The Tragical Death of Miss McCray
Date1813-1839
Engraver
William B. Annin
ca. 1791 - 1839
After work by
Robert Smirke
MediumStipple and line engraving
DimensionsOverall: 12 1/8 × 9in. (30.8 × 22.9cm)
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1964-320
DescriptionThe lower margin reads: "The TRAGICAL DEATH of Miss McCRAY./ in the Year 1777, near Fort Edward in Washington County, N.Y."Label TextOn July 27, 1777, Jane McCrea, a young white female loyalist, was going to visit her fiance, a loyalist officer named David Jones. During her journey, British General Burgoyne's American Indian allies took McCrea captive, and then shot and scalped her. Patriots capitalized on McCrea's death to portray the British army as betrayers who sanctioned violence against noncombatants. McCrea's martyrdom, despite her status as a loyalist, bolstered the patriot troops' motivation to defeat Burgoyne's troops during the Saratoga Campaign. In 1807, American poet Joel Barlow wrote "The Murder of Lucinda" in his epic poem "The Columbiad." In this poem, Barlow replaced Jane McCrea with "Lucinda" and described her wedding and death in great poetic detail. Barlow hired Robert Smirke, an English painter, to paint McCrea's murder as described in his poetry. An engraving of Smirke's painting was published in "The Columbiad," an expensive art book with Barlow's poetry. This print is a copy of Anker Smith's engraving by Boston engraver William B. Annin. This image of McCrea kneeling in her wedding dress while two Native warriors wield weapons over her inspired many other artists to create similar works, creating a popular image of McCrea's murder in the 19th century.ProvenanceBefore 1964, the Glen Sanders Collection; 1964 (sold, Robert E. Palmiter Antiques, Bouckville, New York, #145); 1964-present, purchased by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA).
Carington Bowles
1787
