Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Girty, Simon

GIRTY, Simon, soldier, b. in Pennsylvania in 1741; d. in Malden, Canada, 18 Feb., 1818. His father died, and his mother had married again, when in 1755 the whole family were taken captive by Indians, and the step-father was burned at the stake. Simon remained a prisoner till 1758, when he was released. In 1774 he was a soldier and spy under Lord Dunmore at Fort Pitt, and a friend and companion of Simon Kenton. Being an active loyalist, he left Pennsylvania at the beginning of the Revolution, became a leader of the savages, and was concerned in many atrocities. It is not known whether he was given a British commission. He had been held a prisoner by the Whigs at Pittsburg, but escaped, collected about 400 Indian warriors in the summer of 1777, and in September attacked Fort Henry (now Wheeling, W. Va.), which was garrisoned by about forty men. After defeating with great slaughter a reconnoitring party, and reducing the garrison to twelve men, he made a demand for its surrender, but was refused. The Indians now laid siege to the fort, but, as they had no artillery, the garrison held its own until it was relieved next day by forty mounted men. In 1778, with two other Tories, Girty went through the Indian country to Detroit, urging the savages to take up arms against the Americans. He was present at the torture and death of Col. William Crawford (q. v.) in 1782, and is charged with showing delight at his sufferings; but Girty averred that he did what he could to save Crawford's life. Subsequently, when his old associate, Simon Kenton, was captured by the Indians, Girty exerted himself to the utmost to save him from the torture, and succeeded in effecting his release. In August, 1782, Girty invaded Kentucky and with 600 savages made an attack on Bryant's station, near Lexington, which was garrisoned by about fifty men. After an unsuccessful ambuscade Girty laid siege to the fort till the approach of re-enforcements under Daniel Boone caused him to retreat. He was rapidly pursued, and the battle of the Blue Licks followed, in which many of the Kentucky leaders lost their lives. This was the last great Indian battle on Kentucky soil. In the same year Girty was active in the expulsion of the Moravian missionaries who had been laboring quietly among the Wyandottes. He lived for some time on Sandusky river, where he had established a trading-station, and planned and led many marauding excursions. He was present at Gen. Arthur St. Clair's defeat in 1791, and directed a savage to kill and scalp Gen. Richard Butler, who lay wounded on the field. Girty acted as interpreter to the commissioners that were appointed by the U. S. government to meet the Indians in 1793, and treated them with insolence, finally securing the failure of the negotiations. He also aided the British in the war of 1812, and is said by some authorities to have been killed in the battle of the Thames in 1813, but his descendants assert that he died a natural death five years afterward.