Anthony Wayne, born Jan. 1, 1745, in the township of Easttown, Chester
County, Pennsylvania, was of Irish parentage. In boyhood he showed the
military bias of his aspirations by his close study of mathematics
and engineering, that he might fit himself to enter the army. From
his marriage, in 1767, to 1774, his occupation was that of a farmer
and land surveyor; in 1774–75 he was a member of the Pennsylvania
Legislature, and in the latter year, of the Committee of Public Safety.
The oppressive policy adopted by Great Britain toward the American
colonies aroused all his military spirit; and resigning his seat in
the Legislature, he raised a company of volunteers, and received
from Congress on the 3d of January, 1776, his commission as colonel.
Increasing his company to a regiment, he was ordered with it to New
York and afterward to Canada. The 21st of February, 1777, marks the
date of his promotion to brigadier-general, and in May, having joined
the army under Washington, he distinguished himself by driving the
enemy from New Jersey. His skill as a commander, and his personal
courage, secured him a conspicuous part in the battles that followed;
and being intrusted with a foraging expedition to relieve the destitute
army in winter-quarters at Valley Forge, he secured large stores of
provisions and many horses for the cavalry, at the same time defeating
the enemy in numerous skirmishes.
At the battle of Monmouth, Wayne’s brave conduct gained for him
personal notice in the report sent by Washington to Congress, while his
brilliant achievement at Stony Point was recognized by a resolution of
thanks in Congress, and in the General Assembly of Pennsylvania. After
rendering other important services in the North, realizing what had
been said of him early in the war, that “where Wayne went, there was a
fight always,--that was his business,” he was sent in 1781 to join the
Southern army, and was actively engaged in the siege of Yorktown until
the final surrender. The efforts of the Americans were now directed to
dislodging the British from their two remaining strongholds; and so
vigorously was the war carried on in Georgia and South Carolina that
by direction of the home Government Savannah was evacuated on the 12th
of July, 1782, and Charleston in the latter part of the same year,
Wayne marching in and taking possession on the 14th of December,--his
last military service during the Revolution. In July, 1783, he
returned to his home and civil life. On the 30th of September, he was
appointed major-general by brevet; in April, 1792, President Washington
nominated him commander-in-chief of an army to subdue the Indians of
the Northwest; and after the delays consequent upon organizing and
disciplining his men, Wayne began active operations in 1794, resulting
in the complete discomfiture of the savage tribes and their British
allies. This victory brought valuable territory to the United States,
and a long peace with the Indians. After a visit to his home, he
returned to the West to fulfil his duties as commissioner, and died
soon after from an attack of gout on the 15th of December, 1796, “after
a life of honor and usefulness.”
No general ever gained more sobriquets than Wayne; that most widely
known, “Mad Anthony,” was given on account of his unexpected success in
perilous expeditions, though Washington called him “prudent.” The title
of “Dandy Wayne” was also applied to him because of his scrupulous
attention to his dress; and in a letter to Washington he declares his
preference for an elegant uniform and soldierly appearance, rather than
poorly clad troops with more ammunition. The Indians at first called
him “Black Snake,” perhaps because that reptile will attack any other
species and rarely gets the worst of an encounter. After he defeated
them in 1794, however, they named him “Wind,” or “Tornado,” because
“he was exactly like a hurricane that drives and tears and prostrates
everything before it.”