In 1777, a young woman named Jane McCrea was killed in Fort Edward, New York by Native Americans working for the British military. What exactly happened that day will never be truly known, because reports varied from the beginning. We don't know what McCrea thought of the war, and the loyalties of her family were divided. Her fiancé fought for the British, and the brother she lived with fought with the American colonists.
One account said the Native Americans were hired by McCrea's fiancé to escort her to safety, and others said they were marauding ahead of a British advance. Still others said that McCrea was killed by patriot fire by accident. McCrea was supposedly shot, and possibly scalped or raped in addition. The story of her murder was used to rally support for the American cause, drawing sympathy for the white woman killed by savages under the British. That narrative worked long after the Revolution to instill fear and hatred for Native Americans, and the details became muddier over time. McCrea's body has been exhumed numerous times to check for evidence. Read what we know and what we will never know about Jane McCrea at Smithsonian.
(Image credit: Library of Congress)
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