Life and services of Gen. Anthony Wayne : founded on documentary and other evidence, furnished by his son, Col. Isaac Wayne

Front matter

General Anthony Wayne.

LIFE AND SERVICES

OF

Chapter I

The ancestors of Wayne. — His grandfather at the battle of the Boyne. — Emigration of the family to Pennsylvania in 1722. — Birth of Anthony Wayne. — Some account of him at school. — He opens an office as aland surveyor. — Dr, Franklin becomes his friend. — The Nova Scotia agency. Wayne's industry. — His marriage in 1767. — He settles upon his farm in Chester county. — Takes an active interest in the controversy between the Colonies and Great Britain. — A member of the Pennsylvania Convention, of the Legislature, and of the Committee of Safety. — His patriotism.— He raises a regiment, of which Congress gives him the command, and he proceeds to join the northern army. — Battle of the Three Rivers. — Wayne's gallantry. — — He is wounded, but ably conducts the retreat to Ticonderoga — has the command at this place from November, 1776 to May, 1777, when he joins the main army under Washington.

The name of Wayne at once brings to the mind of every American, acquainted with the history of his country, the image of a brave, enterprising, and active officer, ready of will, and prompt to execute ; impatient of restraint, and eager to attack his enemy sword in hand.

The ancestors of Wayne were English people, re- 1* 5 siding for many generations in Yorkshire, but Anthony Wayne, the grandfather of the subject of our present notice, removed his family into Wieklow county, in Ireland, during the reign of Charles II., and established himself as an agriculturalist in that country; He occasionally executed some civil as well as military offices.

Upon the death of Charles II., in 1685, his brother, the Duke of York, ascended the throne as James II. James professed the Catholic faith, whilst the great body of the nation, nobility, merchants, and the people at large, were Protestants. Rigorous laws were in force against Catholics, and the efforts of James to ameliorate the condition of this portion of his subjects, roused the jealousy and alarm of those professing the reformed religion. The leading statesmen of the day concerted together, drew up a paper, to which they appended their signatures, inviting William, Prince of Orange, (husband of James' eldest daughter, Mary,) to invade England with an armed force, and whose standard they solemnly pledged their honors to join. William, accordingly, collected a force of his Dutch subjects, embarked in a small fleet, landed upon the coast of England, marched towards London, and was every where met by the most influential men of the kingdom. James' second daughter, Anne, escaped from the palace, (Whitehall,) and repaired to the camp of her brother-in-law. Deserted by his children, and finding himself odious to the citizens of London, James fled from Whitehall, got on board a vessel, and escaped to France. William entered London in triumph, and was invested with the crown, jointly with his wife — until whose death, this epoch of English history is known as the reign of William and Mary. This memorable revolution took place in the year 1688.

Two years subsequently, James, assisted by the King of France, and depending greatly upon the favorable disposition of the Catholic population of Ireland towards him, landed upon that island, with the purpose of regaining the sceptre of Great Britain. William promptly encountered him, and the celebrated battle of the Boyne took place on the 1st of July, 1690, in which eighteen hundred of the Irish Catholics were slaughtered. James was among the first to flee from the ground. He lost his hat in his hurry in climbing on board one of the ships of the French fleet — sailed — reached France again, and remained there until his death.

In this battle, Anthony Wayne, the elder, commanded a company of dragoons in the service of King William, and fought with signal bravery throughout the hottest of the contest. He was a Protestant, and was deeply imbued with the republican principles advocated by the early Puritans. He was at this time about thirty years of age. He continued to reside in Ireland for many years after the battle of the Boyne; but, eventually, became dissatisfied with the social habits of the Irish people, and, when over sixty years of age, formed the resolution of migrating to the New World. Of an energetic and enterprising nature, he at once made his arrangements, crossed the Atlantic, arriving safely at the port of Philadelphia, in the year 1722, with his family, consisting of four sons, each of whom had been well educated in Ireland, their native country. Old Anthony, in the year 1724, with the view of settling his sons comfortably around him, purchased an extensive real estate in the county of Chester, and province of Pennsylvania, assigning to each a part. His youngest son, Isaac Wayne, father of the American general, was a man of strong mind, great industry and enterprise. He frequently represented the county of Chester in the provincial legislature, and, in the capacity of a commissioned officer, repeatedly distinguished himself in expeditions against the Indians. He was at all times celebrated for his patriotism, and admired for the uprightness of his conduct. After a long life of usefulness to his country, to his family, and to his friends, he died in 1774, leaving one son and two daughters.

His only son, Anthony Wayne, whose public career sheds so much lustre on American arms and character, was born in the township of Eastown, Chester county, Pennsylvania, on the 1st day of January, 1745. His father was desirous of bringing the boy up to the business of a farmer, but he soon discovered that the labors of the field did not suit his son's propensities, and, inasmuch as he had the means of indulging the bent of the lad's genius, he resolved to afford him an opportunity of pursuing such studies as inclination might suggest. And for this purpose he was placed under the tuition of his uncle, Gilbert Wayne, a man of considerable erudition and mental acquirements, and who was a country schoolmaster.

After some considerable time had been spent with his uncle, it appears that young Anthony's progress in learning was far from being encouraging. Indeed, his uncle had formed a very unfavorable opinion of the boy's capacity for acquiring scholastic knowledge, as is evident by the following letter that he wrote to the boy's father. " I really suspect that parental affection blinds you, and that you have mistaken your son's capacity. What he may be best qualified for, I know not. One thing I am certain of, he will never make a scholar. He may perhaps make a soldier. He has already distracted the brains of two-thirds of the boys under my charge, by rehearsals of battles, sieges, etc. They exhibit more the appearance of Indians ancLHarlequins than students. — This one decorated with a cap of many colors ; others habited in coats as variegated, like Joseph's of old — some laid up with broken heads and black eyes, During noon, in place of the usual games of amusements, he has the boys employed in throwing up redoubts, skirmishing, etc. 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."*

It will readily be inferred that young Wayne's father was not a little mortified by this account of his son, and at the next interview he not only reprimanded him severely, but threatened to withdraw him from school, and consign him to the lowest and most irksome labors of the farm. Knowing the decisive character of his father, and dreading lest the threat should be put in force, Anthony resolved to give up, for the present at least, all his military schemes, and vigorously to prosecute his studies. Returning to the school of his uncle, he assiduously applied himself to mathematics, and persevered so effectually, that, at the end of eighteen months, his uncle acknowledged he could instruct him no farther, and advised his brother to send the lad to Philadelphia for the purpose of acquiring an academical education.

Anthony, having reconciled his uncle, and gratified the hopes of his father, was, at the age of sixteen, en-

* Here we have a striking similarity between the school pastimes of Anthony Wayne and Napoleon Bonaparte — the latter, as we are historically informed, engaged his fellow scholars in building forts of snow, ranging them into besiegers and besieged, and attacking and defending with snowballs.

tered as a pupil in the Philadelphia Academy, where he remained until his eighteenth year. So great was his attachment to mathematical science, and so eager his zeal to reach its summit, that the united solicitations of his friends and tutors could not prevail on him to devote more time to the dead languages than was merely sufficient for the acquirement of their rudiments. — After leaving the academy, Wayne took up his residence in his native county, the settlement and improvement of which, though as yet in their infancy, were daily advancing. At this time a surveyor of competent abilities was much needed in the adjustment of controversies, on account of disputed and ill-defined lines, and the location of roads for public and private accommodation; he therefore commenced the pursuit of surveying, and also devoted a portion of his time to practical astronomy and engineering. The manuscripts which he has left behind him on those subjects have attracted the notice and elicited the applause of distinguished professors.

Having opened an office as a land surveyor, he soon found himself surrounded by a lucrative business. At this period, the peace of 1763 between France and Great Britain, gave to the latter the undisputed authority over the island of Nova Scotia, and it was consequently the policy of her government to colonize this new portion of her dominions. Inducements were held out, and capitalists residing in the older provinces, associated themselves together for the purpose of speculation. A company of this kind was formed in Pennsylvania in 1764, consisting of merchants and moneyed men, of whom Dr. Franklin, that patron of science and learned men, was one. Admiring the gentlemanly manners of young Mr. Wayne, and highly appreciating his talents, Franklin brought him forward as a fit person for the agent of the company, in which capacity the services of a capable person were necessary ; a person "who should visit the territory offered for settlement ; inspect the soil, as regarded the purpose of agriculture ; ascertain the means of commercial facility connected with it ; and, under these several views, locate the tract to be granted. It will be thought highly creditable to Mr. Wayne, then in his twenty-first year, that, of the many applicants for this agency, he should have been chosen on the special recommendation of so discriminating a judge as Dr. Franklin."*

In the month of March, 1765, Mr. "Wayne embarked for Nova Scotia. The agency for this new population company was both responsible and arduous. Warrants were to be taken out, correct surveys were to be made and returned, patents to be procured for the lands, etc. ; in addition to which actual settlements were to be effected. So ardent was Wayne's zeal for the accomplishment of his mission, i. e.,the objects of it, that he permitted nothing within his control to impede its progress. About the middle of December, having executed to the letter the views of the company thus far, he returned to Pennsylvania, and laid before his friends and employers charts of the lands taken up, with a detailed account of his proceedings — ail of which afforded the most perfect satisfaction to the company.

Early in the spring of 1766, he again repaired to Nova Scotiar in order to complete the task so advantageously commenced in the preceding year, taking with him many settlers, implements of husbandry, provisions, etc. Late in the autumn of that year he returned to Philadelphia, having, in a manner highly honorable to himself, and gratifying to the company,

Sparks' American Biography, vol. iv. page 6.

accomplished the various objects of his agency. And the company, having, through his indefatigability, succeeded in planting their new colony, continued him as an agent to extend and improve it.* Although he did not revisit the settlement, he directed the concern, so long as it retained the character of an association. The correspondence which remains on this subject proves him to have been an able negotiator, and his numerous field notes, charts, and astronomical observations, exhibit accuracy as well as great taste in execution. The labor bestowed on this infant establishment promised a rich reward to the association, but the active and glorious part which Wayne and his companions espoused in behalf of their country, previous to, and during the revolutionary war, deprived them of enjoying the fruits of their enterprise in Nova Scotia.

In the year 1767, Wayne married a daughter of Benjamin Penrose, an eminent Philadelphia merchant; and the already hostile position assumed between the colonies and the mother country, having put an end to his duties as agent for the company, he repaired to Chester county, and established himself on a farm. From this period until the year 1774, his time was occupied in agriculture and practical surveying. Such was his celebrity as a surveyor, that he was- called for on all important and intricate cases, both in his own county and those adjoining. And many of the provincial and other principal roads in Pennsylvania have felt the impress of his chain and compass. During the above

* " And, what maybe considered as redounding still more to his credit, that, after a full trial of his qualifications, the additional trial of superintending the settlements actually made, should have been continued, in him, until, in 1767, the menacing controversy between Great Britain and her colonies put an end to the enterprise." — Sparks7 Biography.

period — from 1767 to '74 — he was elected to various county offices, and at the same time he took a leading part among patriots in preparing for the struggle that, (as day after day made more evident,) was about to take place between the provinces and Great Britain.

For the purpose of raising revenue, the British parliament passed resolutions imposing oppressive duties on the trade of the colonies. These acts were received in America with a general feeling of indignation. " Treated hitherto with comparative kindness and indulgence, the people could not fail to perceive that such measures were harsh and coercive. They were, in fact, not less impolitic than unkind ; for it could not reasonably be expected that those communities, who had been left to grow in the free air of independence in childhood, and had acted as the allies of the parent state in youth, would submit to a system of unbending restraint, when they had attained to the strength and maturity of manhood. Parliament should have understood, that while the colonies were becoming more and more jealous of their rights, they were also becoming sensible of their power. If they had learned the lesson of civil freedom from the Pilgrims, they had also learned the art of war from the French and Indians."*

Anthony Wayne was one of the provincial deputies who, early in the year 1774, were chosen, by the different counties, to take into consideration the alarming state of affairs at this crisis, and report thereon. He was also a member of the Pennsylvania convention, which, shortly after this, assembled in the city of Philadelphia, and the patriotic zeal and spirited proceedings of which body excited an honorable and powerful emulation in the other colonies.

Frost's History of the United States.

The state of public affairs strongly indicated that the Pennsylvania Legislature of 1774-5, should be composed of men possessing the soundest heads and stoutest hearts ; the greatest care was consequently taken throughout the province to secure the election of men of this description. Among the members returned from Chester county was Anthony Wayne, who, with Charles Thompson, Thomas Mifflin, and other zealous patriots of the same body, led the way in preparing for the decisive part which Pennsylvania afterwards took in the general contest. In the summer of 1775, Wayne was appointed a member of the committee of safety, with Dr. Franklin, John Dickinson, and others, alike distinguished for zeal in their country's cause. To this committee belonged the duty of calling into actual service the citizens, and providing for the defence of the province against invasion from abroad and insurrection at home.

Wayne, having resolved to enter the service of his country the moment an opportunity should present, and being himself fully convinced that the controversy between the two countries would only be settled by the sword, assiduously applied his mind to acquiring a knowledge of military tactics, and gave a great portion of his time and labor to the institution and instruction of military associations throughout his native county. On the subject of military discipline and tactics, every writer of eminence, and within his reach, was procured ; and every day, which he could spare from other public duties, he devoted to performing the service of a drill officer, and infusing into the minds of his fellow-citizens a knowledge of military science. His growing popularity brought to his standard large assemblages of the youths of Chester county wherever he appointed a drill, and the confidence which they reposed in his skill and intrepidity, was an earnest of the most prompt and strict attention to his orders should the occasion come when he should be called upon to lead them into battle.

Wayne, in size, was above what is termed the " middle stature," and was well proportioned. He had dark hair. His forehead was high and handsomely formed. The color of his eyes was a dark hazel, intelligent, quick, and penetrating. His nose approached the aquiline. The remainder of his face was well proportioned, and his whole countenance fine and animated. His natural disposition was exceedingly amiable. He was ardent and sincere in his attachments. His morals were chaste, his manners refined.

So desirous was this zealous republican of disciplining the different military associations in his native county, that, in September, 1775, he abstracted himself wholly from the political councils of the province, and devoted his energies to the object of raising a volunteer regiment. This object he pursued with such combined decision and discretion, that he was but six weeks in completing a regiment, of which he was unanimously chosen colonel, and by his address and assiduity soon exhibited, to the surprise of his countrymen, a corps more resembling veterans than militia. They were young and gallant men who thronged to the standard of Anthony Wayne ! Every thing conspired to make the young men of that day patriots, agitated as the citizens were throughout the colonies with the great questions of taxation and the rights of a free people. The clouds of war threatened, and the young and enthusiastic at once turned their attention to military science. They ransacked history for the description of battles, and even though they did not obtain much of information in regard to tactics from historians, they 2* nevertheless imbibed no inconsiderable share of military ardor from perusing and dwelling upon the heroic deeds of the past. The spirit of liberty was abroad. Thousands of young men throughout the colonies were thronging to enrol themselves. Already had the great drama of the Revolution opened at Lexington and Bunker's Hill. Already had Washington accepted the command of the army, and repaired to the seat of war. Indications of patriotism and military superiority like that which displayed itself thus early in the career of Anthony Wayne, was particularly welcome at this crisis. Congress, sitting at Philadelphia, had called upon each of the colonies for a certain number of regiments to reinforce the northern army ; and of the four required from Pennsylvania, the one raised by the exertions of Wayne was called upon, and upon him was conferred the command of it. His commission dates the 3d of January, 1776. So soon as the appointment was announced, those that he had drilled and disciplined, flocked around him, enthusiastically ready to follow his fortunes in the service of their common country. This was a circumstance highly flattering to him, as well as honorable to themselves, and by which means he was speedily enabled to take the field. He received orders to join the army under General Lee at New York ;* from whence he proceeded with his officers and men to Canada, where he arrived about the last of June, and his regiment formed a part of the brigade, under the command of General Thompson, stationed at the mouth of Sorel river.

* Washington, in person, was besieging the British in the town of Boston, which they evacuated on the 17th of March, 1776 ; but previous to that, he had sent a force under General Lee to put New York city and Long Island into a state of defence.

By the death of Gen. Thomas, who had commanded the northern army, the command devolved upon Maj. Gen. Sullivan, who arrived at Sorel river at about the same time Wayne did.* Sullivan, being informed that a detachment of six hundred of the British light infantry had advanced as far westward as the Trois Rivieres, (Three Rivers,) and were posted there under the command of Gen. Frazer, was desirous of not only checking their advance, but striking them before they could concentrate their forces ; he was desirous of recapturing the post, and establishing a heavy battery upon it, which, if not sufficient entirely to prevent the ascent of the British armed vessels and transports up the St. Lawrence to Montreal, might at least so embarrass the navigation as greatly to retard their progress thither.t

With these views, Sullivan intrusted the expedition to Gen. Thompson, who set out upon the night of tbe 3d of July, at the head of three regiments ; Wayne's, St. Clair's and Irvine's. Although the plan of this expedition was well laid, and much resolution discovered in the execution of it, yet a combination of untoward circumstances compelled the Americans to retreat in the greatest confusion. Gen. Thompson, and the

* " John Sullivan, an officer in the army of the American Revolution, born in Maine, established himself as a lawyer in New Hampshire. Turning his attention to military affairs, he received, in 1772, the commission of major, and in 1775, that of brigadier-general. The next year he was sent to Canada, and on the death of General Thomas, the command of the army devolved on him." — Biographical Dictionary.

The northern army had been in command of General Montgomery, who fell at the assault on Quebec. After him General Wooster had the command. General Thomas, who was sent to succeed the latter, died, during the retreat from Quebec, on the 2d of June.

t St. Clair's Narrative.

20 LITE OF ANTHONY WAYNE.

gallant Col. Irvine, with some other officers, were taken prisoners, together with about two hundred privates; and several rank and file were killed. Col. St. Clair received a wound in one of his feet, and the movements of the brigade devolved upon Col. Wayne, who, though severely wounded himself, conducted the retreat in a masterly manner, and succeeded in uniting and bringing off the dispersed and broken bodies of troops, and with, which he returned to the camp at the mouth of the Sorel. This post it was no longer possible to hold ; the Americans consequently evacuated it, and a retreat towards Lake Champlain was commenced. The duty of covering this movement fell to the part of Col. Wayne and the Pennsylvania regiments. Already a heavy British column was advancing, and the Americans had but just time to leave the fort before the head of the enemy's column entered it. The retreat was ably conducted by Wayne, and, ultimately, after many feats of bravery, and enduring much toil and innumerable privations, the Americans, with their baggage and stores, were safely concentrated at Ticonderoga, on the 17th of July.

At this post, and its dependencies, generals Gates and Schuyler, then commanding, determined to take their stand. In October, the British commander-in-chief, Sir Guy Carleton, resumed offensive measures, and, with a part of his fleet, appeared in view of these posts. He reconnoitred the fortifications, but found them so well prepared to resist an assault, and the lateness of the season precluding the trial of a siege, that he concluded to suspend operations until the following spring. He had landed his forces as if determined to attack the American posts ; but, with his new impressions on his mind, he re-embarked his army, and retired into winter quarters in Canada.

Immediately after the main body of the British had withdrawn from the neighborhood of Ticonderoga, Gen. Gates repaired to Washington's army with a strong detachment of the northern troops, and the command of the remainder devolved on Gen. Schuyler, by whom the following orders were issued.

" November 23d, 1776.

" Colonel Anthony Wayne,

" Sir, — The care of the fortress of Ticonderoga, and Mount Independence, being committed to you, as commanding officer, with a garrison composed of your regiment, and those of Wood, Dayton, Irvine, Burrell, and Whitcomb, to compose the garrison, together with the artillery, under Major Stevens, the light infantry companies, under Colonel Whitcomb, Colonel Baldwin, the chief engineer, with sundry artificers, and Major Hay, A. D. Q. M. General, including in all upwards of 2500 rank and file. — I have the fullest confidence in your vigilance, attention, and foresight to guard against surprise, and to do every thing that may have a tendency to secure your post, and promote the weal of the service, etc. PHILIP SCHUYLER."

The compliment paid Col. Wayne in selecting him for the command of such an important trust, was certainly a high and flattering one. The arrangement was particularly agreeable to the troops ; Congress approved of it, and the gallant soldier was, on the 21st of the following February (1777) promoted by that body to the rank of brigadier/general. The details of this command are honorable to Wayne, and not devoid of interest to the reader, but the limits of this memoir preclude their insertion. He continued at this post from November, 1776, to May, 1777, at which period, in consequence of his earnest solicitations, he was ordered to join the main army, then under Washington, in New Jersey. A day or two previous to his departure for head-quarters, the field officers of the continental army at Ticonderoga unanimously addressed him in the most affectionate and flattering terms.

The campaign of 1776 had proved rather disastrous to the Americans ; a large number were taken prisoners, " and conveyed to New York, where they were confined in the most horrible of all dungeons, the British prison ships. There they endured sufferings, which have seldom known a parallel in the annals of cruelty. But they bore all with the patience of martyrs, and the courage of patriots. When offered liberty and promotion if they would join the royal party, they spurned the offer with contempt ; and hundreds of them expired in captivity, rather than desert the cause to which they had devoted themselves."*

The campaign of 1777, had opened on both sides with a rapid succession of assaults and surprises. At Peekskill, on the North River, the Americans were attacked by a large body of the British, under convoy of a frigate ; they set the stores and buildings on fire, and retreated. The British, after finishing the work of destruction, returned to the city of New York. This took place on the 23d of March.

On the 13th of April, an attempt was made by Lord Cornwallis and Gen. Grant, to surprise and cut off Gen. Lincoln, who, with 500 men, was posted at Bound Brook, a few miles from Brunswick, in New Jersey. The force of the British on this occasion was near 2000, but Lincoln, by a daring and energetic movement, notwithstanding he was partly surrounded, forced his passage through the enemy's columns, and escaped

* Frost's United States.

with a loss of less than a hundred men, leaving some baggage and three pieces behind.

These, and similar, desultory enterprises were being carried on, whilst the northern army lay inactive at Ticonderoga. The valor, and enterprising nature, of Wayne, could not be contented except in the theatre of the war, — which was at the crisis on the soil of New Jersey, — and hence his solicitations to be transferred to the head-quarters of the commander-in-chief, where he arrived about the middle of May, and was received by the officers and soldiers of the army, but especially by those of the Pennsylvania line, with great pleasure.

Chapter II

Campaign of 1777. — Washington's praises of Wayne's gallantry in the field. — Confidence of the Pennsylvanians in Wayne's superior talents. — Letter to him from Dr. Rush — his reply. — Battle of Brandywine. — Wayne at Chad's Ford — his bravery and coolness in this action. — Engagement of 16th September — Wayne at the post of danger. — A full account of the " Massacre at the Paoli," as it is called. — Court Martial of Wayne in consequence — his defence, his acquittal, etc.

General Howe, having received reinforcements from England, crossed over from New York city into the state of New Jersey, with 30,000 men. This was about the 1st of June, 1777. Washington had but 7000 men to resist this overpowering number of well disciplined troops. Howe manoeuvred for several days, with the object of drawing Washington from the strong position he occupied at Middlebrook. One day he would pretend an attack on the American camp, and the next a flank movement on Philadelphia — in which city Congress was sitting, and the expulsion of which body, together with the capture of that city, were now the prominent objects that Howe was desirous of effecting. These manoeuvres not succeeding, he counterfeited an alarm, and made a precipitate retreat to Staten Island,