Born c. 1752
Lamington, New Jersey
Died July 27, 1777
Fort Edward, New York

American captive

Portrait: Jane McCrea. Reproduced by permission of Archive Photos, Inc.

As the Revolutionary War (1775–83) raged, dramatic tales were told of how Jane McCrea died. Her capture and murder led people in New York and New England to rally against the British forces stationed there. McCrea's story continued to arouse patriotic feelings among Americans for more than a century after her death.

Jane McCrea (pronounced Ma-CRAY) was the daughter of James McCrea, a Presbyterian minister from New Jersey, and Mary Graham McCrea. Jane McCrea was born the sixth of seven children, and the younger of two daughters. After her mother's death, her father remarried and had five more children.

When her father died (date unknown), Jane McCrea went to stay with her brother, John McCrea, a lawyer living in northern New York State. He...