Anthony Wayne

Anthony Wayne (1745-1796) was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, son of a prosperous tanner, and, by the eve of the Revolution, had become a prosperous tanner himself. Appointed Colonel of the 4th Pennsylvania Battalion in January, 1776, he fought in Canada at Trois Rivieres. He commanded Fort Ticonderoga, fought at the Battle of Brandywine, and was surprised at Paoli, Pennsylvania (September 21, 1777) by a midnight bayonet assault by British troops. Wayne had a prominent role at Germantown, and led 1000 men at the Battle of Monmouth (1778). The Battle of Stony Point was the high point of his military career and he received a gold medal from Congress for his leadership in this daring exploit. At the Battle of Green Springs Farm (1781), on the Yorktown, Virginia peninsula, Wayne earned the nickname "Mad Anthony" for an audacious attack against the British. Wayne died in 1796 in Erie, Pennsylvania.