Loyalist and British Indian Department interpreter
No authentic portrait of Simon Girty is known to exist. This 1905 illustration of Simon Girty is from History of Western Ohio and Auglaize County by C. W. Williamson.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. He and his brothers James and George were captured as children and adopted by Native Americans. Freed after living with the Seneca for several years, Girty worked as an interpreter and hunter. 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 Delaware 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.
Simon Girty was born in 1741 to Simon Girtee and Mary Newton at Chamber's Mills in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Girty's father emigrated to Pennsylvania sometime in the early 1730s from Ireland, and was employed as a packhorse 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 force 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, taken to Fort Duquesne and afterwards held captive by the Delaware.
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 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 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[edit]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 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.
John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore by Joshua ReynoldsIn 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. Two days earlier, Girty had 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. 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, did not attend the Camp Charlotte meeting. Girty was sent to find the Mingo leader and convince him to meet with Dunmore. Talgayeeta refused but had Girty memorize a carefully worded message in which the Mingo leader 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[edit]Two month prior to the start of the Revolutionary War, Girty took an oath of allegiance to George III and was appointed a lieutenant in the Virginia militia. He lost his commission when the militia was disbanded a few months later. The following year Girty was hired as a interpreter by the newly appointed Commissioner for Indian Affairs, George Morgan, but was discharged after three months. In 1777, Girty worked as a recruiter for the 13th Virginia Regiment. He was promised a captaincy and command of a company, but was made a lieutenant instead. When the regiment was sent to Charleston, Girty was ordered to remain behind on detached duty. He resigned his commission in August 1777. Rumors of a Loyalist conspiracy led to the arrest of Girty, McKee and a few others a month later. Girty was acquitted but remained under suspicion. Girty was then hired by Hand to meet with the western Seneca and confirm if they were, or were not, at war with the United States. He was reunited with Guyasuta who reluctantly decided to turn Girty over to the British at Fort Niagara. Girty escaped and return safely to Fort Pitt.[23]
In February 1778, Girty served as an interpreter during the expedition led by Brigadier General Edward Hand known as the Squaw Campaign. Hand intended to capture a British supply depot at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River but failed to control his men when they encountered a cluster of cabins that housed a small number of neutral Delaware. A old man and woman were killed and another woman wounded. Girty, who had not been present, later guided a few of Hand's men to a place on the Mahoning River known as the Salt Licks. They discovered a group of women and children, and took one of the women prisoner. The following morning, two of the men were scouting the area when they encountered a young boy shooting birds and killed him. Girty rejoined Hand and was asked to guide the expedition back to Pittsburg. Due to an early thaw, swollen streams and constant rain, Hand had decided to abandon the campaign.
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 of his embitterment towards Patriot officials, the attitude of many Americans towards Indigenous people, and the influence of his friend and staunch Loyalist Alexander McKee. Girty and McKee first went to Coshocton and spoke to an assembly of the Delaware to convince them to abandon their neutrality and support the British. While Hopocan, known as Captain Pipe, advocated war, Koquethaqechton, known as White Eyes, counselled peace. The Delaware decided to remain neutral, however, Hopocan's war faction later split from the peace faction.
Girty arrived at Detroit on April 20, 1778 and was hired by Lieutenant Governor Henry Hamilton as an interpreter in the British Indian Department. Meanwhile in Pennsylvania, Girty was indicted for treason and convicted in absentia. A bounty of $800 was placed on his head. Girty was sent to work first with the Mingo but was later assigned to the Wyandot who lived on the Sandusky River. In September, he accompanied a large war party that staged raids in western Pennsylvania. Simon's instructions were to "protect defenceless persons and prevent any insult or barbarity being exercised on the Prisoners."
Girty travelled to the town of Wakatomika on the Mad River in October 1778 and learned that the Shawnee were intending to burn one of their captives. Girty recognized the prisoner as Simon Kenton who he had befriended during Dunmore's War. Girty convinced the Shawnee to spare Kenton's life. When the Shawnee later recanted their decision, Girty convinced them that Kenton should be brought to the Wyandot village of Upper Sandusky for the execution. With the help of Logan, he arranged for interpreter and trader Pierre Drouillard to impersonate a British officer who told the Shawnee that Lieutenant Governor Hamilton wanted to question Kenton and would pay for him in rum and tobacco. Not wanting to offend Hamilton the Shawnee agreed. Kenton was taken to Detroit, questioned, and held as a prisoner of war until his escape a few months later.
In November 1778, Brigadier General Lachlan McIntosh, who had succeeded Hand as commander of the Western Department of the Continental Army began construction of Fort Laurens on the Tuscarawas River in preparation for a spring campaign against Detroit. Due to a shortage of provisions, McIntosh decided to return to Fort Pitt leaving 150 men of the 11th Virginia Regiment to garrison the fort.
Girty headed to Fort Laurens in January with a small force of Mingo. They were too late to intercept a pack train bringing supplies but successfully ambushed the escort as they returned to Fort Pitt. Two Americans were killed and one taken prisoner. Girty brought the prisoner to Detroit and asked for British regulars to be assigned to help take the fort. Captain Henry Bird of the 8th Regiment and a small number of regulars accompanied Girty to Upper Sandusky were they were joined by a few hundred Mingo and Wyandot. The siege began on February 22, 1779 when a work party was surprised outside the fort. All 19 were killed and scalped. Due to the harsh winter conditions, Bird lifted the siege four weeks later, shortly before American reinforcements arrived. Colonel Daniel Brodhead who had replaced McIntosh as commander of the Western Department, decided that Fort Lauren's location was untenable and ordered the fort abandoned.
Ambush on the Ohio River[edit]In August 1779, Girty was at Detroit when his brother George arrived from Kaskaskia leading a small group of escaped prisoners. George had previously served aboard an American gunboat on the Mississippi River but had been accused of treason after conspiring to help prisoners escape. George was immediately hired by the British Indian Department as an interpreter.
Two months later, Simon and George with a party of about 120 Shawnee and Wyandot warriors who laid a ambush on the Ohio River that killed 40 American soldiers and reaped a tremendous score of munitions and supplies. Colonel David Rogers commanded a pair of keelboats carrying gunpowder, lead, rifles, several kegs of rum and other supplies to Fort Pitt which he had purchased from the Spanish at New Orleans. Rogers was joined by a third keelboat at the Falls of the Ohio. As they approached the confluence with the Licking River, lookouts spotted a canoe on the river ahead and opened fire. The warriors headed to shore and fled into the woods. Rogers beached the keelboats and set off in pursuit but quickly ran into a hail of bullets. A second group of warriors attacked the boats, but the men who had been posted there managed to get one of the vessels out into the river and escape. One of the few prisoners taken was retired Colonel John Campbell who Simon placed under his protection and took to Fort Detroit.
Invasion of Kentucky[edit]In May 1780, the British mounted an expedition against American forces at the Falls of the Ohio. Major Arent DePeyster, who had succeeded Hamilton as Fort Detroit's commandant after the latter was taken prisoner at Vincennes, selected Henry Bird to lead a force of 150 soldiers from the 8th Regiment, 47th Regiment, Royal Artillery, and Detroit militia, accompanied by 100 Odawa and Ojibwe warriors as well as several British Indian Department personnel including Girty and his brothers. At the confluence of the Ohio and Great Miami rivers, they rendezvoused with McKee and several hundred Shawnee, Delaware and Wyandot warriors from the Ohio Country. Although Bird's orders were to attack Fort Nelson at the Falls of the Ohio, but he was overruled by his Indigenous allies who preferred to target the isolated settlements on the Licking River.
In late June, Bird's expedition besieged the fortified settlements of Ruddle's Fort and Martin's Station. At Ruddle's Fort, Girty was sent to negotiate terms for the fort's surrender. Despite the efforts of Girty, Bird and McKee, a number of non-combatants were killed or wounded when the Indigenous warriors ignored the terms, burst into the fort and took most of the inhabitants captive. Bird later reported that the warriors "rush'd in, tore the poor children from their mothers Breasts, killed a wounded man and every one of the cattle."[34]
Bird was able to prevent a repeat when Martin's Station surrendered, however, both forts were plundered and burned. Afterwards, Bird's regulars and militia escorted about 150 men, women and children to Detroit, arriving there in early August. Of the roughly 250 prisoners taken by the Indigenous auxiliaries, most were brought to Detroit, but a number were killed en route in what historian Russell Mahan has called a death march. A few others, mostly young women and children, were held captive until the end of the war and in some cases for years afterwards.
Several enslaved persons were taken during the expedition and divided among the members of the British Indian Department. Girty was given a young man named Scipio who he soon freed.
In the winter of 1781, Girty led a few Wyandot warriors from Upper Sandusky to the Falls of the Ohio in order to spy on the Americans. They captured three soldiers from Fort Nelson and discovered that Brigadier General George Rogers Clark was recruiting men and stockpiling supplies at Wheeling and Fort Pitt in anticipation of an expedition against Detroit later that year. Clark planned to proceed down the Ohio River from Fort Pitt to Wheeling and then continue on to Fort Nelson before heading north. Girty hurried to inform McKee at Roche de Bout on the Maumee River who in turn notified DePeyster at Detroit. Girty then proceeded to Upper Sandusky. As he entered the Wyandot village he encountered a young captive who had broken away from his guards. The captive was 18-year-old Henry Baker who the Wyandot had planned to burn. After hearing Baker's story, Girty convinced the Wyandot to spare Baker's life and take him to Detroit for ransom.
DePeyster met with Indigenous leaders in April, after which Girty and McKee began the slow process of gathering warriors to counter Clark. In early August, Joseph Brant, who had been sent to Detroit from Fort Niagara, led about 90 Shawnee and Wyandot warriors to the confluence of the Great Miami and Ohio rivers. With Brant was Girty's brother George. Because he was severely outnumbered, Brant had to allow the main body of Clark's troops to pass on the Ohio unscathed, but a few days later successfully ambushed a contingent of Pennsylvania militia led by Colonel Archibald Lochry , killing 37 and capturing 64.
Brant later rendezvoused with Girty and McKee who had brought with them 300 additional warriors and Captain Andrew Thompson's company of Butler's Rangers. They set off in pursuit of Clark but soon abandoned the chase when they realized that the Americans had too great a lead. While encamped on the banks of the Ohio, Brant got drunk and began to brag. He claimed sole responsibility for Lochry's defeat, and boasted that had taken the most prisoners. Girty, who had also been drinking heavily, believed George deserved some of the credit and accused Brant of lying. Later that evening Brant, sword in hand, came up behind Simon and dealt him a severe head wound. It took Girty several months to recover and left him with a scar that he hid beneath a red bandana. For the rest of his life he suffered with episodes of dizziness, blurred vision, and severe headache.
Death of William Crawford[edit] Detail of Colonel Crawford Burned at the Stake by Edward Lepper, 1906In May 1782 a mounted expedition of 480 volunteers led by Colonel William Crawford set out from Fort Pitt to attack Indigenous settlements on the Sandusky River. They were met by a detachment of Butler's Rangers led by Captain William Caldwell, and a combined force of Delaware led by Hopocan and Wyandot led by Dunquat, also known as the Half-King. A number of British Indian Department personnel were also present including Girty and Elliott.
During the two day battle, the Americans took up a defensive position on a wooded knoll which they called Battle Island. On the morning of the second day, Girty approached the American lines requesting a parley. He called on Crawford to surrender but was rebuked. Following the arrival of a body of Shawnee that afternoon, Crawford resolved to withdraw as his men were in danger of being encircled. An orderly retreat was planned, however, the withdrawal dissolved into chaos when Indigenous scouts detected the Americans leaving. Many were killed or taken prisoner as they fled singly or in small groups.
Crawford was captured by the Delaware who decided to execute him in retaliation for the Gnadenhutten Massacre. Crawford's surgeon, Dr. John Knight, witnessed Crawford's execution, and held Girty responsible for not intervening. An account of his ordeal, significantly embellished by Hugh Henry Brackenridge, was widely published the following year, and is the main source of Girty's reputation as a "white savage."
Crawford was taken to Upper Sandusky where he asked to meet with Girty. Girty told Crawford that the Delaware blamed the American colonel for the massacre of non-combatants at the Moravian village of Gnadenhutten three months earlier. Crawford denied any involvement and begged Girty to arrange ransom in exchange for military intelligence. Girty promised to do all that he could, but encouraged Crawford to attempt to escape. Crawford was then taken to an abandoned village where Knight and other captives were being held. Crawford and Knight were forced to run a gauntlet while the others were tomahawked, scalped and mutilated.
Crawford's "trial" was held at Hopocan's town with Girty translating. Hopocan sentenced Crawford to death by fire. Girty attempted to bargain for Crawford's life but was berated by Hopocan and threatened with death. Crawford and Knight were taken to a grove of oaks west of Hopocan's town. Crawford was stripped naked, beaten, then tied to a post. The Delaware fired numerous powder charges into his body then cut off his ears. They applied burning sticks to his bare skin and threw hot coals at his feet. Eventually Crawford collapsed and was scalped. He died soon afterwards and his corpse was burned.
There are conflicting reports of Girty's behavior at Crawford's death. At some point Crawford called out to Girty to end his suffering and shoot him. According to Knight:
In the midst of these extreme tortures, Crawford called to Simon Girty and begged him to shoot him; but Girty making no answer he called to him again. Girty, then, by way of derision, told the colonel he had no gun, at the same time turning about to an Indian who was behind him, laughed heartily, and by all his gestures seemed delighted at the horrid scene.
Knight later overpowered his single guard as he was being taken to a Shawnee village for his own execution. He arrived at Fort McIntosh three weeks later, starved and barely coherent. Knight was conveyed to Fort Pitt where he was debriefed by Brigadier General William Irvine. Irvine reported Crawford's death to George Washington. He wrote that "the unfortunate colonel ... was burned and tortured in every manner they could invent" and that "the colonel begged Girty to shoot him, but he paid no regard to the request."[45]
Girty's daughter Sarah, however, in a 1864 interview, told historian Lyman Draper that when Crawford called out to Girty, he explained that no one was permitted to interfere once the torture began. According to Sarah, Girty had tried everything he could possibly do to save Crawford. Elizabeth Turner, who had been captured and adopted by the Wyandot in 1780, told her son that she witnessed Crawford's execution. She said that Girty offered his horse, rifle, and his enslaved servant Scipio as ransom, but was told that Crawford would only be spared if Girty took his place. She further said that Girty wept while witnessing Crawford ordeal.
Girty reported Crawford's death to Caldwell, who in turn reported to DePeyster that "Crawford died like a hero; never changed his countenance tho's they scalped him alive, and then laid hot ashes upon his head; after which, they roasted him by a slow fire." DePeyster would later write: "Colonel Crawford, who commanded, was taken in the pursuit and put to death by the Delawares, notwithstanding every means had been tried by an Indian officer present, to save his life."
Battle of Blue Licks[edit]In August 1782, Girty, McKee, and Elliott accompanied William Caldwell and his company of Butler's Rangers along with 300 Shawnee warriors led by Blue Jacket in an attack on Bryan Station located east of present-day Lexington, Kentucky. Unable to breach the stockade, Caldwell ended the siege after two days. The following morning, just under 200 militia led by Colonel John Todd arrived at the station and set off in pursuit of Caldwell. On the morning of August 19, Todd's men reached the Licking River near a salt spring called the Blue Licks. When they spotted movement on the ridge opposite them, Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Boone urged caution, however, Major Hugh McGary insisted on attacking immediately. The Americans forded the river, dismounted, formed lines and began advancing up the slope. As Boone had suspected, Caldwell's force was waiting for them, concealed in ravines. In the ensuing battle, 77 Americans were killed including Todd and 12 were captured.
Northwest Indian War[edit]This section
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(June 2025)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).[50][51]
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[edit]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)[citation needed] and "Simon Girty: Interpreter and Intermediary" (1989).[citation needed]
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.[56]
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