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". He later served as the Senior Officer of the Army on the Ohio Country frontier and led the Legion of the United States.
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 1777 Battle of Paoli, he won wide praise for his leadership in the 1779 Battle of Stony Point and was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. 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. In 1780, he was elected to the American Philosophical Society.
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 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 the tribes’ alliance with the British Empire. In the 21st century, Wayne's legacy has become controversial due to his ownership of slaves and his participation in the ethnic cleansing of Native Americans during the Northwest Indian War.
Wayne was born on January 1, 1745, on his family's 500-acre (200 ha) 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 was educated as a surveyor at his uncle's private academy in Philadelphia and at the College of Philadelphia for two years. 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.
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.
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 January 3, 1776, Wayne was nominated as colonel of the 4th Pennsylvania Regiment by the Pennsylvania delegation of the Second Continental Congress. The poor supplies and controversies between his regiment and the Pennsylvania assembly would later influence Wayne to support the centralization of government.
Wayne discarded the conventional tactics of line warfare, stating "the only good lines are those nature made", and instead focused on maneuver warfare and strict discipline. He and his regiment were part of the Continental Army's unsuccessful invasion of Quebec where he was sent to aid Benedict Arnold. Wayne commanded a successful rear-guard action at the Battle of Trois-Rivières and then led the forces on Lake Champlain at Fort Ticonderoga and Mount Independence. His service led to his promotion to brigadier general on February 21, 1777. Some historians claim Wayne's nickname "Mad Anthony" came from his military tactics from the Battle of Green Spring in Virginia, which his men barely escaped an outnumbered British force with a bayonet charge. Others claim it was from his quick temper and what historians label "off-color language," specifically during an incident when he severely punished a skilled informant for being drunk.
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 two miles (3.2 km) 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." Through these tough conditions, Wayne wrote that he sought to keep his soldiers "well and comfortable."
In January 1779, Wayne was staying at the home of Abraham Van Neste, owner of the mills at the site of the Battle of Millstone, along with his subordinate soldiers. 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.