Jane McCrea was a normal woman during the American Revolution. She was a loving wife and a devoted mother to her child. One can only imagine the pain she went through before her death, and the agony she must have felt to leave her family alone. Her death was unnecessary; she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Jane has changed the lives of many people, including her friend Sara, who was there for her during her death. It is my opinion she really should not have gone along with what her husband wanted to do. Jane never would have been killed if her husband had not sided with England, rather than America.
After reading about Jane’s death, I started to imagine what the entire scene would have looked like, and how she felt during and before her death. I can see Jane running through the woods for her life, scraping her hands and feet on the surrounding brush. She occasionally looked behind her to see how close the Wyandot scouts were to catching her. When they finally did capture Jane, she would scream and cry. She was screaming so much that her throat started to get scratchy, and her voice was breaking uncontrollably. Once captured, Jane continued to try and break loose from the ropes digging into her skin making her bleed. In her mind, she could see her family waiting for her, the little baby boy crying in his crib for mama to come home, and her husband pulling at his hair frantically trying to find a way to get his wife back safely home. Jane could see all of this before the scouts scalped and put a bullet through her skull. That was a tragic day for everyone who loved and knew Jane McCrea.
None of these events would have happened if Jane had not been traveling that day. She was with a friend, Sara McNeil. They were headed to a British camp that was so isolated in the middle of the woods, there were no other buildings or roads within sight. They were making this journey to purchase food for both of their families for the upcoming winter. As they moved on in their journey, they came upon a group of Native American scouts who were working for the British army. The two women thought the scouts were friendly. Jane even believed they would help her and Sara safely arrive to the British camp. She had never been so wrong in her entire life.
Jane’s friend, Sara, was forced to watch the scouts’ torture and kill Jane. Sara had been tied to a tree with thick ropes and a piece of cloth shoved into her mouth so she could not cry out. The scouts’ first mistake had been to let Sara live because she was a witness to the whole murder. When the scouts tried to blame Jane’s death on the Americans, Sara stepped forward to tell everyone far and wide that Jane’s brutal death was the Wyandot scouts’ fault. Sara was exhausted from the entire day’s events. She had large, black circles under her eyes and tilt to her shoulders that indicated she might fall to the ground. Although Sara was tired, she needed to do one last friendly act for Jane before her day was done. In Sara’s mind, she made a promise to herself that she would look after Jane’s child, so one day her son might know the sacrifice his mother had made for him and her country.
There are many things which could have gone differently that day. Jane and Sara could have stayed in their homes washing the clothes and baking delicious fresh bread, filling the house with the aroma of baked wheat. Jane’s husband could have traveled with her instead of Sara, so he could protect her. However, none of these events happened, and a family’s life was changed forever due to one people’s choice to take a life and disobey the orders of their commanding general. Some believe that Jane’s story will be told for a long time around America and England, and I hope her life has changed someone else’s.