The subject of this masterful, panoramic biography is one of the
most mysterious, misunderstood icons of early American history.
Simon Girty was a sharp-witted, rascally, many-tongued frontiersman
whose epic adventures span the French and Indian War, Dunmore's
War, the American War for Independence, the Indian Wars, and
finally, the War of 1812. When he defected from the Patriot cause
to serve the British in March 1778, Girty achieved instant infamy -
becoming one of young America's most notorious characters. To
understand his motivation one must discover, as he did, that the
real, underlying cause of the American Revolution was the
unquenchable thirst for Indian land of many of our so-called
founding fathers - including George Washington - and their
unrelenting dissatisfaction with the restrictions imposed upon
their land speculation ambitions by the King's Proclamation of
1763. Like a detective doggedly combing through old evidence,
author Phillip Hoffman spent 17 years studying every detail of
Girty's life and times, amassing more than 4,000 computer windows
of research. By exploring microfilm, ledgers, military records,
congressional records, newspaper and magazine articles, and dozens
of early American and Canadian fiction and non-fiction works,
Hoffman was able to peel away the mythic legend that has hidden
Girty's real persona for two and a half centuries. Little in Simon
Girty's life was conventional or predictable. One of four sons
raised by an Irish Indian trader settled near Harrisburg in eastern
Pennsylvania, Simon's earliest experiences quickly isolate him from
the majority of the colonists in his region, most of whom were
German immigrants. To these people, the Girtys areIndian lovers,
and the Indians are all savages and spawn of the devil. During the
French and Indian War, when he is fifteen, Simon and his family are
captured by hostile Shawnee and Delaware warriors led by French
officers. Given away to a war party of Senecas, Simon is carried
north and adopted, emerging eight years later at age twenty-three,
a gifted linguist and a trained interpreter fluent in eleven native
languages. Brought by a Seneca chief to Alexander McKee of the
British Indian Department at Fort Pitt, Girty begins his career as
a spy-interpreter-intermediary serving both English and Native
American leaders. Girty's contacts include the great Seneca sachem
Guyasuta, Sir William Johnson, merchant George Morgan, businessman
John Connolly, William Crawford, Matthew Elliott, John Murray (Lord
Dunmore), Simon Kenton, George Rogers Clark, Mingo chief John
Logan, Mohawk chief Joseph Brant, Half King of the Wyandots,
Captain Pipe of the Delawares, Moravian missionaries David
Zeisberger and John Heckewelder, Shawnee chiefs Blue Jacket and
Tecumseh, and Miami war chief Little Turtle, Detroit Governor Henry
Hamilton, U.S. general Anthony Wayne, and even Daniel Boone. Land
speculators George Washington and Ben Franklin are also woven
through Girty's story. Through Girty's eyes we re-live the
ill-fated Squaw Campaign, his rescue of Simon Kenton whom the
Shawnees were about to torture and burn, the deadly ambush of
Rogers' Flotilla, the Battle of Sandusky, William Crawford's trial
and death by fire, the conquest of Martin's and Ruddle's Stations,
the disastrous American defeat at Blue Licks (where Daniel Boone's
son Israel was killed), and the incredible victories over Harmar
and St. Clairby a confederation of Western and Northern Tribes.
Finally, with Girty and his companions Alex McKee and Matthew
Elliott, we witness the climactic defeat of the Indians by "Mad"
Anthony Wayne at Fallen Timbers. Hoffman's dedication to detail,
combined with his superb talent as a storyteller, brings us an
intimate view of the full sweep of early American frontier
conflicts, as experienced by a devoted adventurer whose heart was
as much Indian as it was white. "Simon Girty Turncoat Hero" is
American history at its best.
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