Anthony Wayne

Wayne was born on January 1, 1745, on his family's 500 acre Waynesborough estate. A member of the landed gentry, he was one of four children born to Isaac Wayne, who had immigrated to Easttown, Pennsylvania, from Ireland, and Elizabeth Iddings Wayne. He was part of a Protestant Anglo-Irish family; his grandfather was a veteran of the Battle of the Boyne, where he fought for the Williamite side. During his upbringing, Wayne clashed with his father's desires that he become a farmer. As a child, his father served as a captain during the French and Indian War, leaving an impression on Wayne who would mimic stories of battles at the time. He married Mary Penrose in 1763, and they had two children. Their daughter, Margretta, was born in 1770, and their son, Isaac Wayne, was born in 1772. Wayne had romantic relationships with other women throughout his life, including Mary Vining, a wealthy woman in Delaware, eventually causing his wife becoming estranged from him. He later became a U.S. representative from Pennsylvania. Wayne was an avid reader and often quoted Caesar and Shakespeare at length while serving in the military. In 1767, he returned to work in his father's tannery while continuing work as a surveyor. As discontent with the British grew in the Thirteen Colonies, Wayne stepped into the political limelight locally and was elected chairman of the Chester County Committee of Safety and then to the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly. ==American Revolution==

In 1775, Wayne was nominated to the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety, where he served along with three other Pennsylvania committee members, John Dickinson, Benjamin Franklin, and Robert Morris. Following Parliament's enactment of the Intolerable Acts, Wayne began to support the Patriot cause and by October 1775, his chairman position for the Chester County Committee of Safety was replaced by a Quaker as citizens described him as a "radical", an accusation Wayne denied. On September 11, 1777, Wayne commanded the Pennsylvania Line at the Battle of Brandywine, where they held off General Wilhelm von Knyphausen's troops in order to protect the American right flank. The two forces fought for three hours until the American line withdrew and Wayne was ordered to retreat. He was then ordered to harass the British rear in order to slow General William Howe's advance towards Pennsylvania. Wayne's camp was attacked on the night of September 20–21 in the Battle of Paoli. British General Charles Grey had ordered his men to remove their flints and attack with bayonets in order to keep their assault secret. The battle earned Grey the sobriquet of "General Flint", but Wayne's own reputation was tarnished by the significant American losses, and he demanded a formal inquiry in order to clear his name. On October 4, 1777, Wayne again led his forces against Howe's army in the Battle of Germantown. His soldiers pushed ahead of other units, and the British "pushed on with their Bayonets—and took Ample Vengeance" as they retreated according to Wayne's report. Wayne and General John Sullivan advanced too rapidly and became entrapped when they were ahead of other American units. They retreated as Howe arrived to re-form the British line. Wayne was again ordered to hold off the British and cover the rear of the retreating body. After winter quarters at Valley Forge, Wayne led the attack at the 1778 Battle of Monmouth, where his forces were abandoned by General Charles Lee and were pinned down by a numerically superior British force. Wayne held out until relieved by reinforcements sent by General George Washington. He then re-formed his troops and continued to fight. The body of British Lt. Colonel Henry Monckton was discovered by the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment, and a legend grew that he had died fighting Wayne. Wayne also set an example for coping with adversity during military operations. In October 1778, Wayne wrote of the brutal cold and lack of appropriate supplies, "During the very severe storm from Christmas to New Year's, whilst our people lay without any cover except their old tents, and when the drifting of snow prevented the green wood from taking fire." Following an argument one night between Wayne's Aide-de-camp, Benjamin Fishbourn, and Van Neste, Van Neste was assaulted. Wayne prevented a local constable from serving process on the subordinate. General Washington was brought into the situation by the Governor of New Jersey, William Livingston, to help resolve the situation. In July 1779, Washington named Wayne to command the Corps of Light Infantry, a temporary unit of four regiments of light infantry companies drawn from all the regiments in the main army. His successful attack on British positions in the Battle of Stony Point was the highlight of his Revolutionary War service. On July 16, 1779, he replicated the attack used against him at Paoli and personally led a nighttime bayonet attack lasting 30 minutes. His three columns of about 1,500 light infantry stormed and captured British fortifications at Stony Point, a cliff-side redoubt commanding the southern Hudson River. The battle ended with around 550 prisoners taken, with fewer than 100 casualties for Wayne's forces. Wayne was wounded during the attack when a British musket ball gashed his scalp. The success of this operation provided a small boost to the morale of the army, which had suffered a series of military defeats, and the Continental Congress awarded him a medal for the victory. On January 1, 1781, Wayne served as commanding officer of the Pennsylvania Line of the Continental Army when pay and condition concerns led to the Pennsylvania Line Mutiny, one of the most serious of the war. He successfully resolved the mutiny by dismissing about half the line. He returned the Pennsylvania Line to full strength by May 1781. This delayed his departure to Virginia, however, where he had been sent to assist General Lafayette against British forces operating there. The line's departure was delayed once more when the men complained about being paid in the nearly worthless Continental currency. During the Yorktown campaign, Wayne was shot in the leg; the lead musket ball was never removed from his leg. After Cornwallis' army surrendered at Yorktown, Wayne went south to Georgia where in concert with Nathanael Greene he maintained a military observation of British-held Savannah. During this period, he unsuccessfully demanded on behalf of Georgia's citizens that the British return the American slaves who had fled to freedom on British-held Tybee Island. With the goal of establishing peace between the United States and Muscogee, Wayne captured several Muscogee warriors and proceeded to release them in order to establish goodwill. Fearing an attack from Loyalist forces under Lieutenant-colonel Thomas Brown in Savannah, Wayne made camp and prepared for a confrontation. Unbeknownst to him, Brown had persuaded the Muscogee to attack Wayne. A force of Muscogee warriors ambushed his camp at night, which woke Wayne. Assuming another bayonet-style ambush as had happened at Paoli, Wayne alerted his soldiers to arm themselves and prepare to die with him, and the Muscogee attack was repelled. He eventually negotiated peace treaties with both the Muscogee and Cherokee during a bout with malaria, for which Georgia purchased a slave plantation for 4,000 guineas and rewarded it to him. Wayne would suffer from complications related to malaria for the remainder of his life. ==Civilian and political life==

Pennsylvania , facing toward his home in nearby Paoli, Pennsylvania|left In 1783, Wayne returned to Pennsylvania and was celebrated as a hero, deciding to enter politics with other conservative friends at the time. He joined the Federalist Party since he believed he could secure a position among the American elite, aligning himself with the supporters of Washington, and like most federalists, he favored centralization, federalism, modernization, and protectionism. He went on to support Republicanism because Wayne ultimately believed that the United States should have a strong centrally-controlled government, stronger banks, manufacturing, and a standing army and navy. Eventually Wayne presented himself as a candidate for the Pennsylvania Council of Censors and on election day in October 1783, he gathered troops and approached electoral judges, demanding that they would be allowed to vote. On October 10, 1783, he was promoted to major general. Wayne was elected to serve in the Pennsylvania General Assembly for two years.The Council convened to assess Pennsylvania's governmental operations and ascertain if constitutional reforms were deemed imperative. Georgia Wayne, similar to other leaders of the revolutionary period, condoned and participated in owning slaves. He owned enslaved African Americans after the war; he would eventually take over the family farm and tannery business in Chester County. Wayne inherited a 40-year-old male slave named Toby, who was registered in Chester County as a "slave for life." In 1786, he obtained slaves through the confiscated plantations, Richmond and Kew with a total area of . The 47 slaves were purchased from Adam Tunno, Samuel Potts, and others. He hired a plantation overseer to manage the plantation and direct the actions of his slaves. Wayne also had a personal slave named "Caesar" that he named after his favorite historical figure, Julius Caesar. The plantations, were confiscated and officially given to Wayne in 1786 along with loans from Dutch bankers for repairs. Wayne quickly fell into debt running the plantations. He is also documented neglecting his business, frequently attending out of state political events, social parties, time with former soldiers, time in Pennsylvania, or traveling. His plantations were ultimately unsuccessful because of neglect and acquiring a large amount of debt. He later begged various acquaintances to assist him with making payments before selling the plantations. His contemporaries criticized him and his overseer for having a "relaxed" hand. He was a delegate to the state convention that ratified the United States Constitution in 1788 and lost elections to the Senate and the House that same year. Seeing how Arthur St. Clair served as governor of the Northwest Territory, in 1789, Wayne began a scheme to lead a similar territory he called the "Southern District", saying he would use his position to establish territorial control and combat any existing Native Americans or Spanish. Beginning his brief political career on March 4, 1791, Wayne remained loyal to George Washington while also facing disputes regarding election fraud. While in Congress, Wayne promoted the increased militarization of the United States and warned against future attacks from the British. He supported an act of 5,000 troops entering to secure ceded land in the Northwest Territory. House investigations found that Gibbons replaced election magistrates with personal friends, that voting lists were falsified with some results having more votes than eligible voters and that Superior Court judge Henry Osborne approved the results while having knowledge of the irregularities. Wayne officially had his congressional seat vacated on March 21, 1792. As a civilian, Wayne ultimately found himself bankrupt, abandoned by his wife, and later removed from office. ==Later military career==

The Northwest Indian War, which had begun in 1786, had been a disaster for the United States, which had suffered two major defeats: the 1790 Harmar campaign and St. Clair's defeat in 1791. The latter defeat was a particularly crushing blow, with an American force of ~1,000 men suffering a 97% casualty rate. St. Clair's defeat proved to be "the most decisive defeat in the history of the American military" and the United States' largest defeat at the hands of Native Americans. Wayne's close friend Major General Richard Butler died during the battle, and Wayne argued the U.S. military's disorganization and political infighting contributed to the American defeat. United States Secretary of War Henry Knox agreed with Wayne, writing in July 1789 that "the sword of the Republic only, is adequate to guard a due administration of Justice, and the preservation of the peace," believing that treaties with Native Americans were worthless. Washington, who was under congressional investigation, felt his best choice was to recruit Wayne to take on this daunting task despite Wayne's recent past. Injured, with swollen legs and recurring malaria, Wayne quickly accepted command of the Legion of the United States. Washington also allotted an extraordinary budget for Wayne to triple the size of the army, administering $1 million, about 83% of the federal budget, to establish control of the Northwest Territory through 1,280 enlisted soldiers. Samuel W. Pennypacker, a former governor of Pennsylvania and president of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, goes on to elaborate on Wayne's perceived importance of American demonstrations of strength, "Wayne had reached the conclusion that we should never have a permanent peace until the Indians were taught to respect the power of the United States, and until the British were compelled to give up their posts along the shores of the lake." Command of the Legion of the United States Upon accepting his new position, Wayne said, "I clearly foresee that it is a command which must inevitably be attended with the most anxious care, fatigue, and difficulty, and from which more may be expected than will be in my power to perform." Although recruiting proved to be a difficult effort with the failures of past American expeditions still fresh, Wayne eventually was able to successfully boost the number of soldiers in the Legion. Wayne then established Fort Lafayette on September 4, 1792, as a frontier settlement from Fort Pitt. Based on earlier failures of American generals, it was vital to train new soldiers and prepare them for new conflicts. Wayne established a basic training facility at Legionville to prepare professional soldiers for the reorganized army, stating that the area near Pittsburgh was "a frontier Gomorrah" that distracted troops. Wayne was a strict disciplinarian and executed several troops for offenses. On April 7, 1793, Wayne's troops moved to Fort Washington in Ohio and continued their intense training while also entrenching themselves to repel potential attacks. Each day, he allowed troops to receive half a gill of whiskey with their rations and an extra one for the best shooters. Barrels of rum, whiskey, wine, flour, and rations were stockpiled at various forts and traveled with Wayne's legion. After learning of a smaller than originally anticipated military force, Wayne had to turn to recruiting local Kentucky citizens with the help of Kentucky Governor, Isaac Shelby. Although Wayne was able to successfully add Kentucky citizens to the Legion, there were still fewer than expected and many joined too late to have a significant impact. After observing Wayne's activities for two years, Little Turtle declared that Wayne was "the Chief that does not sleep" and advised fellow Indians to answer calls for peace, though Blue Jacket and Indian Department officials were opposed. The Native Americans attempted to flee to Fort Miami, though the fort's commander, Major William Campbell closed its doors as he was unwilling to risk a war with the United States. Wayne then used Fort Deposit as a base of operations because of its proximity to Fort Miami and encamped for three days in sight of Fort Miami. Wayne attempted to provoke Campbell by destroying McKee's post as well as Native American crops and villages within sight of Fort Miami before withdrawing. When Campbell inquired as to the meaning of the encampment, Wayne replied that the answer had already been given by the sound of American muskets. The next day, Wayne rode alone to Fort Miami and slowly conducted an inspection of the fort's exterior walls. The fort's garrison debated whether to engage Wayne, but in the absence of orders and with Britain already being at war with France, Campbell declined to fire the first shots. Neither Campbell nor Wayne was willing to be the one to start a second war, and the Legion finally departed for Fort Recovery. Throughout the campaign, Wayne had advocated for vigilance against potential British attacks and planned for another large battle while the Legion was at full strength. When Wayne arrived at Kekionga unopposed on September 17, 1794, he razed the Miami capital and then selected it as the site for the new Fort Wayne. Betrayal by Wilkinson When picking a general to lead the Legion of the United States, President Washington considered a few options, most notably Wayne and James Wilkinson. When thinking of his choices, Washington found Wayne to be, "more active and enterprising than Judicious and cautious," and Wilkinson to be lacking experience, "as he was but a short time in the Service." Throughout the campaign, Wayne's second in command, General Wilkinson secretly tried to undermine him. Wilkinson wrote anonymous negative letters to local newspapers about Wayne and spent years writing negative letters to politicians in Washington, D.C. Wayne was unaware as Wilkinson was recorded as being extremely polite to Wayne in person. Wilkinson was also a Spanish spy at the time and even served as an officer. In December 1794, Wilkinson secretly instructed suppliers to delay rations and send just enough to keep the army alive in hopes of preventing progress. ==Death==

in Radnor Township, Pennsylvania, which contains Wayne's bones|337x337px Wayne died during a return trip to Pennsylvania from a military post in Detroit. It has been speculated, but never proven, that Wilkinson had him assassinated by poison. Shortly after the Northwest Indian War and Wayne's death, his treaty was not enforced. Wayne was buried at Fort Presque Isle, where the modern Wayne Blockhouse stands. His son, Isaac Wayne, disinterred the body in 1809 and had the corpse boiled to remove the remaining flesh from the bones. He then placed the bones into two saddlebags and relocated them to the family plot in the graveyard of St. David's Episcopal Church in Wayne, Pennsylvania. The other remains were reburied but were rediscovered in 1878, giving Wayne two known grave sites. ==Legacy==

Military service Wayne's military service legacy is mixed. He is not recognized as a strategist and is primarily seen as a reckless battle tactician. His overhaul of the army and its build up is considered the first attempt by the United States to provide formalized basic training for regular Army troops. He was recognized for his grandiose and luxurious tendencies. Nonetheless, later American politicians glorified Wayne. President Theodore Roosevelt later praised Wayne as America's best fighting general. Participation in ethnic cleansing and slavery Along with other American Founding Fathers, Wayne's reputation has more recently been scrutinized for slavery and his actions against Native American tribes. He was recognized as being racist, with Rob Harper, a historian and professor at University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, describing Wayne as holding beliefs of "racial and cultural chauvinism". During the Northwest Indian War, some historians have described Wayne's military leadership as contributing to the displacement of Native American populations in the Ohio Valley, sometimes characterizing these actions as ethnic cleansing. Historian Jeffrey Ostler, writing about how Native Americans perceived the genocide of their people, noted the Native American description of Wayne as a "Black Snake": Wayne's victory during the Northwest Indian War set a precedent for the treatment of Native Americans by the federal government of the United States. At a February 2019 city council meeting in Fort Wayne, Indiana, its members voted to approve Anthony Wayne Day, causing controversy due to his participation in ethnic cleansing and slavery. Supporters used text from the Unlikely General by Mary Stockwell to defend Wayne at the time, resulting with Harper criticizing the book saying it was sympathetic towards Wayne and that "the book's blind spots and errors make it a perilous instrument for correcting the historical record." In 2018, Anthony Wayne was featured on PBS series A Taste of History in episode Remember Paoli! Wayne is one of the main characters in Ann Rinaldi's historical novel, A Ride into Morning. Wayne is a character in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. Batman co-creator and writer Bill Finger named Bruce Wayne after him, and later writers established Bruce Wayne as a fictional descendant of Anthony Wayne. Anthony Wayne was depicted in the comic series as Bruce's direct ancestor. Descendants and relatives Wayne's notable relatives and descendants include: • Isaac Wayne (1772–1852), Wayne's son, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. • William Wayne (1828–1901), great-grandson, member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and member of the Union Army. • William Wayne (1855–1933), great-great-grandson, member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives • Blake Ragsdale Van Leer (1893–1956), fifth president of Georgia Tech and leader in desegregation • Blake Wayne Van Leer (1926–1997), a prominent commander and captain in the U.S. Navy and led Seabee program, the nuclear research and power unit at McMurdo Station during Operation Deep Freeze. • Jonwayne (1990–present), a Southern California-based rapper and record producer. • Blake Van Leer III (1982–present), an entrepreneur, film producer and candidate for North Carolina House of Representatives Memorials and honors (1937) by American sculptor John Gregory, located at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. A lunette above the door in the United States Senate room 128, designed originally to house the Senate Committee on Military Affairs and Militia, features a fresco by Constantino Brumidi named "Storming at Stonypoint, General Wayne wounded in the head carried to the fort". On September 14, 1929, the U.S. Post Office issued a stamp honoring Wayne which commemorated the 135th anniversary of the Battle of Fallen Timbers. The post office issued a series of stamps often referred to as the "Two Cent Reds" by collectors, most of them issued to commemorate the 150th anniversaries of the many events that occurred during the American Revolution. The stamp shows Bruce Saville's Battle of Fallen Timbers Monument. In February 2019, the city council Fort Wayne, Indiana, approved the creation of Anthony Wayne Day by a vote of 6–3. The approval sparked debate, was criticized by other councilmen, reporters, and the Miami tribe. The Miami tribe, who maintain a strong connection with Fort Wayne as part of their ancestral homeland, objected to many of the facts put forward by supporters to champion Wayne. The Miamis were quoted, "In a show of respect for Fort Wayne's own sovereignty, the tribal council came to a decision: It would object to the resolution's historical errors and omissions, but not to the honoring of Wayne himself." The Wayne National Forest located in southeast Ohio was named in honor of General Wayne. It was established as a National Forest for the public in December 1992. Several of Wayne's uniforms, ranks, tactics and military legions exist today in the US Army. His legions were renamed regiments. One of them is now known as the Third Regiment of Infantry which is best known for its role in the changing-of-the-guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arlington National Cemetery. Locations named after Anthony Wayne There are also many townships named after Anthony Wayne, including 21 in Ohio alone. ==Gallery==

File:Flickr - USCapitol - The Storming of Stony Point, 1779.jpg|The Storming of Stony Point, 1779 by Constantino Brumidi (1871) in room S-128 of the United States Capitol File:Gen Anthony Wayne 1929 Issue-2c.jpg|Battle of Fallen Timbers, commemorative issue of 1928, 2¢ File:Waynesboro.JPG|His home, Waynesborough in Paoli, Pennsylvania File:Gen. Anthony Wayne.jpeg|Steel engraving of Anthony Wayne by Alonza Chappel File:AnthonyWayneBridge.JPG|Anthony Wayne Bridge (Toledo, Ohio) File:Wayne, PA Keystone Marker.jpg|Keystone Marker in Wayne, Pennsylvania, named for General Wayne File:EWagnerAWayne1.jpg|Wayne County Building (Detroit, Michigan) pediment File:Maccabees Building, Wayne State University - IMG 8926.JPG|Wayne State University. Detroit, Michigan, Maccabees Building ==References==