Anthony Wayne

Anthony Wayne (1745-1796), American soldier, born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and privately educated in Philadelphia. In 1776, after the outbreak of the American Revolution, he entered military service as a commander of a Pennsylvania regiment assigned to cover the retreat of American forces from Québec. In 1777, after being promoted to brigadier general, he participated in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown and in 1778 distinguished himself in the Battle of Monmouth. His greatest achievement was a brilliant victory at Stony Point in 1779. In 1781 he contributed to the British defeat at Yorktown.

Wayne retired to civilian life in 1783, but he returned to active duty in 1792 as a major general and commander in chief of the western army. In 1794 he defeated a coalition of Native American tribes in the Battle of Fallen Timbers, near the site of present-day Toledo, Ohio, and the following year he negotiated the Treaty of Greenville with them, opening the Northwest Territory to American settlers. Noted for his bravery and quick temper, Wayne was popularly known as Mad Anthony.