Anthony Wayne
Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and a Founding Father of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military exploits and fiery personality quickly earned him a promotion to brigadier general and the nickname "Mad Anthony".[1] He later served as the Senior Officer of the Army on the Ohio Country frontier and led the Legion of the United States.
For other uses, see Anthony Wayne (disambiguation).
Anthony Wayne
January 1, 1745
Easttown Township, Province of Pennsylvania, British America
December 15, 1796 (aged 51)
Fort Presque Isle, Erie, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Fort Presque Isle, Erie, Pennsylvania, U.S.
and
St. David's Episcopal Church, Radnor, U.S.
2, including Isaac
- Isaac Wayne (father)
William Wayne (great-grandson)
William Wayne (great-great-grandson)
Blake Wayne Van Leer
Jonwayne
Samuel Van Leer (brother-in-law)
Soldier
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Mad Anthony
United States
Continental Army (1775–1783)
United States Army (1792–1796)
Wayne was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and worked as a tanner and surveyor after attending the College of Philadelphia. He was elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly and helped raise a Pennsylvania militia unit in 1775. During the Revolutionary War, he served in the Invasion of Quebec, the Philadelphia campaign, and the Yorktown campaign. Although his reputation suffered after his defeat in the Battle of Paoli, he won wide praise for his leadership in the 1779 Battle of Stony Point and was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.[2] Soon after being promoted to major general in 1783, he retired from the Continental Army. Anthony Wayne was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati of the state of Georgia.[3] In 1780, he was elected to the American Philosophical Society.[4]
After the war, Wayne held a brief career in congress and private business. Following St. Clair's defeat, Wayne was recalled by President Washington from civilian life to command of U.S. forces in the Northwest Indian War, where he defeated the British-backed Northwestern Confederacy, an alliance of several American Indian tribes. Leading up to the war, Wayne oversaw a major change and reorganization of the entire United States Army. Following the 1794 Battle of Fallen Timbers, he later negotiated the Treaty of Greenville which ended the war and their alliance with the British.[5]
Wayne's legacy is controversial and debated in the 21st century with his legacy contested, due to his tactics under the Washington administration’s policies against Indian tribes during the Northwest Indian War.[6][7][5]
Early life[edit]
Wayne 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.[8]
Wayne was born on January 1, 1745, on his family's 500 acre Waynesborough estate.[9][10] During his upbringing, Wayne clashed with his father's desires that he become a farmer.[11] 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.[10] He was educated as a surveyor at his uncle's private academy in Philadelphia and at the College of Philadelphia for two years.[10] In 1765, Benjamin Franklin sent him and some associates to work for a year surveying land granted in Nova Scotia, where he surveyed 100,000 acres. He assisted with starting a settlement the following year at The Township of Monckton and was involved with preparing the infrastructure to last through winters.[12][13]
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.[14][15]He later became a U.S. representative from Pennsylvania.[16]
Wayne was an avid reader and often quoted Caesar and Shakespeare at length while serving in the military.[17]
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.[18]
The Storming of Stony Point, 1779 by Constantino Brumidi (1871) in room S-128 of the United States Capitol
Steel engraving of Anthony Wayne by Alonza Chappel
