War

After the Battle of Point Pleasant ended, and Major Crawford returned to Fort Pitt, Girty attempted to marry Crawford's daughter and frequented Crawford's residence multiple times. Crawford rejected the proposal, and shortly thereafter Girty deserted his post at Fort Pitt, perhaps in part due to growing hostilities between the Colonials and the Tories. In 1775 or 1776, Girty's application for service in the Eighth Regiment of the Pennsylvania Continental Army was rejected.

Joining the British

On March 28, 1778, Girty, McKee and a few others left Pittsburg with the intention of joining the British at Detroit. Girty's motivation for his defection is uncertain, but was likely the combination his embitterment towards Patriot officials, the attitude of many of the Patriots towards Indigenous people, and the influence of his friend and staunch Loyalist Alexander McKee.

By April 20, 1778, Girty had reached Detroit, which was then in British North America. There Governor Henry Hamilton employed him at sixteen shillings a day (~$ in ).

On June 17, 1778 the United States of America issued a warrant for his arrest for High Treason. Simon, James, and George Girty, along with Alexander McKee and Matthew Elliot, were now considered outlaws and traitors to the United States. Immediately before or after publication of the arrest warrants, McKee and Elliot left Pennsylvania for the Six Nations. Pennsylvania placed a $800 bounty on Simon Girty's head for inciting murder against fellow Americans, and acting as an agent for the British.

Siege of Fort Laurens

From February 22, 1779 to March 1779, Girty accompanied British Captain Bird and warriors of the Wyandot, Mingo, Munsee, and Delaware in the siege to Fort Laurens.

Ambush on convoy

On October 1, 1779, Girty and McKee, leading a large band of Indian warriors, ambushed a peaceful convoy of provisions which had been procured by American states from the Spanish in New Orleans. Girty's forces ambushed the convoy near Dayton, Kentucky, across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, Ohio. Only a handful of the one hundred survived, among them Colonel John Campbell and Captain Robert Benham.

Torture and murder of Colonel William Crawford

Girty is alleged to have been involved in the torture and murder of Colonel William Crawford, Girty's former commander. On June 11, 1782, Crawford surrendered after a three-week battle against the Delaware Indians of the Wingenim tribe known as the Sandusky expedition. Crawford's surgeon, Dr. John Knight, was also captured. Dr. Knight, in letters and testimony before the Continental Congress, detailed conversations he had with Crawford before he died.

There has been controversy around the details of Crawford's torture and murder. Reports of Girty's role differ significantly.

According to some accounts, Girty lied and informed Crawford that he would do his best to see to the release of Crawford and five other prisoners still living. Initially, Girty acted as though Crawford could be released as a gesture of comradery. However, upon a full inspection of the Wingenim tribal village, Knight recalled seeing four prisoners scalped and dead laying on the ground. Knight recalled the identity of one killed prisoner, Lieutenant John McKinley, a former officer in the 13th Virginia Regiment, whose head had been cut off and kicked around by the warriors. Shortly thereafter Girty and Chief Pipe led them to a fire pit where Girty ordered Colonel Crawford to be stripped naked at the fire and beaten with sticks and fists as he was tied to hickory poles six to seven yards from the fire. Next, Girty ordered burning logs to be placed on Crawford's skin, followed by ordering the warriors to cut off his ears. In a plea for death amidst the extreme torture, Crawford yelled at Girty to shoot him – to which Girty rejected and "laughed heartily and by all gestures seemed delighted at the horrid scene," stating he did not have a gun. Girty then was observed by Knight to order the warriors to shoot Crawford with only powder shots, which caused the flesh to burn. After over 70 blanks were shot at Crawford, he finally succumbed to death over two hours later. Girty then scalped Crawford and continuously placed his scalp in Knight’s face and mouth, saying, "That was my great captain." Girty expressed to Knight that "He swore to by God, I need not expect to escape death, but should suffer it in all its extremities." Twentieth-century historians have noted potential bias in this account. Daniel Barr's 1998 scholarly paper states that Hugh Henry Breckinridge, a frontier author, made "subtle alterations" to eyewitness statements which had the effect of presenting both the Indians and Girty in particular "in a profoundly negative manner." Philip W. Hoffman's 2009 biography states that newspapers of the era sensationalized the incident. Hoffman makes no mention of Girty directing the torture and killing of Crawford and notes that Girty had a history of consistently acting on behalf of white prisoners who were threatened by torture and death.

Ambush on Bryan Station and Battle of Blue Licks

On August 19, 1782, Girty, under the command of William Caldwell, along with about 300 Shawnee natives and British Canadians, attacked Bryan Station. Three days later, his band ambushed Daniel Boone and Colonel Todd at the Battle of Blue Licks. Girty's conduct was described by a veteran of the battle to be "the unusual scene of torturing the wounded and prisoners following the defeat." Girty's character was also described in this battle to be the "most discouraging stroke to that infant settlement." Both Todd and Boone were in Lord Dunmore's War in 1774.

Northwest Indian War

After the American Revolutionary War, Girty was involved in resistance to American westward expansion. During the Northwest Indian War, he commanded indigenous forces participating in the defeat of expeditions led by U.S. Generals Josiah Harmar (1790) and Arthur St. Clair (1791).

Later years

After the Revolutionary War had draw to a close, Girty married and settled on the Canadian side of the Detroit River in what would eventually become Upper Canada. His wife was 19-year-old Catherine Malott who had been taken captive three years earlier. Catherine's mother had asked Girty to find her daughter. He found Catherine living in a Shawnee village and by the time he returned her to her mother they were in love. Girty married Catherine in August 1784. Four of their children survived to adulthood.

Girty left the British Indian Department in 1795 but for the next few years was occasionally asked to serve as an interpreter. He hired men to farm his land including Indigenous people and often paid for their labor with rum. Girty drank heavily and increasingly suffered from debilitating headaches caused by the wound that Brant had given him. Catherine left Girty in 1798 but they later reconciled. In 1800, he broke either his leg or ankle in a fall and was left with a permanent limp. By 1809 he had begun to lose his sight. During the War of 1812, Girty's son Thomas, who had joined the Essex militia, died of a fever reportedly contracted after rescuing a wounded militia officer during the Battle of Maguaga in August 1812. In 1813, when the British retreated from Amherstburg, Girty abandoned his home and spent the remainder of the war living at Burlington. Girty died on 18 February 1818, aged 77, and was buried with military honors on his farm.

Modern representations and myths

Modern historical accounts of Simon Girty (largely from Canadian biographers) portray Girty as a servant of the world who rose up against the tyrannical Colonial government for a higher cause. Such accounts include "Simon Girty: Wilderness Warrior" by Edward Butts (2011), "Simon Girty: His War on the Frontier" (1999) and "Simon Girty: Interpreter and Intermediary" (1989).

Popular myths account for three people who claimed they were Simon Girty. One Simon Girty fled to Canada; one Simon Girty was said to have been killed with Tecumseh at the Battle of the Thames, and one Simon Girty was said to have been killed in Pocahontas, Virginia.

Representation in culture

* In his 1846 nove
''Simon Girty: the Outlaw – An Historical Romance''
Uriah James Jones depicts Girty as a "fanatical tomahawk-waving warmonger."

''Simon Girty: "The White Savage"—A Romance of the Border''
is a 1880 novel by Charles McKnight that presents Girty in a somewhat more favourable light.
* Girty is sympathetically portrayed in historical writer Allan Eckert's ''The Frontiersmen'' and ''That Dark and Bloody River'', however, his use of invented dialogue and filling historical gaps with conjecture tends to damage his credibility.
* Girty, along with his brothers, is vilified in novelist Zane Grey's frontier trilogy series ''Betty Zane'', '' The Spirit of the Border'' and ''The Last Trail''. In the second novel of the trilogy, Grey made Girty and his brother James directly responsible for the Gnadenhutten massacre.
* Girty was played by American actor John Carradine in the 1936 film ''Daniel Boone'' directed by David Howard. In the film Girty is killed by Boone.
* Girty is featured as one of the jury members in Stephen Vincent Benét's 1936 short story "The Devil and Daniel Webster" and in the 1941 movie of the same title. Benét describes Girty as “Simon Girty, the renegade, who saw white men burned at the stake, and whooped with the Indians to see them burn. His eyes were green like a catamount’s, and the stains on his hunting shirt did not come from the blood of the deer.”
* Girty is the main character in Timothy Truman's two volume graphic novel ''Wilderness: The True Story of Simon Girty the Renegade''.
* Girty decision to fight on behalf of Native Americans is the inspiration for the 2002 song "Simon Girty's Decision," by Indigenous poet, composer and instrumentalist Todd Tamanend Clark.Clark, Todd Tamanend (2002). "Simon Girty's Decision." ''Staff Mask Rattle.'' Portland, Oregon: CD Baby.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Girty, Simon
1741 births
1818 deaths
American people of Irish descent
American people of the Northwest Indian War
British Indian Department
Captives of Native Americans
Loyalist military personnel of the American Revolutionary War
Loyalists in the American Revolution from Pennsylvania
People from Amherstburg, Ontario
People from colonial Pennsylvania
People from Franklin County, Pennsylvania
Pre-Confederation Ontario people