Simon Girty (1741–February 18, 1818) was a British subject, born in what is now the United States, who served as a liaison between the British and their Native American allies during the American Revolution.

Girty and his brothers were adopted by Native Americans when they were children. American frontiersmen saw Girty as a renegade and a turncoat. Native American leader Tecumseh was a friend.

American detractors note that Girty was present during the torture and execution of Colonel William Crawford by Native American leader Captain Pipe. American accounts criticize Girty for failing to intercede to rescue Crawford. Defenders of Girty point out that the Natives were enraged by American atrocities, that Crawford's torture was in retaliation, and that Girty could not have stopped the torture without risking his own life.

Simon Girty in literature

• Simon Girty served as one of the jury members in Stephen Vincent Benet's The Devil and Daniel Webster.
• Canadian playwright Ed Butts wrote a play entitled The Fame of Simon Girty.

External links

• A short, colored biography of Girty (http://www.inquiry.net/traditional/beard/pioneers/chap04.htm) written for children who were members of the Kit Carson Club.
• An academic thesis about mythic figures of the American frontier (http://etext.virginia.edu/journals/EH/EH40/barr40.html) with an account of Girty's role in the death of Crawford.