ALLEN COUNTY INDIANA
BIOGRAPHY OF
GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE

    Anthony Wayne was not alone a valiant officer and soldier. He was a moral hero. His frontal brain was large, and the crown of his head well expanded. Largely intuitive, ever thoughtful, sagacious, and resolute of will; his' soul was imbued with a large feeling of beneficence as well as determination a high admiration of the beautiful and picturesque in nature. While clinging to the sword, as a means of safety, he was disposed to invite his antagonist to in in a council of peace. Always on the look-out cautious and most prudent in his movements   bold, intrepid, and fearless, when called to the field of battle, his opponents were sure, sooner or later, to come to defeat. He was, by nature and organization, a soldier, a a tactician, a hero. Somewhat scholarly, he wrote not only a fair hand, but an agreeable diction ; and was noted for his laconicism. Born with the great spirit of true deeply impressed upon him, at an early age he became imbued with the importance of’ freeing his country, and making it an asylum .for the out-growth, establishment, and perpetuation of unsullied liberty, free institutions, and good government. Thus actuated and impelled, the name Wayne is found among the first to lead the way at the commencement of the American Revolution; and when a few years after the long struggle for Independence, the West called for the services of one equal to the emergency of the time, he was soon sent to her relief; and the country, after the lapse of a few months, subsequent to his movement thither, was made to rejoice under a new reign of peace and safety.?
    The  grand-father of Wayne was an Englishman by birth, who left his native  country  during 1681, and removed to Ireland, where he devoted himself to agriculture for a period of several years. Entering the army "of William of Orange, against King James, the exile, in 1690, he fought at the battle of the Boyne, and took part in the siege of Limerick, making himself quite serviceable to the state, for which he seems never to have been duly rewarded, and becoming eventually much dissatisfied with the general relations of his adopted country, at the age of sixty three he left Ireland, and ventured upon a voyage across the Ocean, reaching Pennsylvania in 1722. With the new country he was much pleased, and soon purchased a a and settled in Chester county of that state and it was here that his grand-son and name-sake, the subject of this sketch, was on  on the 1st of January, 1745.
    But little is known, of the early life of Wayne, further than he wits accounted a " pretty wild boy," and from his youth seemed to have had a greater fondness for the art and peril of mar than any thing his mind could be called to. For this pass-time and amusement, he forsook school, school-books, and gave little heed to much, earnest advice. His uncle, Gilbert Wayne, to whom Anthony was sent as a pupil to acquire the common rudiments of an education, wrote to his father as follows concerning his nephew.
    I really suspect," said he, " that parental affection blinds you ; arid that you have mistaken your son's capacity. What he may be best qualified for, I know not; but one thing E am certain of, that he will never make a scholar. Me may make a soldier he has already distracted the brains of two thirds of the boys under my direction, by rehearsals of battles, and sieges . They exhibit more the appearance of Indians and harlequins than of students; this one, decorated with a cap of many colors; and others, habited in coats as variegated as Joseph's of old; some, laid up with broken heads, ancl with black eyes. During noon instead of the usual games and amusements, he has the boys employed in throwing up redoubts, skirmishing. I must be candid with you, brother Isaac ; unless Anthony pays more attention to his books, I  shall be under the painful necessity of dismissing him from the school."
    The result of this was a severe lecture from his father, whom threatened, likewise, to withdraw him from school and place him upon the farm at bard work, if failing to conduct himself differently, in the future, and give over his sham battling, erection of redoubts, military rehearsals, and building of mud forts. The earnest, resolute words of his father, for whom he entertained a strong affection and regard, mere deeply impressed upon him; and he resolved to return to his uncle, devote himself to his studies, and forsake all that, had given rise to former complaint against him. Thus acting and applying himself diligently to his studies for a period of ,eighteen months, his uncle was compelled to admit that he had not only " acquired all that his master could teach," but that; he merited the means of higher and more general instruction," which induced his at at once to send him to the Philadelphia Academy, where, at, the age of eighteen years, he had acquired. an extended knowledge of Astronomy and Mathematics. Returning again to his native county, lie now entered upon the business of land surveying.
    It was about this period. that the peace between the powers of Great Britain and France was  terminated, which placed Nova Scotia in the possession of the former, and the British government at once bethought to colonize her newly acquired territory ; and associations soon began to be formed in  some of the older provinces with a view to colonizing these newly acquired regions, Prominent among these was a company of merchants and others, from Pennsylvania, embracing among their number Benjamin Franklin, and through the recommendation of Franklin, young Wayne then in his twenty -first year, was readily chosen special agent to visit the newly acquired territory, to examine the soil best adapted to agricultural pursuits, and to gain information as to " the means of commercial facilities connected with it," Upon this important mission young Wayne not only soon embarked and performed the duties thereof most satisfactorily to l concerned, but was continued in the trust till the year 1767, when the difficulties, then assuming a serious attitude between the mother country and the colonial settlements of America, had the effect to break up the enterprise and call the attention of the colonists to matters of self defense directly within the colonial settlements.
    Returning again to Pennsylvania young Wayne, in 1767, was united in wedlock to the daughter of a distinguished merchant in Philadelphia, of the name of‘ Benjamin Penrose, whither he soon returned to Chester county, and again embarked in the occupation of surveying, engaging also in agricultural pursuits when a short cessation or pause in his profession occurred ; and in this latter vocation he is said to have " found much to gratify his taste."
    Continuing to menace the colonies, and insist upon her policy of tax­ation, up to the period of 1774 - 5 to which time we find Wayne still engaged in the business of surveying and farming Great Britain was at length met with a formidable front by the colonists, who had determined to resist the further aggressions of the king and Parliament of the British government, even to the sword. Indeed, matters had'now assumed such a shape as to leave no room or hope for escape on the part of the colonial settlements; and Wayne was among the first to step forward and declare for a positive stand against the further encroachment of the British Crown.
    The events now surely leading to a long and severe struggle against the mother country, in which he was to take so active a part, had years before, when but a boy, been foreshadowed in his ardent love of military sports, his fondness for the erection of redoubts and mud forts, of which his uncle so earnestly complained ; and seeing largely the importance of readiness for such a campaign, Wayne began at once to withdraw himself from all political assemblies of the country, and devote himself to the organization and instruction of military bodies. In this he was not only wise, but successful; for, within the period of six weeks, he was able to bring together and form a company of volunteers, having," says the account, from which the foregoing was principally drawn," more the appearance of a veteran than of a military regiment."
    The energy and capacity of Wayne had, now begun to attract public attention and during the early part of January, 1776, the Continental Congress readily conferred upon him the title of Colonel, and gave him the command of " one of the four regiments required from Pennsylvania,, in reinforcement of the northern army."  In his new capaoity, he was ever  noted  for his diligence and activity, and his efforts mere always attended with marked success.
    The regiment under his command having been speedily raised and equipped, he soon took up his line of march for Canada ; whither he arrived about the latter part of June, ('76,) and formed a part of Thompson's brigade, at the mouth of the river Sorel. Major General Sullivan, then in command of the northern army, arrived at this point about the same period of Wayne's arrival, and learning that the British commander had sent a detachment of some six hundred light infantry to the westward, as far as the village of Trois Rivieres, unattended by any relief corps, a plan mas at once agreed upon for the capture of the the and post, and establishing there a formidable battery, which, if not sufficient entirely to prevent the ascent of the British armed vessels and transports to Montreal, might, for a time So embarrass the navigation, as greatly to retard their progress thither."
    Accordingly  on the 3rd of July, with St. Clair's, Wayne's and Ir­vine's regiments, Major Sullivan dispatched Thompson to a little 'Village on the south side of the St. Lawrence, called Niccolete, which stood nearly opposite to the village of Trois Rivieres.
    Learning that a place called the White house (still nearer to the assailants than Trois Rivieres) was occupied by an advanced guard," and Thompson, a tactician of the old school, being of the opinion that "troops acting offensively should leave no hostile post in their rear," began to move in the direction of the supposed position of the enemy, but soon found that the point was unoccupied.
    After the loss of much time and the encounter of many perplexities, besides placing his men in a fair position for a surprise and capture, Thompson now directed the troops to return to the place of their landing. Having, for some hours previous, been shielded by the night, the dawn now began to appear, and the enemy caught sight of the detachment, and were soon driving ’ from point to point, until, at length, the troops under Thompson were compelled to seek safety in a considerable morass, from which he j ust extricated himself," where ‘( he and a few others," were soon captured and C St. lair, second in command, having, about the same time, been disabled in one of his feet, the further direction of the forces remaining fell .upon Col. Wayne; and though badly wounded, so successful mas he in the conduct of the movement, that he soon gained the western side of the river Des Loups, and rapidly made his " way along the the bank of the St. Law­rence, to the village of Berthier," gaining the American camp at the mouth of the river Sorel in safety.
    Late in June, General Sullivan began  to perceive, from  the movements of the British, that his position was no longer a safe one; and immediately issued an order for the evacuation of the fort of the Sorel, and a retreat upon Lake Champlain.
     In this movement Wayne and the Pennsylvania regiments .were directed to cover the rear. So close was the enemy, in this move, "that the boats latest getting into motion were not beyond the Teach of musket shot, when the head of the enemy's column entered the fort." Without further molestation or alarm, the army, on the 17th of July, succeeded in reaching Ticonderoga.
    Thus we see, in the very out-set of the struggle for Independence, how our hero, step by step, made himself most serviceable to his country and, laid the foundation for lasting renown.
    The command of the northern troops, now devolving upon Gen. Gates, who, learning of the perilous condition of Washington, with eight regiments,’’ marched " to the aid of the Commander-in-chief," leaving the post of Ticonderoga in the command of Col. Wayne, with a force of two thousand five hundred men an arrangement that not only proved most, pleasing to the troops under him, but highly agreeable to Congress, which body, in order the better to encourage and sustain the appointment, soon conferred upon. Wayne the title of Brigadier-General, continuing him in command of Ticonderoga until the following spring, at which period he was called to the ranks of the main army under Gen. Washington, reaching headquarters on the 15th of May, 1777, where he was at once placed at the head of a a " which," said Washington, " could not fail under his direction to be soon and greatly distinguished."
    We now find Wayne connected with nearly every important movement of‘ the Revolution; and though, as on occasions already referred to, closely pursued or surrounded, he yet, sooner or later, was ever the successful leader or actor in every engagement.
    After the retreat of the British from Philadelphia, in June, 1777, me find the corps under Wayne, with those of Sullivan, Maxwell, and Morgan, sent in pursuit, of which, two alone (Wayne's and Morgan's) were enabled to follow up the retreat, of whom Washington, in his report to Congress, , said : " They displayed great bravery and good conduct ; constantly advancing on an enemy far superior to themselves in numbers, and well secured by redoubts."
    At the battle of Brandywine ('Wayne mas assigned the post of honor, that of leading the American attack; a service he performed with a gallantry now become habitual to himself and the division he commanded."
    At the famous engagement of Stoney Point, Wayne's own escapes are stated as " of the hair-breadth kind."? Shortly after capturing and entering the fortification of the enemy, he mas struck by a musket ball on the head, which caused his fall but he immediately rallied, crying out, " march on, carry me into the fort; for should the wound be mortal, I will, die at the head of the column."
    This engagement, considered the most brilliant of the war," is said to have "covered the commanding general (Wayne) with laurels;" of whom to referring to this occasion, said in his report to Congress: "To the encomiums he (Wayne) has deservedly bestowed on the officers and men under his command, it gives me pleasure to add that his own conduct throughout the whole of this arduous enterprise merits the warmest approbation of Congress. Me improved on the plan recommended by me, and executed it in a manner that does honor to his judgment and bravery; " and Congress tendered him a vote of thanks for his valiant efforts on the occasion in question. In addition to these, Wayne was the recipient also of many complimentary letters from men of distinction at the time, one of which, from Gen. Charles Lee, will serve as illustrative, perhaps, of their general tenor. Said Mr. Lee: what I am going to say you will not I hope consider as paying my court in this your hour of glory; for, as it is at least my present intention to leave this continent, I can have no interest in paying my court to any individual. What I shall say therefore is dictated by the genuine feelings of my heart. I do most sincerely declare that your assault of Stony Point is not only the most brilliant in my opinion, throughout the whole course of the war on either side, but that it is the most brilliant I am acquainted with in history; the assault of Schweidnitaby Marshal Loudon, I think inferior to it. I wish you, therefore, most sincerely, joy of the laurels you have deservedly acquired, and that you may long live to wear them. With respected no small admiration, I remain, "
    If a mutinous spirit arose among the troops at any time there were none better able to quell it than Wayne. Universally beloved and admired by all the privates under him, he readily exerted a salutary influence over them. This power of Wayne was strikingly illustrated during the fore part of January, 1781, soon after the distribution of the army for winter quarters. Shortly after the ordinary festivities of the day, the whole division, with a few exceptions, was found in a state of‘ open and decided insurrection, disclaiming all further obedience, and boldly avowing an intention of immediately abandoning. the post, and of seeking, with arms in their hands, a redress of their grievances. The affair proved a serious one. Every attempt to quell the movement seemed to have been met by by wounds were inflicted and lives lost." The grievances complained of, were " clothing generally bad in quality, and always deficient in quantity ; wages irregularly paid, and in a currency far below its nominal value ; and, lastly, service greatly prolonged beyond the legal term of enlistment."
    The conflict closed about half past eleven o'clock; and being no longer obstructed, the insurgents began a march toward Princeton ; and Wayne, then stationed in the neighborhood of Morristown, at some risk, determined to follow them and endeavor to bring them again to order. I n a conciliatory and dignified manner, overtaking the main body at Veal town,
he at once began to open negotiations with some of the non-commissioned officers in whom he placed most confidence; and it was not long before he succeeded in    in   them that, in order to succeed in their demands, a change in their course and demeanor would be of the first necessity   that without such a course of order on the part of the aggrieved, nothing what ever could be effected urging the necessity of organizing aboard or appointing a committee among them to set forth the grievances, and by "a full and clear statement of their    "pledging himself to become a zealous advocate in their behalf, in " so far as the claims made should be founded in justice or equity."
    These suggestions had the desired effect; the committee was duly appointed, and the march towards Princeton was again begun, but in a manner much more orderly than before.
Such was the power and force of character of the good man and valiant soldier after whom our thriving city is namecl; and may it ever emulate his example.
    As early as 1777-8, the British government having determined to direct some formidable operations against the industrial relations of the South, in the early part of April, 1781, Washington dispatched Lafayette, with twelve hundred regular infantry to Virginia ; and not long after, gave to the remains of the Pennsylvania line (about eleven hundred, commanded by Wayne,) a similar destination." We find Gen. Wayne engaging the British at Green Spring, driving the enemy's pickets, and advancing in person to within some " fifty yards of the whole British army drawn up in order of battle, and already pushing forward flank corps to envelope him." Determining to make up in boldness what he seemed to have lost or was about to lose in a too near approach to the enemy's lines, he made a bold and sudden move upon the enemy, and then retreated, which gave the British commandant to infer that it was an effort to draw his forces into ambush, which made so decided an impression in this direction, "that all pursuit of the American corps was forbidden."
    By some this movement was deemed rash; but Washington, in a letter to the General, said :" I received, with the greatest pleasure, the account of the action at Green Spring." Gen. Greene said : " the Marquis gives you great glory for your conduct in the action at Jamestown ; and I am sensible that you merit it. 0 that I had but had you with me a few days ago ! your glory and the public good might have been greatly advanced."
    On the first day of January following this movement, by order of Gen, Greene, Gen. Wayne was sent " to reinstate, as far as might be possible, the authority of the Union within the limits of Georgia, with one hundred regular dragoons, three hundred undisciplined Georgia    about the same number of State cavalry."
    Though greatly inadequate to the end desired, yet Wayne is said to have uttered no complaint or objection, but resolutely moved forward on his mission, bringing to bear his usual boldness and wisdom, sufficient, with this small force, to push the enemy from all his interior posts," and to " cut off Indian detachments marching to his aid ; ” intercepted she of the enemy's main body, and on the land side, penned him up, in a great degree, within the narrow limits of the town of Savannah and all in the short space of five weeks."
    In a letter to Gen. Greene, bearing date Feb. 28, 1782, Wayne said : "The duty we have done in Georgia was more difficult than that imposed upon the children of Israel; they had only to make bricks with straw, but we have had provision, forage, and almost every other apparatus of war, to procure without money; boats, bridges, &c, to build without material, except those taken from the stump and, what was more difficult than all, to make whigs out of tories. But this we have effected, and wrested the country out of the hands of the enemy, with the exception only of the town of Savannah. How to keep it without some additional force, is a matter worthy of consideration.
    The British troops having evacuated Savannah about the 12th of July, Wayne, by order of’ General Greene, with the troops under his command, was recalled to South Carolina. In the letter, addressed to General Wayne, recalling him from Georgia, Greene thus wrote : ‘‘ m Im nt the approaching deliverance of that unfortunate country ; and what adds to ray happiness, if that it will reflect no small honor upon you. I wish you to be persuaded, that I shall do do ample justice in my public accounts to Congress and the Commander-in-chief, I think you have conducted your command with great prudence and with astonishing perseverance ; and, in so doing, you have fully answered the high expectations I ever entertained of your military abilities, from our earliest acquaintance."
    Soon after the evacuation of Savannah, Charleston was given up by the British, which, after a treaty of peace, and an absence of seven years from his family, Wayne again returned to his homestead in Chester county, Pennsyl­vania, truly one of the most remarkable men of his day, crowned, as he well deserved, with the blessings of a whole nation of free men, and noble Women.
    But his well known abilities, and the high esteem in which he was held by his fellow citizens, soon brought him before the public again, but in another capacity from that of a soldier. He was now elected a member of the Council of Censors ; soon after this event he was honored with a seat in the Convention " called to revise and amend the Constitution of the State ; " in the discharge of which duties he acquitted himself with marked ability, and much to the satisfaction of the people.
    At the close of these duties, declining any further services of a civil or political nature, preferring to lead a life of retirement rather than one of public distinction of any kind ; thus, principally employed in the pursuits of agriculture, was his time passed until, by the wish of Washington and the voice of the people, in the early part of ‘ Wayne was again called to the service of his country, and " appointed to the command of the legion and army of the West," the result of causes which the reader will find detailed in Chapters X, XI, and XII, of this volume.
    At the close of his labors in the west, returning to the east, " plaudits and thanks, public and private," were showered upon him ; and " Congress, then in session, unanimously adopted resolutions highly complimentary to the General and the whole army."
    The gear following the treaty of Greenville, ( being  appointed sole commissioner to treat with the northwestern Indians, and also " receiver of the military posts given up by the British government, General Wayne again returned to the west ;and, after a prompt and faithful discharge of the duties attached to these new functions, while descending Lake Erie from Detroit, he was attacked by the gout," where he soon after died ; and, at his own request, (having previously been removed to the bl'ck-house) he was buried at the foot of the flagstaff of the garrison, with the simple inscription of A. W. upon the stone that served to remind the inmates and the stranger of the burial place of the patriot, the hero, the soldier, and the man of true courage and remarkable foresight, Anthony Wayne.
    For thirteen years the remains of Wayne continued to repose beneath this simple head-stone, at the foot of the old flagstaff of Erie, when, in 1 '809, his son, Col. Isaac Wayne, desiring to remove the bones of his valiant father \o the family burial place, in the cemetery of St. David's Church, in Chester county, Pennsylvania, the body was disinterred, still in a fine state of preservation, and removed as above, where a monument was raised to his memory by the Pennsylvania State Society of the Cincinnati," on which the visitant may still read on the north and south front thereof, the following inscription;
 " North front: Major General Anthony Wayne was born at Waynesborough, in Chester County, State of Pennsylvania, A. D., 1745. After a life of honor and usefulness, he died in December, 1796, at a military post on the shore of Lake Erie, Commander in Chief  of the Army of the United States. His military achievements are consecrated in the history of his country, and in the hearts of his countrymen.    His remains are here deposited.
" South front: In honor of the distinguished military services of Major General Anthony Wayne, and as an affectionate tribute of respect to his memory, this stone was erected  by his    companions in arms, the Pennsylvania State Society of the Cincinnati, July 4th, A. D., 1809, thirty fourth anniversary of the Independence of the United States ; an event which constitutes the most appropriate eulogium of an American soldier and patriot."
    Why a monument has not long ago been erected, on the site of the old fort, to the memory of this heroic and worthy man, including also Major Hamtramck, and the valiant soldiery under their command, I know not ;but feel that, though so long forgotten of neglected, the work will yet be pep formed by the people of. the city of Fort Wayne and county of Allen ; thus enabling the stranger visiting the historic scenes of our city and adjacent localities to behold, instead of the old garrison whose only remains among us consists in a few plainly wrought caries, in the possession of a few of our citizens, preserved as mementos of the fort so long over-looking the confluence of the St. Mary and St. Joseph, a substantial arid appropriate monument to the memory of Anthony Wayne and the brave men. who dared to follow him to this ancient stronghold, that the then infant and enfeebled settlements of the west might enjoy peace and safety, and our beautiful Country bo enabled to march steadily on, as she has, to her present condition of growth and prosperity.
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