Anthony Wayne
Anthony Wayne was a man of medium height, a handsome, well-proportioned face with a slightly aquiline nose and high forehead. His hair was dark, his eyes dark brown and penetrating, giving his face a very animated appearance.Who can write the story of the aspiring General Anthony Wayne? He sought personal fame, recognition, and wealth at any cost. His turmoil was the turning event during the American Revolutionary War. Although his wife possessed wealth, Wayne could not acquire the wealth and fame that he desired. As a General and in his personal life, he did not always make the best decision, and when he saw himself declining, he jumped onto another wagon of the British Army.
Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745-Dec. 15, 1796), soldier, was born at Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. He was the only son of Isaac and Elizabeth (Iddings) Wayne. Isaac Wayne's parents were of English ancestry and emigrated from Ireland in about 1724, settling in Chester County, Pennsylvania, where he acquired some 500 acres of land and a thriving tannery. At sixteen, the boy attended a private academy kept by his uncle, Gilbert Wayne, in Philadelphia. He learned enough mathematics to qualify as a surveyor, with some further application after he left school two years later. In 1765, a Philadelphia land company sent him to supervise the surveying and settlement of 100,000 acres of land in Nova Scotia. When that venture failed on March 25, 1766, he returned to Pennsylvania and married Mary Penrose, the daughter of Bartholomew Penrose, a Philadelphia merchant. They had two children. Wayne went to live on his father's estate, taking charge of the tannery. In 1774, his father died, and Anthony succeeded as the owner of a profitable establishment.
During the early Revolutionary movement, Anthony Waye was chairman of the committee appointed in 1774 to frame the resolutions of protest against the coercive acts of the British government. He was later made chairman of the county committee appointed to supervise the carrying out of the association drawn up by the first Continental Congress. He represented his county in the provincial assembly that met in 1775. On January 3, 1776, Congress appointed him to be a Colonel of a Chester County regiment of the Continental Army, and as a soldier, he served through the war. His youth and lack of formal training in the arts of war prevented him from being on friendly terms with many of his colleagues. He had personal arguments with St. Clair, Charles Lee, and James Wilkinson. His contemporaries agreed that he was impetuous, yet Alexander Graydon, who called his manner fervid, admitted that Wayne could " fight and brag."
Although General George Washington feared Wayne's impetuousness, seventeen years later, they chose Wayne to lead the Army against the northwestern Indians. In the spring of 1776, Wayne was part of General William Thompson's Pennsylvania brigade to reinforce the faltering Canadian expedition. When the Pennsylvanians met the retreating remnants of Montgomery's Army at the mouth of the Sorel River, Wayne was sent to attack what he thought was the advance guard of the British Army at Three Rivers. It turned out to be the main Army numbering 3,000, and Wayne, whose regiment was in the front of the attack, found himself sustaining a hot exchange with the enemy to cover the retreat of his outnumbered compatriots to Fort Ticonderoga. He was placed in command of the garrison of over two thousand men and had his first taste of wretched provisioning, sickness, starvation, and mutiny.
September 11, 1777, the Battle of Brandywine
On February 21, 1777, Wayne was appointed to the rank of Brigadier-General. On April 12, Wayne joined Washington at Morristown, New Jersey, and commanded the Pennsylvania line. After a season of training and drill, his division took an active part in resisting the British in their campaign against Philadelphia.During the battle of Brandywine, Wayne occupied the center of the defense, opposing the British at their main point of crossing. He was obliged to retreat when the American right was flanked by Lord Cornwallis, who crossed the creek higher up.
After General Washington withdrew north of the Schuylkill, he sent Wayne to circle around the British's rear and surprise and destroy their baggage train. But Wayne was surprised and received a beating in the battle of Paoli on September 20. He demanded a court martial when he was accused of negligence and was acquitted.
October 4, 1777, the Battle of Germantown
Rejoining Washington, he played a conspicuous part in the battle of Germantown, leading a spirited and almost victorious attack. But Wayne's Army was forced back when difficulties in the rear turned the victory into confusion and defeat.Notes: In 1777, Conditions remained unstable with the Indians, as only recently had two young men, Gilmore and Hamilton from Kerr's Creek belonging to a company commanded by Captain James Hall, went to the Kanawha to hunt. Upon their return, as they approached the river, some Indians hiding in the weeds fired upon them. Gilmore was killed and scalped, but Hamilton was rescued by some of his comrads. As the bloody body of Gilmore was taken across the river, and a cry arose to kill the Indians in the fort. Thus, Hall's men, with the captain at their head, rushed in and killed the two chiefs, Cornstalk and Redhawk.
Later on, when Indian warfare was somewhat diminishing on the frontier,in August of that same year, General Anthony Wayne encountered and routed a large body of the Indians at the rapids of the Great Maumee river in Ohio. It was his last achievement as a popular hero. Certain landmarks sprang up around the country, such as the Wayne Tavern in Staunton, Virginia; a swinging sign located at the corner of Beverley and New Streets was painted with a likeness of Mad Anthony.