Jane McCrea

Who was Jane McCrea?

Jane McCrea was a young woman who was purportedly slain by Native Americans associated with the British army of Lieutenant General John Burgoyne during the American Revolutionary War. Affianced to a Loyalist serving in Burgoyne's army, her slaying led to expressions of outrage and an increase in Patriot military recruiting, especially in the days following her killing.

The propaganda that followed greatly accentuated her beauty, and the fact that she was associated with Loyalists undermined British claims of protection for Loyalists. Burgoyne's inability to punish the alleged killers also undermined British assertions that they were more civilized in their conduct of the war; the dissemination of this propaganda contributed to the success of Patriot recruiting drives in New York for several years.

McCrea's fiancé was reported to be bitter about the affair, and never married. The story of her life and death entered American folklore, and was used by James Fenimore Cooper in The Last of the Mohicans.