Jane McRea is one of the most famous women of the Revolution. Her story has been told in paintings, novels, and poems, and embellished by folklorists and historians. , But we know very little about this 24-year old who died tragically in the summer of 1777. We know that as General Burgoyne's army marched toward Albany she was killed, and though her betrothed was a Tory marching with Burgoyne, her death at the hands of Burgoyne's Native American allies became a cause celebre, which may have roused the New England militia to defend the frontier. Who was Jane McCrea? What was she doing at Fort Edward in July of 1777?