Simon Girty, Frontier Bad Man? - Richard Taylor

Simon Girty, Frontier Bad Man? - Richard Taylor
Vilified as “The White Savage,” “The Great Renegade," and betrayer of his race, Simon Girty (1741-1818), living with the Senecasndian at first as a captive, learned several Indian languages and served as a scout and interpreter for the Continental army before defecting to the British and Indians during the American Revolution. Denigrated as the torturer of Colonel William Crawford who was captured and burned at the stake, Girty was also instrumental in saving the lives of dozens of frontier captives, including Simon Kenton who was his lifelong friend. Regarded as a hero in Canada where he raised a family during the Indian wars that culminated with the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, Girty is a complex anti-hero whose closeness to Native Americans in their efforts to stymy Western expansion stamped him as a dark counterpart to the iconic Daniel Boone.
Richard Taylor, who grew up in Louisville, is the author of a dozen or so books, including poetry, two novels, and several books relating to Kentucky history, including Elkhorn: Evolution of a Kentucky Landmark. A former Kentucky poet laureate, he is Kenan Visiting writer at Transylvania University where he teaches English and Creative Writing. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky and a law degree from the University of Louisville, making his home on a small farm near Frankfort where he is a co-owner of Poor Richard's Books. He is currently working on a book about his family's role in the American Revolution.

[@donphillips4492]

just found out william crawford is on my family tree. kinda cool

[@douglasr.swanson]

As an ancestor of Simon Girty. He is my 6X grandfather. Thank you for your research.

[@LittleAnastasia...]

Just discovered he's a cousin through Wood-Frink-Burch lines.

[@Scott_fonz81]

My mom's mom is a girty directly related..I live in Essex county Canada just outside of amhersburg

[@Paulscottrock]

There is a book, written by the rev Heckwelder, who was the Moravian priest at Knaddenhutten.My library has a copy. Tomorrow I will go check it out.

[@cammacgregor9354]

This tettible

[@Michael-fl1tm]

One of the main reasons for Simon's defection was the shameful "squaw campaign" led by Edward hand.

[@conrad4667]

Anyone would do well to imitate his bravery and resolve. I am a descendant and will enjoy meeting him and his beautiful wife, the prettiest woman in Detroit. He canoed solo 60 miles in a day down the Ohio to coordinate a battle, and then back upstream the next day to warn that the element of surprise was lost. Canada rewarded him with land for his service. In his final years, he was lucky to have survived being struck with a sword that exposed his brain, but not lucky enough to not be affected by it the rest of his life.

[@iamauntmeem]

Where was Simon Girty on August 11, 1764? A Mennonite minister, his wife, and 6 of their children were slaughtered at their farm in the Page County Shenandoah Valley of Luray, Virginia. He had lived there peaceably for 35 years. A group of native Americans led by a white man was raiding and looting the homes of people they thought had valuables and money. It was rumored the group responsible was led by Simon Girty. Has anyone in researching this frontiersman found evidence to disprove this information? In reading The Frontiersman I was in awe of this man and his contemporaries like Simon Kenton but I found out in doing my genealogy about this massacre and would like to clarify this.

[@ordyhorizonrivieredunord712]

? Whose to judge a man who died in 1818? 🌌🦉⚖

[@gpwcowboy]

Blue Jacket was developed/documented well in Allen Eckert's "A Sorrow In Our Hearts", the Life of Tecumseh as they were close contemporaries.

[@Paulscottrock]

I shall re read that part of my , A sorrow in our heart, book !

[@j.c.eaglesmith4259]

A point here---most books are written by non-Natives---some are good/objective/factual, many are not. We would do well to hear/read the experiences in slavery from slaves rather than from the White "masters/owners"----and so are the dynamics of Native experience. Girty was extraordinary for his times. Ah-ho

[@daveknight1154]

Girty is a hero in Ontario.My family was captured at Rundles Mills 1780 and taken to Detroit and joined Butlers Rangers under Caldwell.I had two relatives that where at Crawfords death nothing they could do they fought at Clark at Louisville and Blue Licks.The Moravian where brought to Canada in 1783 and settled on the Thames River near where The Battle of the Thames 1813.

[@donphillips4492]

Ive recently found out I am related to William Crawford.

[@richardthomas4015]

Look up battle of point pleasant!

[@j.c.eaglesmith4259]

Tecumseh was not at Fallen Timbers---he was in Alabama recruiting---he killed at Battle of Thames.

[@thomasmay6115]

Tecumseh did fight at fallen timbers he was recruiting in Alabama during the Tippecanoe battle against Harrison

[@larryrobinson6914]

Bad pr

[@garymanuel4710]

then if Girty is wiped from history, so should Custer

[@tonysmith7863]

One still can not deny that Girty always seems to be around supporting and helping attacks by indians on settlers.

[@RD85010]

It's also said he saved alot of white people from facing the gauntlet over the years and alot more besides.

[@tonysmith7863]

@@RD85010 Like Crawford? Yeah right. If he was saving people the rumor mill would have picked up on that. It didn't. Can't deny the facts of history.

[@RD85010]

@@tonysmith7863 Is it not a fact that he saved Simon kenton from getting burned at the stake,this is something that is well known because kenton said it many times about girty saving him. he was fighting for the Americans up till 1778 before he headed on over to the brits and the indians,half the things written about girty at the time was only fear mongering there is no prove he done half the things said about him,and I not saying he didn't do awful things to settlers and lead raids against them.

[@tonysmith7863]

@@RD85010 It's funny how 250 years later people think they know more than the folks who were alive then

[@RD85010]

I don't claim to know more than anyone back then 250years ago,but recent scholars have said that it was James girty that rebuked Crawford before he was burned not Simon. girty tried to save him only stopping when he was told he would be killed by captain pipe the Delaware war chief who was in charge of the execution,this comes from a reliable witness who was a captive called Jonathan alder,Simon girty was a long time friend of col Crawford.I am sure you won't take my word for it. But go find out yourself,and you soon come to the realisation he wasn't the bogeyman that he was portrayed after the revolutionary war. Good luck Tony and I look forward to hearing from you after you do some research on him.

[@donphillips4492]

Why did simon Girty not help his friend william crawford especially since he knew he wasnt at the murder of 96 indians, why they wanted revenge??

[@conrad4667]

Simon Girty did try to save Crawford. The Indians wanted revenge so much on Crawford, that they threatened Girty himself. His saving of Crawford wasn’t gonna happen.

[@donphillips4492]

@@conrad4667 where did you read that? revenge on crawford or revenge on the white guy they caught. ive read that crawford had nothing to do with the massacre they wanted revenge for. but do you see the vicious circle. whites wanted revenge for their relatives being murdered and indians wanted revenge for their families being murdered. and they both have a good reason. its like gang violence. it only ends when one side is wiped out more

[@feralvulcan7955]

You can say that Crawford wasn't involved in the Moravian Massacre. But he got captured attempting to destroy native villages so he kind of had it coming.

[@j.c.eaglesmith4259]

The Arnold-Girty analogy is invalid---Arnold did not choose loyalty with those defending their indigenous homeland. This comparison exposes pre-supposed perspectives of non-Natives as "experts"---nothing new like that.

[@Tsonontowan]

What?

[@j.c.eaglesmith4259]

@@Tsonontowan Ben. Arnold went with the Brittish in their effort to take Native land, including lands controlled by the colonies/states---Girty siding with Natives fighting to survive against invasion shows his stand against the injustce of his times. It is not surprising that many call him a traitor for opposing the racism of the majority of other White people like that----so, he was only a traitor to racism.