| Notes |
- The Revolutionary War hero. See his biography from the American National Biography, entry by Paul David Nelson, and his book: Paul David Nelson, Anthony Wayne: Soldier of the Early Republic (1985).
According to Cope and Fulthey (which is no doubt dated in aspects):
"WAYNE, GEN. ANTHONY.— Anthony Wayne, the famous military chieftain of Chester County, was born in the township of Easttown, Jan. 1, 1745. His father, Isaac Wayne, was a respectable farmer and useful citizen, having repeatedly occupied a seat in the Provincial Assembly, and often distinguished himself in expeditions against the belligerent Indians. His grandfather, Anthony, was a native of Yorkshire, England, but in early life removed into the county of Wicklow, Ireland. He commanded a squadron of dragoons, under King William, at the battle of the Boyne; and being warmly attached to liberal principles, he migrated with his family to America in 1722. The subject of this notice received a good mathematical education, and for some years was employed in surveying, practical astronomy, and engineering. When the difficulties betwen the colonies and the mother-country arose, our Anthony Wayne was among the foremost and most active of the Chester County Whigs in counteracting the oppressive measures of Britain, and preparing the way for the Revolutionary contest. A large meeting of the inhabitants of the county was held at Chester in December, 1774, to devise measures for the protection of their rights as freemen, in pursuance of a resolution of the Continental Congress, and a committee of seventy was chosen, with Anthony Wayne as chairman, to aid in superseding the colonial government, and to take charge of the local interests of the county.
He soon aspired to military service, and early in January, 1776, was appointed by Congress colonel of the Fourth Pennsylvania Battalion, which was sent to the frontier of Canada, and passed the year in the vicinity of Ticonderoga. In February, 1777, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, and the following summer joined the main army, under Washington, in New Jersey, where he was placed at the head of a brigade. He was a man of imperious disposition, and soon became an admirable disciplinarian. At the battle of Brandywine, Sept. 11, 1777, Gen. Wayne commanded a division stationed at Chads' Ford, for the purpose of resisting the column under Knyphausen. He maintained the contest with the utmost gallantry, until a large division of the enemy (through an unaccountable lack of vigilance on the part of the American scouts) had crossed the Brandywine above the forks, turned the right of Washington's army, and compelled a retreat. Some days afterwards, viz., on the night of September 20th, the enemy stole a march into Wayne's camp, near the Paoli, and perpetrated a cruel butchery, under the direction of Gen. Grey. At the battle of Germantown Gen. Wayne evinced his wonted valor, leading his division into the thickest of the fight; and in covering the retreat he used every exertion which bravery and prudence could dictate. During a large portion of this campaign of 1777, owing to a combination of circumstances, he performed alone the duty of three general officers. While the army was suffering miserably at Valley Forge, in the ensuing winter, he performed valuable service on the eastern banks of the Delaware in securing cattle for the American troops, and destroying forage which could not be removed, and might otherwise fall into the hands of the enemy. He returned to the army about the middle of March, and, with his officers and soldiers, received the thanks of the commander-in-chief. In all councils of war Gen. Wayne was distinguished for supporting the most energetic and decisive measures. The characteristic anecdote is told of Wayne that he was accustomed to attend such consultations with a volume of "Tom Jones" or other interesting novel in his pocket, and would be quietly reading in one corner of the room while the anxious company were discussing the measures proper to be pursued. When they had severally given their views, the commander-in-chief would inquire, "Well, Gen. Wayne, what do you propose to do?" "Fight, sir!" is said to have been his invariable answer. No wonder that his impetuous daring should procure for him the familiar sobriquet of "Mad Anthony!" Fighting was constitutional with him, and he was always ready for a fray. In the council which was held before the battle of Monmouth, he and Gen. Cadwallader were the only two of the seventeen general officers who were in favor of fighting. This engagement added to his reputation, his ardor and resolution having been so conspicuous that Washington mentioned him with particular distinction in his official report to Congress. In 1779 he had an opportunity to retaliate nobly on the enemy at Stony Point, by sparing the lives of many of the same ruffians who showed no mercy in the "Paoli massacre." For his gallantry on this occasion the thanks of Congress and a gold medal, emblematic of the action, were presented to him.
During the campaign of 1780, Gen. Wayne was actively employed, in command of the Pennsylvania line; and in that of 1781— which ended in the capture of Cornwallis and the British forces at Yorktown— he bore a conspicuous part. He was next sent by Washington to take command in Georgia, where the enemy were making formidable progress. After some sanguinary encounters, he effected the establishment of security and order, and was presented by the Legislature of the State with a valuable farm for his services. Peace soon followed, when he retired to private life with a military reputation which, in the time of Gonsalvo de Cordova, would have secured for Wayne the title of "Gran Capitan." In 1783 he was elected one of the State Censors of Pennsylvania, and the next year a member of Assembly. In 1789 he was a member of the Pennsylvania Convention, and an advocate of the Constitution of the United States. In 1792, Gen. Wayne was appointed by Washington the successor of Gen. St. Clair in the Indian war on the Western frontier. By the admirable discipline of his troops, and the skill and bravery with which he fought and gained the battle of the Miami of the Lakes, he brought the war to a successful termination. The Chester County hero closed his splendid career and his valuable life at Presque Isle, in Pennsylvania, on the 14th of December, 1796, and was buried there, on the shore of Lake Erie.
In the year 1809 the Pennsylvania State Society of Cincinnati resolved to erect a monument to the memory of their gallant brother-soldier; and in the mean time his son, Col. Isaac Wayne, proceeded to the margin of Lake Erie, and brought the remains to the family cemetery at St. David's church, in the vicinity of the general's patrimonial estate. There were no railroads in those days, and Col. Wayne traveled in a gig or sulky. The remains were placed in a box, which was fastened to the vehicle, and in that way he brought them from Erie to his home. The colonel used to relate that at the inns where he stopped overnight the hostlers were rather shy when they learned what was in the box, of which he made no secret.
On the 5th of June, 1811, the monument was erected with appropriate ceremonies, in the presence of the Cincinnati Society, all the troops of cavalry of the city and county of Philadelphia, an elegant troop from Montgomery County, and a large concourse of citizens.
The farm on which Anthony Wayne, the emigrant, settled in 1722, and where his grandson, Gen. Wayne, was born and always resided, is situated in Easttown township, about one mile southeast of Paoli, and near the road leading from the latter place to the Leopard. The dwelling, which is of stone, was erected by Isaac Wayne, the son of the emigrant, and the father of the general, in 1765. The property descended from Gen. Wayne to his son, Col. Isaac Wayne, and was by him devised to Capt. William Wayne, the present owner, who is a great-grandson of Gen. Wayne. The furniture of the parlor remains much as it was in the days of Gen. Wayne, and the room is an admirably preserved relic of the olden time. Capt. Wayne is now (1881) a member of the Pennsylvania Legislature.
A bust of Gen. Wayne, modeled by William Marshall Swayne, a native of Chester County, and executed in marble, adorns the court-room in West Chester. It is an admirable representation of the general, and is pronounced by connoisseurs to be a highly creditable work of art, and shows that Mr. Swayne possesses much more than ordinary ability as a sculptor. The bust was completed by Mr. Swayne in 1861, and was placed in the court-house in 1872." [4]
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1745 - 1796 (51 years)
English
1709 - 1793 (84 years)
