„• • • > 4* ^ • t S«C, ?"<*> -X » ^ vi • "^0 • >° Ho * ^ o* •*'•♦ *b / o»"s A o* . k# ** *b «5°** W a. ** ^ *•> a* o»**« ^ o* • *'•• o j> »•'•, *^ ^^r *^u P a? '*<> fX • _c5>^ fi?^ V <»" 9 * ^ ft* •»'•# ^b *^ V ••"•• ^ ft* .^'•« ^b H' ^c MAJOR-GENERAL ANTHONY WAYN E THE PENNSYLVANIA LINE IN THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. BY CHARLES J. STILLE, PRESIDENT OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA. y PHILADELPHIA : J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. 1893. s*)^ l /& ^ Copyright, 1893, BY Charles J. Stille. Printed by J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia. PREFACE. It has often been remarked by students of American history (in this part of the country at least) that in both popular and standard works on the Revolutionary and pre-Revolutionary eras there is a singular failure to give any adequate account of the part taken by Penn- sylvania in the struggles of those days, or of the in- fluence of her statesmen and soldiers in moulding the national policy. Impressed with a belief that such opinions are not without foundation, and with the hope of calling the attention of students to what I venture to term certain "lost" chapters of our American history, I prepared some time ago a biography of that illustrious Pennsyl- vania statesman John Dickinson, — a man who for various reasons is little known to this generation, but who, in the formative period of our history, so guided the policy of the country that his controlling influence is readily recognized as shaping that policy from the date of the Stamp Act to that of the Declaration of Independence. With the same object in view I now present another chapter of that neglected history, that which relates to the achievements of a most distinguished soldier of Pennsylvania, — General Anthony Wayne. The materials for a memoir of General Wayne, iv PREFACE. which are exceedingly abundant and valuable, have been preserved with great care by his family, and are now deposited with the collections of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. A study of these papers has enabled me to give to the public a full and, I hope, a trustworthy account of the career of General Wayne. These papers embrace copies of the letters written by him during his campaigns, or rather the rough draughts of those letters, letters received by him from the most eminent personages of the Revolution, and many other documents illustrating his life. My object has been to allow these letters to tell their own story, connecting them only by such an account of the events of the time as may seem necessary to explain the true value and character of General Wayne's achievements and those of the men he commanded, — for the most part officers and soldiers of the Pennsylvania line. On the death of General Wayne in 1 796 his papers passed into the possession of his son, Colonel Isaac Wayne. Colonel Wayne was a man deeply imbued with filial reverence for the memory of his father, and with a very high conception of the glory which he had achieved by his military exploits. In 1829 he printed in a magazine called "The Casket" a brief memoir of his father, illustrated by numerous letters of the general, then, for the first time, made public, which were at once recognized as extremely valuable and interesting con- tributions to our Revolutionary history. Not satisfied with this, however, he asked at different times two of his friends, the Hon. Charles Miner and the Hon. Joseph J. Lewis, of West Chester, to complete the work which he had begun. Neither of these gentle- PREFACE. men seems to have been able to comply fully with his request, although it appears that each of them wrote portions of a memoir of General Wayne. The "Sup- plementary Chapter" in this book was prepared by Mr. Lewis, and I think no one who reads it can help feeling- regret that he did not write "The Life of General Wayne" with the same spirit which inspired this chapter of it. The only printed account of any of General Wayne's achievements which is fully illustrated by his own letters is the story of the capture of Stony Point in 1779 by the late Mr. Henry B. Dawson. This work is in the shape of a paper read before the Historical Society of New York in 1863. It was privately printed, — only two hundred and fifty copies having been struck off. It seems to me one of the fullest and most satisfactory narratives of a great historical event with which I am acquainted. The gentlemen above named have left their work unfinished. They have given us but a glimpse or an outline of the character and career of our illustrious soldier. With the material at my disposal I have felt it a duty which I owed not only to the memory of Gen- eral Wayne, but also to the reputation of the State whose son he was, to make an effort to complete the work which others have begun, and to portray the general as he appeared to our fathers, — a typical hero. It is much to be regretted that the material for il- lustrating the career of many of the brave men he commanded has not, after diligent search, proved as abundant as that which has been preserved for bring- ing before us the life of their chief. vi PREFACE. I must express my great obligations to the librarian of the Historical Society, Mr. F. D. Stone, for his care- ful supervision of the text of my book, as well as to those kind friends of the Society who have aided me in completing the work while suffering from an attack of illness. March, 1893. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I.— {Pages 1-23.) EARLY TRAINING AND DISCIPLINE. Position of General Wayne in American History, 1. Sketch of his Family and Character of his Early Training, 4. Sent to Nova Scotia as a Surveyor — Work there, 8. Return to Waynesborough, and Marriage, 10. Beginnings of the Revolution in Pennsylvania, 13. Wayne's Position before the Out- break, 14. Chester County under his Leadership, 17. Raises a Battalion for the Continental Service, and is appointed Colonel, 18. The Revolutionary Sentiment in Chester County, 21-23. CHAPTER 1 1.— {Pages 24-59.) CANADIAN CAMPAIGN AND TICONDEROGA. Efforts of Congress to secure the Sympathy and Aid of the Canadians, 25. The Quebec Act, 26. Wayne's Regiment sent to reinforce Sullivan and Arnold, 28. Battle of the Three Rivers, 29. Wayne's Conduct in the Retreat, 31. The Army retires to Ticonderoga, and Wayne placed in Command, 34. Letters describing his Life there and the Condition of the Garrison, 35—59. CHAPTER II I.— {Pages 60-134.) BRANDYWINE, GERMANTOWN, AND VALLEY FORGE. Wayne appointed Brigadier-General, 60. Joins Washington's Army at Morris- town, 61. Organization of the Pennsylvania Troops in that Army, 62. The Fabian Policy of Washington at Morristown, 63. Condition of the Army, 64-67. Political Condition of Pennsylvania, 67-71. The British Army em- bark for the Chesapeake, 72. The Americans move towards the Head of that Bay, 74. Wayne's Plan of Attack before Brandywine, 75. The Battle of the Brandywine, and the Conduct of Wayne's Division of the Pennsylvania Line, 77-80. The British move towards the Upper Fords of the Schuylkill, 81. Washington's Pursuit, 82. " Paoli Massacre," and Wayne's Defence before the Court-Martial, 83-92. The Battle of Germantown, and the Part taken in it by Wayne and the Pennsylvania Line, 93-98. Pennsylvania CONTENTS. Regiments at Brandy wine and Germantown, 98- 1 02. Siege and Defence of Fort Mifflin, 103-106. Wayne's Anxiety that more Active Measures should be adopted, 106-I12. Condition of Affairs at Valley Forge during the Winter, 1 12-128. Foraging in New Jersey, 128-134. CHAPTER IV.— (Pages 135-181.) MONMOUTH. Evacuation of Philadelphia by the British Army, and the Pursuit of Washington, 135-140. Council of War at Hopewell, 141. Wayne's Letters to the Com- mander-in-Chief urging Active Measures, 143. Battle of Monmouth, 144- 154. Delusions concerning the French Alliance, 155-158. Sufferings of the Army during the Winter of 1778-79, 159. Demoralization of Congress and the State Assembly, 161. Provisions made for the Wants of the Army, 162-165. Violence of Party Feeling in Pennsylvania, 165. Difficulties connected with the Appointment of St. Clair to supersede Wayne in Com- mand of the Pennsylvania Line, 167-171. Disputes about Rank, 1 73—179- General Wayne promised the Command of a New Light Infantry Corps, 180, 181. CHAPTER V.~ {Pages 182-210.) STONY POINT. Value of Stony Point as a Strategetical Position, 1S2-184.. Light Infantry Corps under Wayne's Command — How made up, 185. Reconnoissance by Wash- ington, and his Orders to assault the Fortress, 186-189. Wayne's Order of Battle, 190. His Last Letter to Delany, 193. Assault and Capture, 193- 197. Special Military Qualities exhibited by Wayne and his Troops on this Occasion, 202-206. Origin of the Sobriquet " Mad Anthony," 207-210. CHAPTER VI.— (Pages 211-262.) Arnold's treason, and the revolt of the Pennsylvania line. Attachment of the Officers of the Light Infantry to General Wayne as shown on the Disbandment of the Corps, 21 1-215. Gloomy Prospects for the Cam- paign of 1780, 216. Expedition against the Block-House at Bergen, 219- 222. Wayne's Letters to Washington and President Reed at this Crisis, 223. Renewed Disputes about Rank, 229-232. Part taken by the Pennsylvania Line in counteracting the Effect of Arnold's Treason, 233. Signs of Mutiny in the Line, and Causes thereof, 239. Narrative of the Revolt, 242. Its Result, 244. Substantial Justice of the Demands of the Soldiers, 246-250. Irish-Americans in the Line, 248. Wayne's Conduct during the Revolt, 251. Correspondence relating thereto, 252-262. CONTENTS. CHAPTER VII.— (Pages 263-285.) VIRGINIA CAMPAIGN AND YORKTOWN. Wayne in Command of a Detachment of the Line sent to reinforce General Greene in South Carolina, 264. Mutinous Spirit of the Soldiers, 265, 266. Ordered to join La Fayette in Virginia, 267-270. Battle of Green Spring, 271-275. Washington's Plans for the Capture of Cornwallis, 277-280. Re- ception of the French Allies, 282, 283. Siege and Surrender of Yorktown, 284, 285. CHAPTER VIII.— (Pages 286-299.) THE GEORGIA CAMPAIGN. Wayne joins General Greene in South Carolina, 281. Sent to Georgia to estab- lish the Authority of the United States, 287. His Force, 288. His Plans for the Reduction of Savannah, 2S9. Defeats the Garrison and the Indians in their Attempt to form a Junction, 288-290. Wayne's Strategy during the Campaign, 291-293. Evacuation of Savannah, 291. Wayne appointed a Major-General by Brevet, 293-295. Correspondence concerning the Society of the Cincinnati, 296, 297. Disbandment of the Army, 297. Mutiny of the Lancaster Recruits, and Conduct of Wayne's Troops on their Return Home, 298, 299. CHAPTER IX.— (Pages $00-314.) WAYNE IN CIVIL LIFE. Wayne's Return to Pennsylvania — Welcomed by his Old Friends, 300, 301. Elected a Member of the Council of Censors, and his Course, 301-303. Elected a Member of Assembly in 1784 and 1785, 303. His Course in Re- gard to the Repeal of the Test and Confiscation Acts, 304. Nature of these Acts, 305-308. Financial Troubles and the Georgia Plantation, 309-313. Wayne returned as a Member of Congress from Georgia, 314. CHAPTER X.— (.Pa^ 315-348.) CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE NORTHWESTERN INDIANS. Wayne appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Army, and Difficulties of his Posi- tion, 316. The Country northwest of the Ohio, and the Efforts made to conciliate the Indians in Possession of it, 317. Harmar's Expedition, 318. St. Clair's Expedition and Defeat, 319. Reorganization of the Army under Wayne — Legion of the United States, 321. Wayne's Preparations for a Campaign in Ohio, and Embarrassments, 322-326. Wayne's Magnanimous CONTENTS. Spirit, 327. Advance to Fort Recovery, 328, and to the Rapids of the Miami, 329, 330. Signal Victory over the Indians, 331-336. Fruits of the Victory — Treaty of Greeneville, 337, 338. Wayne's Triumphal Return to Philadelphia, 339, 340. Effect of his Campaign on the Adoption of Jay's Treaty, 341. Wayne appointed Commissioner to receive the Surrender of the Forts, 342. His Sickness and Death at Presqu'isle, 343, 344. Inscrip- tion on his Monument, 345. General Sketch of his Character and Services, 346-348. SUPPLEMENTARY C H AFTER.— (Pages 349-373.) Ceremonies at the Reinterment of General Wayne's Remains at St. David's, 350. His Estate, 351-354. His Will, 355. Mr. Irving's Estimate of Wayne's Military Genius, 356. Characteristics of his Generalship, 357-360. His Conduct during Councils of War, 361, 362. Origin of the Sobriquet " Mad Anthony," 364, 365. General Sketch of Wayne's Character and Peculiari- ties as an Officer, 365-368. Colonel Isaac Wayne the Younger, 370. His Efforts to prepare a Suitable Memoir of his Father, 372. General Wayne's Descendants, 373. APPENDICES. PAGE Appendix I. Promotions in General Wayne's Division, December 20, 1777 . 375 " II. Arrangement of the Officers of the Pennsylvania Line (Wayne's Division, Eight Regiments), August, 1778 .... 376 " III. Arrangement of the Officers of the Pennsylvania Line, January, 1781 (Six Regiments) 383 " IV. Muster-Roil of the Officers in the Legion of the United States, 1793 389 " V. Stony Point Documents ........ 396 " VI. Description of Medals voted by Congress for the Capture of Stony Point 416 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. CHAPTER I. EARLY TRAINING AND DISCIPLINE. The renewed interest which has of late been awa- kened in the study of American history, and especially in the history of the Revolution, has drawn attention to the wonderful career of General Wayne. By many his memory is cherished as that of a popular idol ; still, not much seems to be known of his character and achievements even in his native State, where his fame should have been preserved as a precious heritage. Some, it is true, recall the strange sobriquet of "Mad Anthony" by which he was known in his lifetime, and are curious to know how it happened that a man who accomplished such great deeds should have been called a madman. Others have not forgotten that he was the most brilliant and picturesque figure in the Revolu- tionary army, with the possible exception of the young Marquis de La Fayette. Those also who have read in the history of the Revolution of the most striking and wonderful exploit of the war, the midnight assault of Stony Point under Wayne's leadership, or of the manner in which he restored the fortunes of the day at Monmouth, or of the extraordinary ability with which, supported by an insignificant force, he contrived to rescue the State of Georgia from the British and their MAJOR- GENERAL WA YNE. Indian allies in one campaign of three months' duration, naturally seek to know something of the character of a man whose life was rendered illustrious by these and similar exploits. Here is a man whose career extends from fiehtinof with well-trained British soldiers in Can- ada to the successful blockade of the English garrison at Savannah, from the desperate conflict at Monmouth to the final conquest and subjugation of the Indians of the Northwest ; who, beginning as a surveyor and a simple farmer of Chester County, raised one of the first regi- ments in Pennsylvania for the Continental army, and closed his career twenty years later as the General Com- manding-in-Chief of the Armies of the United States, appointed to that high office by Washington himself; yet, according to the editor of the most voluminous and accurate history of the country which has been published, " his life is yet to be written." It seems that the time has come when an effort should be made to portray him as he really was, and not as he appears in the popular legend, which in many respects is mislead- ing, and to give some account of his career, gathered chiefly from his correspondence, which presents his career not merely as a soldier, but as a patriot, in the most striking and attractive light. To get a true view of Wayne's life, however, we must at the outset divest our minds of certain prepossessions concerning his career which usually make up the whole of the picture presented to us, but which form in reality only the background of that of which Wayne is the central figure. There is a general impression, for in- stance, that he was simply a beau sabrew, — a sort of reckless dare-devil, who could be relied upon, and was EARLY TRAINING AND DISCIPLINE. 3 at all times called upon, to lead with unshrinking cour- age the most desperately dangerous operations. People forget that he many times proved to the satisfaction of his great chief not merely that he was impetuous in action, but that while he was quick in conception and prompt in execution he was most cautious and careful in preparation and unfailing in resources. If we are to judge Wayne simply as an intrepid leader for whom personal danger had a certain positive charm, and not as a great soldier possessing that rare combination of qualities which go to make up the illustrious gen- eral, we shall fall into great error. We might as well regard Sheridan, for instance, as he restored the for- tunes of the day and rallied his army in the valley of the Shenandoah, as having thereby established his fame as a great general, or judge Grant as a general by the brilliant operations which led to the surrender of Donelson. The very brilliancy of Wayne's reputation as a fight- ing general has somewhat blinded the eyes of his coun- trymen to those military qualities which he possessed in common with all great soldiers. For the moment it is only necessary to say that no important strateget- ical movement was undertaken by Washington while Wayne was under his command without consulting him. His illustrious chief knew that he could trust him thoroughly for the execution of his part in any plan assigned to him, for his heart was in his work ; every faculty of his mind was bent to its accomplishment, and he never disappointed those who trusted him. The career of General Wayne has for us in this State a special interest. Not only is his fame part of MAJOR- GENERAL WA YNE. the heritage of glory in achieving our national inde- pendence of which we, as Pennsylvanians, may justly claim our share, but we can never forget that his great deeds were achieved by the aid of the men of Pennsyl- vania, whom he had trained as soldiers, and who, under his command, throughout the Revolution formed a corps d'elite in the American army called "the Pennsyl- vania line." The services of these men, rendered with a courao-e which never failed amidst all the dancers and trials of the Revolutionary campaigns, have been in a great measure unchronicled, or the story is told in documents and correspondence which have never been printed. It seems that the present is a fit time, when, as we have said, a new interest appears to have been aroused in our Revolutionary history, that an effort should be made to do away with that self-reproach which always oppresses us as we stand over the graves of our forgotten heroes and strive to bring before our minds a true picture of the deeds of those who suffered and died that we might live. Surely State pride, if not reverence for their memory, founded upon gratitude for their services, should teach us to honor these men by recounting their achievements as well as those of their intrepid leader. The family of Wayne was originally of English stock, and at the time of the outbreak of the Revolu- tion it had been seated for three o-enerations in Clies- ter County. The grandfather of the general during the reign of Charles II. had removed his family from Yorkshire and had taken possession of an estate in the County Wicklow in Ireland. He was a Protes- tant, and joined the forces of William of Orange in his EARLY TRAINING AND DISCIPLINE. 5 contest with King James II. He commanded a troop of dragoons in the service of King- William at the battle of the Boyne, and he greatly distinguished him- self by his gallantry in that decisive battle. It is said that the ancestor of General William Irvine, Wayne's distinguished Lieutenant, had been an officer in the same battle. Wayne was not of the race called, in our classification of the population of Pennsylvania, the Scotch-Irish, as were so many of his friends and neigh- bors in Chester County, Wicklow being a part of Ire- land into which the translated Scotch never penetrated. For some reason which it is now impossible to explain, his grandfather gave up his estate in Ireland and came to Pennsylvania in 1722, one of the years in which a great tide of Scotch-Irish emigration flowed in upon us from the northern part of that kingdom. The elder Wayne brought with him four sons, who are said to have been carefully educated at home, and with them, it would appear, a considerable worldly substance. In the year 1724 he purchased an estate in Chester County of nearly sixteen hundred acres on the border of that most beautiful of valleys, the great valley of that county, which he called Waynesborough. Upon his death this estate was divided among his sons ; his youngest, Isaac, the father of the future general, receiving as his share about five hundred acres, which, by a strange coinci- dence, lay near by the spot known in after-years as the scene of the Paoli massacre. Isaac Wayne is described as having- been a man of strong mind and of great in- dustry and enterprise. He frequently represented the county of Chester in the Provincial Assembly, and as a commissioned officer distinguished himself in expedi- MAJOR- GENERAL WA YNE. tions against the Indians. 1 After a long life of useful- ness to his country, to his family, and to his friends, he died in 1774, leaving one son and two daughters. 2 His only son, Anthony, was born at Waynesborough, in the township of Easttown, in Chester County, on the 1st of January, 1 745. Of Anthony Wayne it may be said, if it can be truly said of any one, that he was born with the instinct of a soldier. He had all his mother's force of character and his father's love for military adventure and enter- prise. He seems from the first to have been a manly and self-reliant boy, although hardly taking kindly to the course of instruction designed for him by his father. His uncle Gilbert, whose pupil he was, found that he had little taste for the study of the ancient languages, then, as it is now, the basis of all truly liberal educa- tion, but that he made great progress in the elementary mathematics. As a boy his ambition seems to have been to lead the life and do the work of a soldier. His uncle writes to his father, " What he may be best quali- fied for I know not. 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. During noon, in place of the usual games and amusements, he has the boys employed in throwing up 1 Captain Isaac Wayne was a captain in the Provincial service, commissioned by Governor Morris, and was stationed during the winter of 1756 first at Nazareth and afterwards at Fort Allen. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Iddings, of Chester County, who is spoken of as a woman of remarkable force and earnestness of character. 3 Moore's Life of Wayne, p. 8. . EARLY TRAINING AND DISCIPLINE. 7 redoubts, skirmishing, etc." Thus early did the hero of Stony Point show the unmistakable bent of his genius. We may remember that many generals in embryo, Napoleon foremost of them all, have been distinguished in their boyhood by just such decided tastes ; moreover, that the preference of such boys has generally been for mathematical rather than for classical studies. Wayne's wise father, while probably recognizing the very strong bent of his son's mind for a military life, was perfectly aware that no such career was open in the British army for a provincial without a home influ- ence such as he could not command. He therefore made up his mind to try once more to train him in clas- sical studies. He was accordingly sent, when sixteen years old, to the Academy in Philadelphia, no doubt with the expectation that a change of school studies would bring about a change of tastes. Apparently the hoped-for result was not attained. 1 His fondness for an out-of-door life and for mathematical studies was at this time his strong characteristic, and led him at last, as his hopes of becoming a soldier vanished, to adopt the profession of a surveyor. In those days this occu- pation resembled in this country more nearly that of a soldier than any other, and the adventurous life which the surveyor was forced to lead in the wilderness in the practice of his profession, the discipline in which he was trained by the dangers, hardships, and constant vigilance which made up part of his daily occupation, formed an excellent preparation for his future work as 1 His name is not found among those of the matriculates of the Academy. MAJOR- GENERA L WA YNE. a soldier. Such was the school in which Washington was trained, and in it Wayne acquired the qualities of a true soldier. In those days the country in which the surveyor was called upon to do his work of tracing- courses and distances and settling boundaries was for the most part a dense and untrodden forest, often occupied by hostile Indians. While thus in the performance of his duty he led a life of constant exposure and hard- ship, his body became hardened and disciplined, and his mind ready and resourceful in times of difficulty. Young Wayne seems to have gained reputation as a surveyor rapidly. We find that before he was twenty- one years old he was employed to survey and settle — that is, to colonize — two vast tracts of wild lands which had been purchased by Dr. Franklin and his associ- ates, capitalists in Philadelphia, in Nova Scotia. No better proof could be given of the character which he had already established than that he, a mere boy in years, should have been employed upon such an errand of colonization by a man as sagacious as Dr. Franklin. These lands had been purchased in 1765 under the im- pression that the peace of 1763 opened a large and profitable field of English enterprise in that quarter. 1 Wayne was sent to Nova Scotia by these gentlemen not merely to survey their lands and to fix their bound- 1 It appears from the records of the Crown Land Office at Hali- fax that on the 31st of October, 1765, a grant passed under the seal of the Province for one hundred thousand acres on the St. John's River to Alexander McNutt, Matthew Clarkson, Edward Duffield, Gerardus Clarkson, John Nagle, Benjamin Franklin, Anthony Wayne, and various others, and on the same day a grant was made to the same parties of one hundred thousand acres on the Piti- coodzack River. EARLY TRAINING AND DISCIPLINE. 9 aries, but also to establish upon them a colony of set- tlers who would cultivate them, — a most remarkable proof, as we have said, of the confidence which Wayne as a young man was able to inspire. Of course Nova Scotia at that time was an untracked and un- known wilderness, and it speaks well for Wayne's courage and adventurous spirit that he was willing to embark on so formidable an undertaking. We are unfortunately without the means of knowing the course he pursued in overcoming the obstacles which were interposed in the way of performing the duties assigned to him, but it is very clear that he could only have maintained himself at all in his position by the exercise of great force of character. As the agent of the com- pany he seems to have justified the confidence reposed in him. The following are the points recommended to this boy to be observed, by the principal agent of the associates, Mr. John Hughes, a great favorite of Dr. Franklin's, who had been appointed through the Doc- tor's influence distributor of stamps for this district. He was told to ascertain whether "the land proposed to be bought and settled upon was, 1. Good & supplied with navigable waters. 2. To observe where were the heads of navigation in Rivers, that is, the tide. 3. Con- venient places for ferries. 4. Passes through the moun- tains. 5. Iron ore & cole mines. 6. Mill Seats & other waterworks. 7. Places where the roads meet. 8. Beaches or islands with black sand washed up. 9. Mast lands or pure swamps. 10. Lime stone or other stones. 11. Meadow lands and marsh. 12. Lanje Springs or any mineral Springs." A pretty extensive catalogue of subjects to be investigated and reported io MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. upon by a boy, even if he was as promising as young- Wayne. In the course of a year he had not only made a first survey of the lands, but had led into the wilderness and settled in their new home a colony abundantly pro- vided with implements of husbandry and provisions. He continued in charge of this settlement until 1767, when the company, finding, it is said, its operations menaced by the controversy which had arisen between the mother-country and the Colonies, abandoned its scheme of colonization. It is worth while to recall this period of Wayne's early life, for what he went through during the two years he was engaged in this work proved invaluable in the military career he was des- tined to follow. Having given up his position as superintendent of the Nova Scotia lands and returned home, he was mar- ried in May, 1766, to the daughter of Mr. Bartholomew Penrose, a prominent merchant of Philadelphia. From that time until the outbreak of the Revolution he culti- vated his farm at Waynesborough, and established, be- sides, an extensive tannery upon it. He was regarded by his neighbors, young as he was, owing to his exten- sive experience, as an expert surveyor, whose profes- sional opinion upon the various perplexing questions which arise in a newly-settled country in regard to boundaries was received as of final authority. During these years he grew in the affections and confidence of his neighbors, and was recognized as a leader among a population of unusual intelligence and public spirit. He was chosen to fill several unimportant county offices, and when the first murmur of resistance to the minis- EARLY TRAINING AND DISCIPLINE. n terial measures was heard in 1774, his counsel was re- garded as that of a recognized interpreter of public opinion in Chester County. His father died during this year, and he is spoken of in the address of con- dolence sent by the officers of the regiment which the son was then organizing, as a "man conspicuously friendly to the great cause now depending between Great Britain and her Colonies." From this address, and from other circumstances, we may infer that the father was a shining example of that patriotic devotion with which the son's whole career was inspired. The death of his father, of course, brought new duties and responsibilities to the future general. His inheritance increased his stake in the country's destiny, but neither the responsibilities which he incurred by the course of action which he pursued, nor the dangers which men- aced his private interests, cooled for a moment the en- thusiasm with which he resisted the claims of ministerial oppression. The immediate cause of the outbreak of the Revolu- tion was, it will be remembered, the retaliatory meas- ures taken by the British Ministry to punish the town of Boston for the destruction of the tea sent thither in December, 1773, and the refusal of its people to make any compensation to the East India Company for the loss thereby incurred. The method taken by the Bostonians of protesting against sending taxable tea to that place, by permitting a mob to throw it into the harbor, and afterwards refusing to compensate the owners of the tea for its loss, was not generally ap- proved by the malcontents outside of New England, or, indeed, even outside of Boston itself. The country 12 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. had been practically unanimous in its opposition to the measures which had led the Ministry to permit the ex- portation of the tea to this country, and in all the Colo- nies on the sea-coast arrangements had been made to prevent an attempt to land it and to enforce its with- drawal. The object of the patriots at this time was to keep strictly within the limits of law and order, hoping thereby that their petitions for a redress of grievances would be more readily listened to. The riotous conduct of the mob in Boston disappointed these hopes, and the destruction of the tea and the refusal of compensation were regarded as " untoward events" by meetings held throughout Pennsylvania, as well as by the Assembly of that Province. The steadiness of the people here in their opposition to the measures of the Ministry was not affected by these proceedings. Still less was there any disposition manifested to follow the example of Boston. We had in Philadelphia prevented the landing of the tea sent to this port in a different way. It is most important, in order to understand the course of the events in the early history of the Revolution, to remember that different sections of the country were led into the revolt by different motives, and that they had different objects which they hoped to accomplish by it. Thus, the destruction of the tea was not regarded here, as we are told it was in Boston, by the latest New Eng- land writer of American history, 1 as a " colossal event" and as "the most magnificent movement of all," but rather, so far as the influence of such acts upon the most important of all questions of that time was con- 1 See Fiske's American Revolution, vol. i. p. 85. EARLY TRAINING AND DISCIPLINE. 13 cerned, the union of the Colonies in opposition to the Ministry, as constituting- a stupendous blunder. We had no intention here, at least, to vindicate what is called "the supreme assertion of the most fundamental principle of political freedom" in this way. Still, here, as in all parts of the country, there was deep sympathy for the distress into which Boston had been plunged by the riotous conduct of some of her people. She was punished, as is well known, by every means which the ingenuity of the Ministry could devise " to chastise her insolence," as it was called. She suffered all the evils incidental to a modern state of siege, which, to a commercial town like Boston, meant ruin. It was felt that she was indeed suffering in the common cause, and people here, without stopping to inquire how much of all this was due to her own act, felt that the best method of relieving her was to send her provisions in her distress and to urge the repeal of the Acts of Parliament which had made such a state of things possible. In Philadelphia in the June of that year (1774) a town meeting was held in which such was the line of opposition to the ministerial measures marked out. Committees of Correspondence and of Safety were named, and vigorous efforts were made to organize the popular sentiment of the Province in a constitu- tional opposition to the acts of the Ministry. The attempt was successful. The Assembly in September, 1774, although many Quakers were members of it, with surprising unanimity adopted the Whig policy of asking for a redress of grievances, and the first Con- tinental Congress in its proceedings pursued the same 14 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. policy, although it was induced by a false rumor of the bombardment of Boston by General Gage to promise to support her cause by force. The policy adopted during the summer of 1774 in Philadelphia was quickly responded to from all parts of the Province. Nowhere was the counsel which the leaders in that city had given more quickly followed than in Chester County, and in no man in that county was the determination to resist the action of the Ministry with arms in his hands, if necessary, more completely embodied than in Anthony Wayne. He was emphatically the leader of the opponents to the ministerial acts. He was chairman of the County Committee which proposed the resolutions condemning the course of the Ministry adopted by the freemen of that county on the 13th of July, 1774. He was also chairman of the committee appointed to carry out the recommendations of the Assembly in reference to a military organization and non-importation agreement ; he was a member of the Provincial Convention which met in January, 1775, to encourage domestic manufac- tures in anticipation of the effect of the non-importation of English goods ; he was the author of the propo- sition in May, 1775, that the freemen of the county should be organized for military purposes. In June he became one of the members of the Provincial Com- mittee of Safety, in July a member of the Provincial Convention, and in October a member of the Com- mittee of Correspondence. He was put forward in December by his friends as a proper person to repre- sent his county in the Assembly for the next year. During the whole of this busy year, and while engaged EARLY TRAINING AND DISCIPLINE. 15 in these methods of organizing the opposition, he was occupied also in recruiting a regiment in Chester for the Continental service, in pursuance of the Act of Congress calling upon Pennsylvania for her quota of troops. By the close of the year the ranks of this regiment (Fourth Battalion) were filled, and on the recommendation of the Committee of Safety he was, on the 3d of January, 1776, appointed its colonel, and Francis Johnston its lieutenant-colonel. Wayne at this period must have been a singularly attractive person, very unlike the commonplace people who at that time made up an average farming com- munity. Everything about him seemed calculated to draw public attention to him and to render him popular, as it is called, in the community in which he lived. He was just thirty years of age, a handsome, manly figure, and free and bold in the outspoken declaration of his opinions. He was a man of better education and of a wider knowledge of the world than most of his neigh- bors, and this superiority was recognized by them. He inspired confidence and gained adherents whenever he expressed his political opinions. He was known by all (a great point then, as it is now) to be absolutely disinterested. We can recall but two of the higher officers of the army who served throughout the war, General Washington and the Marquis de La Fayette, who left larger private fortunes to risk all in the public cause than General Wayne. 1 Removed in this way 1 The following memorandum was found on one of General Wayne's ledgers, dated March, 1784: "Mr. Shannon has sunk for me since the beginning of January 1 776, upwards of ^2400 in stock, exclusive of the interest for near eight years. Had he managed my 1 6 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. from any temptation to seek public office from sordid motives, he was trusted throughout the war by all whom he led, — his neighbors and townsmen as well as his soldiers. Certainly in the military family of no other general of the army was there to be seen such an affectionate intercourse as existed between Wayne and his subordinates. He had, of course, his failings and his weaknesses, conspicuous even in his early manhood. He seems to have been constitutionally a vain man, and to have ex- pressed himself from the beginning too often in an over-confident and boastful style, which was not always in good taste. Vanity is usually combined with offensive pretension, but Wayne all through his life was the type of truth, honor, and frankness ; and it may be remem- bered, too, that a good deal of his manner was due to a certain impetuous eagerness and impatience of nature which did not allow him always to measure his words. Of his perfect sincerity when he assumed this tone (which he did only when he proposed daring and hazardous deeds) there could be no doubt. His pe- culiarity was so well known in the army that he was never thought of merely as boastful when he adopted it, but simply it was looked upon as his method of urging desperate plans which seemed perfectly feasible to his ardent and impetuous temper. People may have laughed at his manner, but no one ever thou eh t that he was less terribly in earnest in any scheme which he proposed because he used the language of hyperbole. stock in trade to the advantage which others have done in the course of the late war, I ought to have had at a moderate computation seven thousand pounds in stock in place of nothing. A. W." EARLY TRAINING AND DISCIPLINE. 17 The record of the life of a man during the year of the outbreak of hostilities who afterwards occupied so prominent a position in the public service as did Wayne is indeed a most interesting and instructive one. It not only proves the depth and earnestness of his polit- ical convictions and the energy with which he main- tained them, but also exhibits the methods by which the armed opposition to the home government in this Province was organized under Wayne's direction. It will be observed that at the beginning of the year 1776 there were soldiers of two distinct kinds raised in Penn- sylvania. The one was composed of battalions of " As- sociators," so called, in the Provincial service, the organ- ization of which resembled that of the militia of the other Colonies, except that the men composing the battalions were all volunteers. Of these battalions, fifty-three had been raised by this time in Pennsylvania, of which five came from Chester County. There were, besides, regiments enlisted here for the Continental service, and they differed from the Provincial battalions chiefly in this, that the men were to serve for a longer term, that the discipline was stricter and more regular, and that they were directly under the authority of Congress. In Chester County such was the patriotic ardor of the people that during the year 1775 the ranks of both the Provincial and the Continental battalions were rapidly filled. Of the five battalions of Associators raised there, commanded by Colonels Moore, Hockley, Lloyd, Mont- gomery, and Thomas, three were present at the battle of Long Island. They were stationed in the advance on both flanks of the army, with the Pennsylvania regi- ments of Atlee and Miles, and although they were nearly 3 18 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. cut to pieces and many of the survivors were captured, they displayed a steadiness and courage in maintaining their position against overwhelming numbers which excited the admiration of the army. Caleb Parry, a Chester County man, and lieutenant-colonel in Atlee's regiment, who was killed in this battle, is said to have been the protomartyr of the Revolution among the Pennsylvania officers. As Wayne was recognized as a leader by the pa- triotic men of his county, he was chosen by the Com- mittee of Safety, without hesitation, colonel of the regi- ment which he had done so much to raise. He was known to all as a man of high character and of consid- erable substance, who at a great sacrifice had proved his patriotic zeal by outspoken acts of resistance to the Ministry, and whose loyal and persistent devotion to the cause through good report and evil report might be confidently expected. He and the officers of his regi- ment seem to have been animated by the same spirit during the war. Many of his subordinates became famous for their gallantry during the Revolutionary campaigns as officers in the Pennsylvania line. Johns- ton, Wood, Robinson, Frazer, Moore, North, Church, Lacey, and Vernon are familiar as the names of those who acquired by their deeds fame for themselves and credit for the State which had sent them to the field during the war, and they all began their military career as officers of Wayne's regiment. Different portions of the country were, as we have said, differently affected by the conduct of the Ministry previous to the Revolution. Although all agreed that their measures should be resisted, the methods and EARLY TRAINING AND DISCIPLINE. 19 time and extent of that resistance were subjects con- cerning which, up to the date of the Declaration of Independence, scarcely any of the widely-separated sections of the country could agree. It is worth considering for a moment how and why the revolutionary excitement had so deeply affected a population like that of the farmers of Chester County who had suffered no practical grievance, and who, there is no reason to doubt, were at that time (as they say in their resolutions in July, 1774) thoroughly loyal to the British crown, as to lead them to take up arms to main- tain their opinions. Wayne's action at this time is typical not only of his own opinions but of those of his neighbors and fellow-farmers, and indeed of the rural population throughout the Province, and some account of their political ideas affords the best explanation of what may seem inconsistent in their conduct. No portion of the population in Pennsylvania was more completely law-abiding than that of Chester County. It was largely made up of Quakers, the de- scendants of the most prosperous of Penn's followers, many of them men of Welsh blood, with a sprinkling of Irish Protestants. From the reverence of these people for law, nothing seemed to them more illegal, and therefore wrong, than the enactment by Parliament since 1763 of no fewer than eleven statutes the main object of which was to give the English Ministry absolute control over the Colonies. This was their grievance, and to redress it, with no ulterior view what- ever, they thought, as their English ancestors had done, that the best plan was to negotiate with arms in their hands. Neither Wayne nor any of his neighbors were 20 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. in any sense revolutionists or adventurers, nor, in the new-fangled phrase of the day, " Sons of Liberty." Wayne was their natural leader, but all his surround- ings made him a conservative. He was a young man who had just come into a handsome landed estate, who had been recently married, and who, if he had any political ambition, no doubt looked forward to main- taining that position in life which the influence of his wealth and education would command amona- his nei^h- bors. Certainly he could never have dreamed of mili- tary distinction for himself as the possible outcome of the quarrel of which he had become a champion. His surroundings spoke of peace as the necessary con- dition of maintaining the material prosperity which was everywhere apparent. Even now, as one looks upon the fair prospect which opens before him in " the Great Valley" and its surrounding region, of cultivated farm, of comfortable homestead and picturesque woodland, stretching in the far distance towards the Schuylkill, everything around him suggesting thrift and a well- ordered community, he feels that there must have hap- pened something like a moral earthquake to rouse such a people to embark in the vicissitudes and calami- ties of war. And when he reflects that this valley was occupied at an early date by men of Anglo-Saxon blood and traditions, he finds an explanation of the two apparently contradictory expressions of their opinions at the outbreak of the Revolution, the one adopted July 13, 1774, the other in September, 1775. The first asserted the absolute right of every English subject to the enjoyment and disposal of his property, and that no power on earth could legally divest him of EARLY TRAINING AND DISCIPLINE. 21 it ; and again, that the attempted invasion of that right was a grievance which should be redressed by consti- tutional means. What was meant by constitutional means is shown by the resolution adopted by the Committee in September, as follows : "In Committee. "Chester Co., Sep. 25, 1775. "Whereas, some persons evidently inimical to the liberty of America have industriously propagated a report that the military associators of this County in conjunction with the military associa- tors in general, intend to overturn the Constitution by declaring an independency in the execution of which they are aided by this Committee and the Board of Commissioners and Assessors with the arms now making for this County, and as such report could not originate but among the worst of men for the worst of purposes, This Committee have thought proper to declare, and they do hereby declare their abhorrence even of an idea so pernicious in its nature, as they ardently wish for nothing more than a happy and speedy reconciliation on constitutional principles with that State from whom they derive their origin. "By order. "Anthony Wayne, " Chairman." These resolutions, while they express the opinions of a man who from the beginning to the end of the war never sheathed his sword, also show how much more slowly the people of Chester County, and of Pennsyl- vania generally, arrived at the ultima ratio than those of New England, and by what different routes. And no wonder. Here, with all earthly blessings around them, they had thus far suffered nothing from actual wrong committed, but they were roused by the violation of a constitutional principle, which begot a fear lest evil 22 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. might happen to them in the future should the claims of the Ministry pass unchallenged. Their commerce had not been destroyed, the capital of their Province was not, like Boston, in a state of siege, no attempt had been made so to change their charter as to place them more fully under the control of the Ministry, their town meetings had not been forbidden, their system of se- lecting juries had not been interfered with, nor was the choice of officers once made by the people transferred to the appointment of the Ministry. Still, they took up arms, and protested, as Wayne's grandfather might have done when he joined King William's forces at the battle of the Boyne, " that levying money for or to the use of the Crown by pretence of prerogative without due authority was illegal." And on this opposition to arbitrary methods they staked the issue, and sympa- thized with Boston as suffering in the common cause. Wayne, with a deep and abiding conviction that the only way to secure redress was to extort it, was a true conservative from the be^innin^ to the end of the war. His letters, which are filled with expressions of un- dying love for his country and of evidences of a self- sacrificing devotion, will be searched in vain for a single revolutionary sentiment. At all times we shall see that this " Mad Anthony" was the slave of law. Nor must it be forgotten that neither Wayne nor his companions fought any the less earnestly or less successfully in the contest because such was their political creed. During the winter of 1776 Wayne was engaged at Chester in preparing his men for active service, and in bringing them under proper discipline. He began by punishing desertion severely. Before his regiment EARLY TRAINING AND DISCIPLINE. 23 left Pennsylvania no less than six of its members were punished, some with fifteen and others with thirty-nine lashes, for this offence. All through his career Wayne was known for the strictness with which he enforced discipline, and to this practice was doubtless due in a great measure the efficiency of his men. Like many other officers in the army of the Revolution, Wayne appears to have studied, before he held command, the principles of strategy as laid down in such books as " Marshal Saxe's Campaigns" and "The Commentaries of Caesar on the Gallic War," and in his letters are frequent allusions to the opinions of these masters of the art. There was a painful consciousness of igno- rance on the part of many of the officers of the high- est rank in the service on this subject, which sometimes led them to an indecision which was fatal, or, to what was almost as disastrous, a confidence in the opinions of Generals Gates and Charles Lee, who passed in the army of the Revolution as officers educated in a scientific knowledge of the art of war as practised in Europe. But a large fund of common sense, experi- ence, and perfect coolness in emergencies, rather than books on the art of war, tempered the zeal of Wayne, so that towards the close of his career, and especially during the campaign in Georgia, he was justly regarded as an accomplished strategist. There was one little piece of pardonable vanity with which he was charged in the beginning of his career, the details of which seem amusing enough when we recall the rough, hard work which his regiment had to do, and that was his apparent anxiety for the military appearance of the men of his regiment. In a letter to 24 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. Washington he says, " I have an insuperable bias in favor of an elegant uniform and soldierly appearance, so much so that I would rather risk my life and reputation at the head of the same men in an attack, clothed and appointed as I could wish, merely with bayonets and a single charge of ammunition, than to take them as they appear in common with sixty rounds of cartridges. It may be a false idea, but I cannot help cherishing it." The disastrous campaign in Canada did not change his opinion of the necessity of keeping up appearances. In his orders of July 9, 1776, he tells his regiment that " a barber for each company shall be nominated for the purpose of shaving the soldiers and dressing their hair," and that "the colonel is determined to punish every man who comes on parade with a long beard, slovenly dressed, or dirty;" and again, "he hopes the officers will think it their duty to see that their men always appear washed, shaved, their hair plaited and powdered, and their arms in good order." It is char- acteristic of the care of Wayne for the appearance of his men that at the time this order was issued his regi- ment had just gone through a campaign in Canada (as will soon appear), where they had suffered from the roughest and hardest usage, and where they had lost almost everything belonging to them save their hair and their beards. CHAPTER II. THE CANADIAN CAMPAIGN AND TICONDEROGA. The expedition to Canada in the spring and summer of 1776 was the first campaign in which the regiment of Colonel Wayne was engaged. It formed part of a brigade of Pennsylvanians commanded by General William Thompson, composed of the Second Battalion, under Colonel St. Clair, the Sixth, under Colonel Wil- liam Irvine, and the Fourth, under Colonel Wayne. It was sent by order of Congress to reinforce the army under Generals Montgomery and Arnold, which had been repulsed at Quebec. It is not easy fully to understand why such pro- digious efforts were made in the beginning of the Rev- olution to induce the Canadians to join us in the revolt against the English government. There is no doubt that it was hoped not merely by the majority of the members of Congress, but also by men of the sagacity of Dr. Franklin and the calm judgment of Washing- ton, that some signal advantage would be gained to the American cause by the expeditions under the command of Montgomery and Arnold and the capture of Quebec. Faith in the result must have been very strong when the best troops under the bravest officers were sent on this far-distant and dangerous expedition, when the issue of the siege of Boston was as yet uncertain, when New York was threatened by the enemy, and 25 26 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. when the ardor and zeal of the new levies before Boston had grown so cool that many of them were dis- gusted with the service and were ready %o leave the army on the very day on which the short term of their engagement ended. It is true that Canada was poorly defended at the time, and had there been any prospect of our maintaining possession of the country there might have been some excuse for sending so many troops, commanded by our most gallant officers, to con- quer it. But in our eagerness we forgot that it was easy, whenever the St. Lawrence was navigable, to send by that river an overwhelming force brought from England against us. The impression seemed to be that once within the walls of Quebec, Canada was ours. Besides these miscalculations, we fell into two capital errors in planning such an expedition. One was that the Canadians were to the last degree discontented with the English government, owing to the provisions of the Quebec Act of 1774, and, secondly, that as good Catholics and Frenchmen they were thoroughly dissat- isfied with remaining under the control of a foreign and Protestant Q-overnment. The Quebec Act, by which the Province was gov- erned, provided, with what has since proved singular wisdom, that as the body of the population was French it should be ofoverned in the French and not in the English way. There was no representative assembly ; the people were ruled directly by the king through a governor appointed by him ; the old French law was recognized, especially in its regulation of land-tenures ; posts of honor were conferred upon the French Cath- olic nobles, and, more than all, for the first time since CANADIAN CAMPAIGN AND T1C0NDER0GA. 27 the Reformation the large Catholic Church estates, the continued possession of which had been guaranteed by the treaty of 1763, were confirmed by the Act to the clergy. There was, it is true, much discontent on the part of both the French and the English inhabitants, the latter of whom were few in numbers compared with the former. The French, of course, disliked a foreign and alien rule, and the English felt that the great guaran- tees of liberty had been sacrificed in order to keep the Province tranquil. Congress, with the inborn instinct of English freemen, supposed that because the Quebec Act was distasteful to the thirteen Colonies it must necessarily be so to the people of Canada. Under this delusion the invasion of the Province was undertaken, the expectation being that the invaders would be greatly aided by the discontented inhabitants. This hope was in a great measure disappointed, and the result was that our troops were repulsed from the walls of Quebec, leaving no trace of their work there save the un- dying remembrance of their heroic valor. Congress was a good deal puzzled to account for the want of support given to the invasion, especially by the Cath- olic clergy, whose influence was all-powerful with the French population. They sent a commission to Canada to clear up the mystery, composed of Dr. Franklin, Mr. Carroll (afterwards Catholic archbishop of Balti- more), and Judge Chase. These gentlemen soon dis- covered that the clergy declined to interfere, thinking that the exercise of their religion, and especially the possession of the Church estates, would be safer under the guarantee of the treaty of 1763 than under the promises of religious toleration made by the American 28 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. Congress. No doubt these priests in so acting were wise in their generation. Such was the condition of affairs in Canada when the second expedition was undertaken. Its principal object was to reinforce the troops already in that Province ; but where they would be found, or in what condition, no one could tell. A portion of Wayne's regiment was hurried forward by companies, but in such an un- prepared condition that it was not until the first week in May, upon reaching Albany, that they were provided with arms. Five companies of the regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel Johnston, were detained on Long Island as late as May 15 without arms, and without any prospect of receiving any other weapons than "d d tomahawks," to use the energetic language of their commander. On the 5th of June they reached the fort at the mouth of the Sorel in Canada, about half-way between Montreal and Quebec, and there they found the remnant of General Montgomery's army, which had retreated from Quebec, and the Pennsylvania Bri- gade, under General Thompson, which had preceded them in the retreat, the whole under the command of General Sullivan. The British force, under General Burgoyne, was at Three Rivers, some distance down the St. Lawrence. The army having been collected at the Sorel, Sullivan ordered General Thompson with the Pennsylvania Brigade to attack the British at Three Rivers. As this was the first battle of the Revolution in which Pennsylvania troops fought almost alone (Max- well's small New Jersey battalion being brigaded with it), and as it was Wayne's maiden battle, we annex his own account of it. CANADIAN CAMPAIGN AND TICONDEROGA. 29 Colonel Wayne to Dr. Franklin and others. Camp at Sorel 13th June 1776 Dear Sir, — After a long march by land & water varied with De- lightful as well as Gloomy prospects we arrived here the night of the 5th Instant and on the 7th it was agreed in a council of war to attack the enemy at Three Rivers about 47 miles lower down, whose strength was estimated at 3 or 4 Hundred. Gen'l Thompson was ap- pointed for this Command, the Disposition was as follows 4 attacks to be made at the same time viz Col Maxwell to conduct the first, myself the second, Col St Clair the third, & Col Irvine the 4th Lie't Col Hartley the Reserves. On the same evening we Embarked and arrived at Col St Clairs Encampment about midnight — it was intended that the Attack shou'd be made at the dawn of day — this we found to be Imprac- ticable, therefor we Remained where we were until the 9th when we to the number of 1450 Men all Penns'lvanians except Maxwells Battalion took boats About 2 in the morning we landed nine Miles above the town, and after an Hour's march day began to appear. Our Guides had mistook the road, the Enemy Discovered and Cannonaded us from their ships, a Surprise was out of the Question — we therefore put our best face on it and Continued our line of march thro' a thick deep swamp three miles wide, and after four Hours Arrived at a more open piece of Ground — amidst the thickest firing of the ship- ping when all of a sudden a large Body of Regulars marched down in good Order Immediately in front of me to prevent our forming — in Consequence of which I Ordered my Light Infantry together with Capt Hay's Company of Riflemen to advance and amuse them whilst I was forming ; they began and Continued the attack with great spirit until I advanced to support them when I ordered them to wheel to the Right & left and flank the Enemy at the same time we poured in a well Aimed and heavy fire in front as this — they attempted to Retreat in good Order ENEMY at first but in a few minutes broke and ran \ /in the utmost Confusion. About this time \ ' the Other Divisions began to Emerge from the swamp except Maxwell who with his was advanced in a thicket a Considerable Distance to the left — our 30 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. Rear now becoming our front &c At this Instant we Rec'd a heavy fire in flank from musketry, field pieces, Howitzers &c &c which threw us into some confusion, but was Instantly Remedied — We Advanced in Column up to their breast work's which till then we had not Discovered — at this time Gen'l Thompson with Cols St Clair, Irvine & Hartly were marching in full view to our support. Col Maxwell now began to Engage on the left of me, the fire was so hot he could not mantain his post — the other troops had also filed off to the left — my small Battalion composed of my own & two Com- panies of Jersey men under Major Ray amounting in the whole to about 200 were left exposed to the whole fire of the shipping in flank and full three thousand men in front with all their Artillery under the command of Gen'l Burgoyne — Our people taking ex- ample by others gave way — Indeed it was Imposible for them to stand it longer — Whilst Col Allen and myself were Employed in Rallying the troops Let. Col. Hartly had advanced with the Re- serves and bravely Attacked the Enemy from a thicket in a swamp to the left, this hardiness of his was of the Utmost Consequence to us — we having rallied about 800 men from the Different Regiments — we now sent to find the Gen'l and Other field Officers— at the same time the Rifle men of mine & Irvine's kept up a galling fire on the Enemy — the Swamp was so deep and thick with timber and underwood that a man 10 yards in front or Rear wou'd not see the men Drawn up — this was the Cause of the Gen'l, Col St Clair, Max- well & Irvine missing us — or perhaps they had taken for Granted that we were all cut off — Col Hartly who lay near by retreated without a Discovery on either side, until he Crossed our line near the left, which caused our people to follow him — Allen and myself were now left on the field with only twenty men & five Officers, the Enemy still Continuing their whole fire from Great and small guns upon us — but afraid to venture from their lines, we thought it pru- dent to keep them in play by keeping up a small fire in Order to gain time for our people to make good their Retreat in Consequence of which we Continued about an Hour longer in the field, and then Retreated back into the woods which brought us to a Road on the far side of the Swamp. We followed this Road about two miles when we cut loose from our small party & reached the Place where our people had enter'd the swamp by which means we soon Collected CANADIAN CAMPAIGN AND TICONDEROGA. 31 6 or 700 men with whom we Retreated in good Order but without nourishment of any kind. The Enemy who were Strong in number had Detached in two or three bodies about 1500 men to cut off our Retreat. They way laid & Engaged us again about 9 miles from the field of Battle, they did us little damage. We Continued our march, and the third day almost worn out with fatigue, Hunger, & Difi- culties, scarcely to be paralleld we arrived here with 1100 men, but Gen'l Thompson Col Irvine Doc'r McCalla and several Officers are prisoners at Three Rivers — Col St Clair Arrived alone last night Their Separation from the Army (which appeared Indeed to be lost) was the cause of their misfortunes — I believe it will be Universally allowed that Col Allen & myself have saved the Army in Canada. Capt Robinson has proved himself the Soldier and the Gen'tm. his Conduct has outgone the most Sanguine hopes of his friends, out of 150 of my own I have lost more than the One Quarter part — to- gether with Slight touch in my Right leg — which is partly well already, we shall have more business soon, our People are in high spirits and long for the Other bought as well as your H'l S't — Ant'y Wayne. So much for the battle of the Three Rivers. We now come to the retreat of the beaten army, and the prompt and skilful efforts made by Colonel Wayne to cover with it the escape of Arnold from Montreal, to which place the British army, successful at the Three Rivers, pushed forward at once. Arnold, on learning the approach of the enemy, had retreated from Mon- treal, and sent his aide-de-camp, Wilkinson, to Sullivan to ask that some of his men should be detached to aid him. In his search for Sullivan on the line of the retreat Wilkinson found the men whose aid he was sent to implore in a pitiable condition. We cannot do better than borrow his graphic account of what followed (Memoirs, vol. i. p. 51 et seq.) : "I found every house and hut on my route crowded with straggling men 32 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. without officers, and officers without men. The first officer of my acquaintance whom I met was Lieutenant- Colonel William Allen, 1 of the Second Pennsylvania. I informed him of my orders for a detachment. He re- plied, ' Wilkinson, this army is conquered by its fears, and I doubt whether you can draw any assistance from it ; but Colonel Wayne is in the rear, and if any one can do it he is the man.' On which I quickened my pace, and half an hour after I met that gallant soldier as much at his ease as if he was marching to a parade of exercise. He halted at the bridge and posted a guard, with orders to stop every man, without regard to corps, who appeared to be active, alert, and equipped. In a short time a detachment was completely formed and in motion for Longueil (on the route to Montreal). The very men who only the day before were retreating in confusion before a division of the enemy now marched with alacrity against his main body." Shortly after- wards it was discovered that Arnold had escaped with- out the aid of Wayne's troops, and they were pushed on to join Sullivan. "Then," says Wilkinson, "our detachment was discovered advancing on the bank of the Sorel two miles below the fort. We were taken (by Sullivan) for the enemy, and great alarm and con- fusion ensued, the drums beat to arms, and General Sullivan and his officers were observed making great exertions to prepare for battle. Colonel Wayne halted his column, pulled out his glass, and seemed to enjoy 1 Colonel Allen, who behaved so gallantly at the battle of the Three Rivers, was one of the four sons of Chief Justice Allen, of Pennsylvania. After the Declaration of Independence was adopted he resigned his commission and entered the British service. CANADIAN CAMPAIGN AND TICONDEROGA. ^ the panic his appearance produced," etc. These oper- ations, disastrous in their results in many ways, seemed to show that there was at least one man in that army with the stuff of a true general in him. The coolness and readiness of resource which he exhibited, and the courage with which he was able in a short hour to recall a fleeing and panic-stricken rabble to the duty and dis- cipline of soldiers, find scarcely a parallel in the history of our Revolutionary campaigns. To understand fully Wayne's position, it must not be forgotten that in this battle and retreat Wayne commanded for the first time men who were brought also for the first time under the fire of the enemy. General Thompson and Colonel Irvine having been taken prisoners at the Three Rivers, and Colonel St. Clair having been wounded, the com- mand of the Pennsylvania troops during the difficult retreat from the Sorel to Ticonderoga devolved upon Colonel Wayne, himself, as we have seen, slightly wounded. They were closely pursued from St. John's to Lake Champlain by a British division under Bur- goyne, and it required all the activity and vigilance of the commander to enable his men to reach in safety first the Isle aux Noix, and afterwards Crown Point and Ticonderoga, where they determined to make a stand. The enemy, however, after destroying Arnold's fleet on the lake, and threatening Ticonderoga, de- ferred further operations until the next season. These operations in Canada had established the rep- utation of Colonel Wayne as an energetic officer, and no doubt led to his appointment on the 18th of Novem- ber, by General Schuyler, to the command of the fort at Ticonderoga with its dependencies, the second most 4 34 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. important military post, as Wayne regarded it, in the country. The garrison consisted of about two thousand five hundred men, who were under his command during the winter. His labors, trials, and anxieties while sta- tioned at this post are most graphically described in his letters. They were written to private friends, who were naturally very anxious to know how he and his two thousand Pennsylvanians were faring while guarding this distant frontier. The style of these letters is very free and unconventional, but they are interesting as presenting a very striking picture of garrison life and its surroundings. The ever-confident and even at times boastful spirit so characteristic of Wayne is very con- spicuous in these letters, but it does not overshadow the real earnestness and enthusiasm of the patriot and the soldier. They embrace a great variety of subjects, including the position of the garrison at Ticonderoga, the condition of the Pennsylvania regiments there, the unhealthiness of the post, the difficulties arising from short enlistments, observations on the anarchical condi- tion of things then prevailing in Pennsylvania, and so forth. It is not possible to arrange them in a strictly chronological order, so as to make the story they tell clearer, but it seems to us that a selection from them will prove, in their unadorned simplicity, full of interest to those who desire to know how people felt and acted in the army and in Congress in the dark days of the Revolution. We copy those sent to his wife and to his brother-in-law, Colonel Penrose. The details he gives of his garrison life are interesting. The others ad- dressed to Dr. Franklin and other friends on the mili- tary and political situation are given because they are CANADIAN CAMPAIGN AND TICONDEROGA. 35 highly characteristic of the man, and show what work the Pennsylvania troops were doing - on the Canada frontier. Colonel Wayne to Mrs. Mary Wayne. TICONDEROGA 1 2th Aug't 1 776 Dear Polly, — I wrote to you by the and sent a small pres- ent — he will be able to give you a particular acc't of this place and Army — but he will paint matters worse than they realy are — within these two days we have been Re-enforc'd by three Thousand new England militia; fresh provision is become more plenty than salt; & our people have Recovered health and spirits — I have now the finest and best Regiment in the Continental Service — we are viewed with admiration and pleasure by all the Officers in the Army, and we have render'd our camp almost Impregnable — Fortune has heretofore been a fickle Goddess to us — and like some other females changed for the first new face she saw — We shall once more court her in the face of all the British thunder, and take her Vi etarmis from her present possessors — A Major Bigelow — who was sent with a flag to Canada — Returned just now from the Enemy's advanced post who treated him with a Cold distant Civility — he has brought with him the Orders of the day Issued by General Carleton — they are Bombastical, Insolent, & empty — you'll shortly see them published by Congress — . . . The fall may turn up some- thing, — we are prepared for the event, and Death or Glory will attend us — I wou'd write to several of my old friends & neighbours but for want of time; — you'l let them know they live in my grateful memory, and I shall always esteem myself happy in Rendering them every service in my Power. I hope yet to pass many an Agreeable hour in your and their Society — but if the fate of war shou'd Order it otherwise — they will Remember I fell in the support of their Rights — and the Rights of Mankind Adieu my Dear Girl Ant'y Wayne. Colonel Wayne to Mrs. Mary Wayne. Ticonderoga 3d Jan'y 1777 Dear Polly, — I don't know where this will meet you. The Rapid progress of the Enemy through Jersey only reach'd us last evening — 36 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. perhaps they may now be in Phil'a and Ravaging the Country for many miles Round The Anxiety we are under on acc't of our families and friends is much better felt than expressed — Should you be necessitated to leave Easttown — I doubt not but you'l meet with Hospitality in the Back parts of the provinces — The British Rebels may be successful for a time ; they may take and Destroy our Towns near the Water and Distress us much But they never can — they never will subjugate the free born sons of America. Our Growing Country can meet with Considerable Losses and survive them : but one Defeat to our more than Savage Enemy Ruins them for ever : A number of unhappy Circumstances have Contributed to their success thus far, but let not that in the least Dispirit you. We shall soon learn to face them in the field and the day is not far off when we shall produce a Conviction to the World that we Deserve to be free — I expect every hour to be Relieved with Orders to march to the Assistance of Gen'l Washington : I have 1500 Hardy Veterans left who will push hard for Victory and Revenge — they are second to none in Courage (I have seen them tried) and I know they Equal any Regulars in point of Discipline — I hope soon to meet their Sanguine Wish — that is to lead them on to Death or Glory Kiss my little boy and Girl for me — Give my kindest Compli- ments to all friends and believe me ever yours A. Wayne. [Mrs. M. Wayne.] Colonel Wayne to Colonel Penrose. TlCONDEROGA 23rd Aug. 1 776 We Remain in the same state as when I wrote you last, with only this Difference — I begin to get me in flesh ; wine, punch, porter, Venson Mutton Beef Potatoes Peas beans Butter & Cheese begin to make their appearance in Camp ; of these good Creatures I the more freely partake — as man can not live by bread alone ; there are but few who live in this way tho' all wou'd wish it, provided they cou'd obtain it without much expense — but that is Impossible here for it appears to be the last part of the world that God made & I have some ground to believe it was finished in the dark — that it was never Intended that man shou'd live in it is clear — for the people who CANADIAN CAMPAIGN AND TICONDEROGA. 37 attempted to make any stay — have for the most part perished by pestilence or the sword. I believe it to be the Ancient Golgotha or place of Skulls — they are so plenty here that our people for want of Other Vessels drink out of them whilst the soldiers make tent pins of the shin and thigh bones of Abercrumbies men — [Col. Penrose.] Colonel Wayne to Dr. Franklin. Ticonderoga 29th July 1776 Dear Sir, — We are so far Removed from the seat of Govern' t of the free and Independent states of America — and such an Insurmount- able Barrier, Albany, between us that not one letter, or the least In- telligence of any thing that's doing with you can reach us. Through the medium of my Chaplain (the Rev Mr Jones), I hope this will reach you as he has promised to blow out any man's brains who will attempt to take it from him Naturally, I must own I have some Apprehensions for the Brave and Generous sons of America who will be obliged to bear the brunt of the day. — A raw Undisciplined Militia crowding in upon them will in a few Weeks become Impatient of Command & Subject to many Disorders fatal to an army — an artful enemy will wait the favourable moment to make approach — Howe is not unacquainted with the wretched Condition our people were in at Cambridge — he lost the Opportunity — he'l not be guilty of the like soon again — Burgoyne will attempt a Junction. He'l not effect it without the loss of much blood — Col St Clair, Dehaes, & myself are in posses- sion of Montcalms lines. We shall render them more formidable than they ever were in a few days. We are to be joined by Col Hartley. The whole of the Pennsylvanians in this Country will amount to 1600 men fit for duty Officers Included — Our lines are extensive — but Rest assured, If Burgoyne makes an attack upon us — the British arms will meet a worse fate than when under Aber- crombie — They'l find an enemy fertile in expedients, and brave by nature, who will push them hard for Victory, & Revenge for the unfortunate affair at the Three Rivers — I am almost tempted to 3 8 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. say with MacDuff, Gracious heaven ! cut short all Intervention and front to front set those sons of War and ourselves — if they then escape may heaven forgive them too — The Eastern troops are stationed on the East and Opposite side of the lake — on a peninsula Inaccessible except at one spot — which they are beginning to fortify — These are composed of three Brigades, we of one under Col St Clair, who with myself are Engineers in chief. We amend, form, and Alter such part, and parts of the French lines as we think proper, a plan of which is here Inclosed — I believe the whole amount of our Army fit for duty may amount to about 3500 men — we expect a Reinforcement from Connecticut shortly of 1500, and we are Indefatigable in preparing to meet the Enemy by water — the superiority in a naval force on this Lake is an Object of the first moment — It has been we think shamefully neg- lected — but now we have Information of 100 Carpenters from the Eastward and 50 from Philadelphia, being at Skene'sboro', and all at work in building Gondolas — At present we have three little schoners, and one sloop well Rigged — and man'd with people drafted from the Respective Regiments, they carry from 8 to 16 Guns each. These with four Gondolas already built will be a formidable fleet in // u - s sea — on which I think we may ride Triumphant if we please. The Enemy on the Other hand are Industriously Employ'd in build- ing vessels, Batteaus &c &c so that in a few days we shall put the matter to the test. We have Rec'd two days fresh Provisions and have a prospect of being better supplied — our people begin to recruit in health and spirits — but are still Destitute of almost every neces- sary fit for a soldier, shoes, stockings shirts and coats are articles not easily done without — yet they cannot be Obtained — I am sorry to have Occasion to write in this manner but when Objects of Distress hourly strike the eye — Objects that look up to me for Relief, I can't but feel for their situation although unable to help them — Can't some means be fallen upon to send a speedy supply of these articles — The State of Mass'ts Bay has Established a post to this place & all letters carried free to the Army — as you'l see by the Inclosed note. Can't you procure a similar one to pass in our State — or are we less worthy than the Gentlemen from the Eastward — be that as it may — an Inquiry into the cause of this shameful Conduct in some of the CANADIAN CAMPAIGN AND TICONDEROGA. 39 Different posts or Offices is a matter not to be neglected, as it may in the end be attended with bad and fatal Consequences. Dr. Rush to Colonel Wayne. Philad'a Septemb'r 24th 1776 My dear Sir, — I have not been unmindful of you since we parted. No man rejoiced more than I did in hearing of your gallant behavior at the Three Rivers, and General Sullivan can witness for me that when He repeated any anecdote that related to our Army in Canada in which your name was mentioned with respect, I felt, and showed the same satisfaction that I should have done had he been lavishing encomiums upon a brother. — You will hear before this reaches you that the command of General Sinclair's regiment was given to Col: Wood. I lament with you Col: Allen's resignation, and loss to our Army, but I believe you have been misinformed as to his motives in that transaction — His family suffered no indignities in this State but such as they in some degree merited by their opposition to the institution of a new government, and the declaration of In- dependence — I have constantly made great allowances for gentle- men of moderate sentiments, and still class several of them among the worthiest of my friends, but I think it no breach of charity to suppose that a family so much affected in power, and property as the one above mentioned were actuated only by low, and interested motives. — My seat in Congress has subjected me to many cares to which I was a stranger when my whole business consisted in reading — writ- ing — & feeling pulses. — I am obliged daily to hear the most melan- choly accounts of the distresses of our troops from wants of every kind — I have felt a large share of the pain & shame brought upon our arms by the desertion of Long Island, and evacuation of New York. The military spirit of our country men seems to have sub- sided in that part of the continent, and a torpor seems likewise to have seized upon the citizens of America in general. I apprehend we have overrated the public Virtue of our country. If this is the case, let us not repine at misfortunes — They are necessary to the growth & existence of patriotism. History shows us that States like in- dividuals have arisen to importance only when their foundations were laid in difficulties & adversity. We received so many pledges 4o MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. during the last Campaign of the favor and protection of Heaven that it would seem a species of infidelity to doubt our success in the issue of the present controversy. A convention has at last formed a government for our State. Herewith I send you a copy of it [Constitution of 1776]. It is tho't by many people to be rather too much upon the democratical order, for liberty is as apt to degenerate into luxuriousness, as power is to become arbitrary. Restraints therefore are as necessary in the former as in the latter case. Had the Governor and Council in the new constitution of Pennsylvania possessed a negative upon the proceedings of the assembly, the government would have derived safety — wisdom & dignity from it. But we hope the Coun- cil of Censors will remedy this defect at the expiration of seven years. My present situation requires that I shou'd possess a thorough knowledge of the state of the armies of the Continent. Let me beg of you therefore to furnish me every week (if possible) with the history of every material occurrence in the Northern department. Tell me all your wants whether they relate to provisions, clothing, tents — ammunition or medicines — I could wish you would go fur- ther, & inform [me] what officers, and what brigades, or regiments stand highest with you for courage — conduct, and military discipline. Duty & inclination will prompt me to do every thing in my power to remedy abuses — correct delays — and reward merit of every kind in the Army. My Comp'ts await Gen'l Gates, and Gen'l St. Clair. Tell the latter that I have done nothing since I took my seat in Congress with greater pleasure than giving my Vote for making him a Brigadier and I wish for nothing more than to do the same justice to the merit of my friend Col: Wayne. Inter nos — an attention in you to Gen'l Gates may facilitate this matter if it should soon come before Con- gress. Adieu, my dear Anthony, God bless you ! & bring you back in safety to our native province in which I hope to spend many days with you in the enjoyment of that freedom for which we are both making sacrifices in the cabinet & field. Yours sincerely B. Rush. CANADIAN CAMPAIGN AND TICONDEROGA. 41 Colonel Wayne to Dr. Franklin and Mr. Morton. Ticonderoga 2nd Oct. 1776. Dear Sir, — I have the same plea for not answering yours of the 1 6th of Aug — as you had when you wrote — i.e want of time — I observe we have an extraordinary House or Convention and as an extraordinary Bench of the peace — but the old Adage holds — that a Desperate Disorder — requires a Desperate cure — Our Constitu- tion was Convulsed — these may be the most proper state Physicians to restore it to its native vigor — I hope they will effect it — I am totally unacquainted with your Politicks I shall therefore waive the subject — and like uncle Toby ride my own hobby — We are not a little surprised at the evacuation of Long Island — the surrender of that was the opening the Door to the Island of New York — our people can't possibly hold that place when the North & East Rivers are free for the enemy's fleet. They will even have it in their power to land troops on the Back of our ports — an Event which I fear they have not properly Guarded against. If so the sacrifice of 4-5 or even 1 0,000 men in my humble Opinion ought to be made rather than to have given up ground for a small Misfortune — that will not only supply the Enemy with Every necessary and afford them Winter Quarters — but reduce us to the hard necessity of making a Winter Campaign in the open field to watch their motions — As to us — unless the Enemy can prevail over our fleet — which I think will be no easy matter, we having greatly the advantage in point of time and materials for this purpose, which Advantage we have Industriously Improved — & on the land side our lines are strength- en'd with Redoubts — they can not Carry by Storm — and the Season is too farre Advanced for a Regular Seige add to this our people are in high spirits — tho' poorly and thinly clad — yet they will sell their Lives & Liberty dear — the fatigue they have undergone in this place is Inexpressible, yet they go thro' all without a murmor — Anth'y Wayne. Colonel Wayne to Dr. Rush. Ticonderoga 18th Oct'r 1776 Mv dear Sir, — I shall not attempt to give my Opinion of what Regiments or Officers stand highest in Esteem for military Disci- pline or Conduct — until the fortune of War Determines whether 42 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. Americans or Britains are to remain masters of this Ground — an event which in all probability will be known before this Reaches you perhaps in a few hours — they have prevail'd over our Fleet, — and are within fifteen miles of this place — the first fair wind brings them up — when I am Apprehensive they will Oblige us to meet them on Open Ground — our rear being in a great measure neglected — for we always depended on our Fleet — as the Rear Guard — that Depend- ence is now at an end — and if they Attack us in that Quarter we shall have warm work — it will not be cool to them as they will be exposed to the fire of two Batteries — upon the whole I am Rather Inclined to think they will strive to make the Assault on the Penns'a lines as it is the Ground which Commands all the Other works — if they shou'd be so hardy — I am almost Confident of success — Our Army don't Amount to more than 6000 Effective men — of which something less than One half i e about 2600 will bear the brunt of the day — the Remainder being on Mount Independance on the Opposite Side of the lake — I can't in Justice Omit mentioning one hundred Pennsylvanians who arrived here last Evening from lake George — where they were lately sent for the Recovery of their health to the Gen'l Hospital — on hearing of the defeat of our Fleet they Immediately returned to this place Determined to Conquer or die, with their Country men — these poor Emaciated worthy fellows are Entitled to more merit than I have time or Ability to Describe. I could write you a long letter Cont'g a list of Grieveances, & such Intelligence as you Require but the Enemy will not permit me — and I am Call'd to Arms by an Alarm this moment Given — Adieu my Dear friend & believe me yours &c Ant'y Wayne. Adjutant Harper to Colonel Wayne. Albany Janu'y 31 1777 Dear Colonel, — Your Regiment march'd from this Place yester- day morning — but the Soldiers were so dispersed through the Town that It was with the Greatest Dificulty that wee got them together — The place was so full of Recruiting Parties Endeavouring to enlist them that two thirds of them were drunk — The Recruiting Officers here Rather than miss a Pennsylvanian would sit and drink with him all night — they Even have Gone into the Hospitals and enlisted Our CANADIAN CAMPAIGN AND TICONDEROGA. 43 Sick, some of whom were Re-enlisted before Viz Short of Capt. Poth Company and Jones a Silver Smith of Capt. Morris, they tried two Days ago and are to be punished — ********* Colonel Johnston to Richard Peters, Secretary of Board of War. Oct 20, '76. If you shou'd think proper, you may publish the following Para- graph, in regard to our Penn'a soldiers — " It appears to me that the Pennsylvanians were originally designed for Soldiers, their Vigi- lance, assiduity & resignation to bad Usage, fatigue & ye strictest Discipline convinces me — their bravery too & enthusiasm in the Service are equally remarkable — "There is an Anecdote respecting them, which I cannot omit mentioning — as soon as the News of the Defeat of our Fleet reach'd Fort George, the Pennsylvanians who had been laid up in the Hos- pitals emaciated with Disease & Sickness of the most malignant kind, even some of them with Discharges in their Pockets, without Orders or the least compulsion, fix'd on their Military Accoutraments & crossed the Lake to our Assistance, swearing by every thing sacred they wou'd have ample revenge — "As two Privates of the first Bat'n Commanded by Col. De Haas pass'd thro' our Encampment on their return, they were asked if no more of the Penn'as were coming to w'h they answ'd with Indigna- tion ' Yes, blast your Eyes, every sick man amongst us that cou'd possibly crawl, but we lead the Van from our Rank' — this they Did while other pusilanimous wretches had their whole thoughts entirely bent upon Home — " I can add no more, as the Divine says, so present my Love to Mr & Mrs Delany & God bless you both — I am sincerely Yours &c F: Johnston. Colonel Johnston to Colonel Wayne. Albany 17th Nov'r, 1776 — DearCol'l, — I rec'd your agreeable Letter of the 12th inst't from the Hand of Col: Lewis Its Contents serve as a farther Proof of the friendship you bear me — I shall ever embrace the opportunities put in my way, of acknowl- 44 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. edging the several kindnesses you confer on me — &: use my utmost diligence to repay them — I find you have engaged the Interests of Gen'l Gates St Clair & Col: De Haas in my favor I shall never forget this signal piece of service — I have been assiduous in my Endeavours to enlist, but all such as are fit for the service are already engaged, the Others are only Food for Worms — miserable sharp looking Caitiffs, hungry lean fac'd Villains &C &c. Your Letter, joined to the services w'h I apprehend I can perform in Penn'a, have determin'd me to proceed — Let me add to this Poor Tom [Robinson] is so weak yet, that I must not part with him — On my Arrival, I propose to open my Quarters near Ches- ter & send out trusty Serjeants for the purpose of recruiting our Regi- ment ; As Wallace & Funk cannot join us again with propriety, I suppose I may Venture to promise a worthy fellow an Ensignsy, & Dispatch him thro' the Country in search of Recruits — I find myself greatly recovered but still continue weak — riding on Horse back will fully effect my Cure — I shou'd most assuredly have visited Tye this week, but your Letter induces me (as I before ob- serv'd) to go on — I cannot part with you thus — The news of this place I must transmit you — It is said here that Howe's Army have cross'd over to the Jersey side, & that our Army means to accompany them wherever they go — It is likewise reported, that a Strong Detachment of the Enemy are in the rear of Fort Montgomery, w'h you know is totally un- defended — It is very observable, that all the American Fortifica- tions are defenceless in the rear &: ever left unguarded — Oh the miserable State of this Country ! As we are obliged to place our Dependance on such miserable Engineers — Whether this be Albany News w'h I have just related, or real fact I know not, but certain it is; Orders have been issued that all the Batteaus, Boats &c &c shall immediately be sent down the North River to transport our Army — Indeed I have heard that the Bat- teaus in & about Lake George must be carried in Waggons to Fort Edw'd & from thence forwarded here — if this be true, then the Army at Tye will naturally retreat for want of Provisions — I could here criticize & animadvert largely on the Conduct of great men in the service of the States, on their Counsels, their Mi.'i- CANADIAN CAMPAIGN AND TICONDEROGA. 45 tary knowledge &c but this is unnecessary, as you are fully capable of comparing things with each other & drawing just Inferences — My friend Sec'y Peters informs me of Col: Shee's Resignation which has completely ruin'd him — He urges me strenuously by no means to follow his Example, I trust in Heaven, I never shall, tho', I must confess it chagrin'd me to see a Dutch Tavern keeper & a fat son of Epicurus promoted over my Head — Men with calmer Passions & possess'd of more Stoicism than I, would shew their Resentment on the like Occasion — Mr. Peters further adds — "things are in great Confusion in our State, the Conventie tho Damnatic Conveniie have produced a sickly Constitution, not worth defending" — however I shall not have Paper suff 't to make the necessary Quotations I there- fore refer you to his Letter w'h I have inclosed — My dear Sir, I must bid you adieu — from yours sincerely F. Johnston — P.S. Capt'n Robinson sends a deal of respects Compl't &c to you & desires you not to neglect to mention his name in your Letters, as you may th [torn out] he merits — The y 2 y'rs you sent Home p [torn out] for ^5 : 4 — get more if you can F. J. Colonel Wayne to Sharp Delany. Ticonderoga 15th Dec'r 1776 My dear Delany, — Last night has frozen Lake Champlain to the Centre — it is all one solid mass of Ice — our poor fellows severely felt the Effect of it — for my own part I was so Congeal'd that after turning before the fire for three hours by Shrewsbury Clock — I was not half thawed until I put one Bottle of wine under my Sword Belt at Dinner — I have been toasting you all but can't toast myself — for by the time that one side is warm the other is froze ; however I'll still keep to the Internal Application — here's God bless you all and now let me ask you a few Questions. Who of our friends were killed or taken at Fort Washington? — was it Carried — by Surprise or Storm? — Is Gen'l Washington still Retreating — has he lost all his heavy Cannon ? — dare the Enemy venture into the Country in pur- suit of him — Are our people so used to stand behind works that they dare not face the foe in the field — That — that is the Rock we have split on. Our time has been Intirely taken up in making lines 4 6 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. &c and no attention paid to Manoeuvring — our Defenses by some fatality have been all so planed that when ever the Enemy could get in our Rear— * * * * * * In regard to discipline we understood by this only to put a neces- sary Constraint on the principle of freedom to prevent it growing into licentiousness which it unavoidably would if not Curbed in an army — here I must once more call in the aid of Marshal Saxe — he says — and he says well — "that it is a false notion, that subordina- tion, and a passive Obedience to Superiors, is any Debasement of a mans Courage — so far from it, that it is a General remark — that those Armies that have been subject to the severest Discipline have always performed the Greatest things" — I could say much on this subject — I shall for my own part En- deavor to put it into practice as far as in my power as I am well Convinced that we shall never Establish our Liberties until we learn to beat the English Rebels in the field — I hope the day is not far off. An other Campaign or two if our people are well Appointed, Clothed and Victualed may Effect it — present my best Compliments to Mrs. Delany and all friends and believe me D'r Sir Yours most Sincerely Ant'y Wayne. P.S. Col Johnston & Doct'r Kennedy will give you an Acc't of our Situation — Tell Mr Sect'y of War, he shall never have my benediction unless he sends troops to relieve us soon — Colonel Wayne to Richard Peters, Secretary of War. Ticonderoga 1st December 1776 Dear Sir, — An express just arrived brings advice of Fort Wash- ington being in the Hands of the Enemy and the whole Garrison Consisting of 2000 men being killed or Prisoners, and that our people are on the Jersey side Retreating from post to post. Is the Genius of America fled our Arms? — is she ashamed to associate with her Degenerate sons; or does She Esteem them as Aliens, un- worthy her protection. Are not the Enemy as Vulnerable as us; — cuts not our Swords as keen ; — pierce not our Balls as deep as theirs? — they do — why then this terror — why shrink as from a Gor- gon's head whenever they appear. Oh ! my dear Sir, I but too well know the Occasion. If you have any Regard for the Liberty CANADIAN CAMPAIGN AND TJCONDEROGA. 47 of your Country; — or the Honour of America, Embody the South- ern Troops by themselves ; give more Attention to Manceuvering — and less to working and rest Assured of Success — I thank my God we are left partly alone — I have yet 1500 hardy Veterans from Penn'a, would to Heaven I could for a day lead them to the Assistance of poor Washington ; — I would Risque my soul, that they would sell their lives, or Liberties at too dear a Rate for Britons to make many purchases — I wrote to Doct'r Rush a few days since and forgot to Enclose him the State of this Garrison — you will please to show it him — and please to let me know which of our friends are lost at Fort Wash'g'n — Some Catiff or Envious Dev-1 prevents any Intelligence Reaching here unless it Militates against us — I have just now Rec'd a letter from Delany Dated 17th Sep'r — make my excuse to him for not sending an answering it at this time, give my love to my Daughter and believe me yours Most Sincerely A. Wayne. Colonel Wayne to General Schuyler. Ticonderoga 2nd Jan'y 1777 Dear General, — I herewith send you a Return of this Garrison as also of the Soldiers re-engaged to serve during the War — which are but few — "Liberty to come down for one month when Relieved" carries with it an Idea of being Immediately sent back again to a place which they Imagine to be very unhealthy ; — they say ; march us off this Ground and then we will Cheerfully Re-engage ; add to this their anxiety about their friends in the Jerseys and Penns'a makes them Impatient to be led to the assistance of their Distressed Country They likewise see the Eastern people Running away in the Clouds of the Night — (some before and all soon as their times expires). Col Whitcombs Regiment — all the Sailors & Mariners — the whole of the Artificers and all the Corps of Artillery except Capt. Roman's Company (which consists but of 12 men Officers Included) are gone off the Ground Notwithstanding so bad an example — and the distress of their native State — the Pennsylvanians, will not leave me until fresh troops arrive to Relieve them 48 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. Your own feelings Sir on the Alarming Situation of Affairs in Penns'a and Jersey ; will best Inform you of that of every Other Officer and Soldier (from those States) on the Present Occasion : which causes us most Ardently to wish for an Opportunity of meet- ing those Sons of War and Rapine — face to face ; and man to man. These worthy fellows are Second to none in Courage {I have seen them proved} — and I know that they are not far behind any Regulars in Point of Discipline — Such troops, actuated by Principle, and fired with just Resentment must be an Acceptable, and perhaps season- able Re-inforcement to Gen'l Washington at this Critical Juncture — If you shou'd be of the same Opinion and cause us to be Imme- diately relieved — with Orders to march with all Dispatch to join the main Army — I believe we shou'd be able to Re-enlist the Chief part of our people on the way : however this may be I wou'd answer for it that they will not turn aside from Danger (altho their terms shou'd , be expired) when the safety and Honor of their Country Require them to face it — I must Once more earnestly Request you to Order up shoes and soap — we are much Distressed for want of these Necessary Articles — Doct'r M'Crea arrived last night with some Medicine — but Hos- pital Stores, roots and Vegitables we are totally Destitute of I am Dear General Your Most Ob't Hum'l Ser't Ant'y Wayne. [Gen'l Schuyler.] Colonel Wayne to General Schuyler. TlCONDEROGA 22d Jany. 1 777 Dear Gen'l, — Col Simons Reg't Col Robinsons Reg't Consisting of about 700 men Officers Included are now Arrived together with 24 men of Col Warner's Regiment — In Consequence I have Ordered One Reg't of the Penns'a to march tomorrow. The Others will follow as soon as Possible with Orders to Proceed in Good Order to Phil'a — I have Lately Rec'd letters from Gen'l St. Clair and other Gent'm in Gen'l Washing- ton's Camp which made me think it Advisable to keep these Regt's Embodied until they are Dismissed by the Board of War : — their time CANADIAN CAMPAIGN AND TICONDEROGA. 49 . expired the 5th of this Instant : they are to be settled with in Phil'a agreeable to Promise, when I have Reason to expect the greatest part will Reengage — I want much to go also — it would be in my Power to do more with them in case of necessity than perhaps any other Officer : I know these worthy fellows well and they know me — I am Confident they would not Desert me in a time of Danger — If you think it would be for the benefit of the Service — I shou'd be glad to be Imme- diately Relieved in Command with Orders to march with the last of the Southern troops. For the present I am using every Effort to Render this place strong. I shall soon Complete the Abattis Round the Old fort, and Octagons on Mt. Independence, and two New Blockhouses ; so that in a few days we hope to Render this post tenable and leave it in a much securer and better state than we found it — the manner in which I have kept our Guards and Sentries and the Constant Succession of Scouts which I have out — if followed by my successor — will Effect- ually prevent a surprise ; you will please to Order the Other troops Destin'd for this Garrison to be forward'd with all Possible Dis- patch — Interim I am D'r Sir Yours Most Sincerely Ant'y Wayne. [Genl Schuyler.] Colonel Wayne to Sharp Delany — Extract. 20 Feb. 77 ******** I must now in Confidence tell you that this post has been most shamefully neglected — all the old and good Troops are gone — none here but a few wretched militia — badly armed and worse Disci- plined — This Garrison at this time Ought to Consist of at least 5000 Ef- fective men — with a well trained Corps of Artillery — perhaps Con- gress thinks it does. I have not One fifth part of that number on the Ground — and I would much Rather Risque my life, Reputa- tion, and the fate of America on 400 Good Troops, than the Whole of the present Garrison. 5 5o MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. This is the Situation of the Second post in the United States — the Neighboring Governments are now roused — and I expect in a few days to be strongly Re-enforced — A body of the Enemy were Discovered a few days since marching this way by two Canadians — who are gone to Albany — this has awaked Gen'l Schuyler and Others (whose business it was to send Troops) from their Lethargy — We may probably have some Diversion in a few Hours — I have yet some good men on whom I can Depend — and I will be answer- able for the maintainance of this post until succour can Arrive. Adieu my Dear Delany, and believe me still your Friend And most Ob't Hum Ser't Ant'y Wayne. [S. Delany, Esqr.] Colonel Wayne was appointed brigadier-general in February, 1777. It was hoped by his friends that he would return home for a short season and help to bring order out of the confusion into which public affairs then had been thrown in Pennsylvania. Sharp Delany to Colonel Wayne. Philad'a 28th March 1777 My Dear General, — To wish my Friend Joy or congratulate him on his advancement to the Rank of B: General, would seem as if I did not thoroughly know him — but to me your merits are suffi- ciently known I am firmly persuaded that office could not be better or more properly given — 6r ought long ere now — Your last gave me true friendly pain — since Sept'r & not a line from Family or Friends when to my knowledge you ought to have ree'd many — Yesterday I came from East-town &: left all very well tho strong in expectation of your long wished arrival — Tho' I share in every one of your hon- ours — yet believe me I could wish you had not left us — more may be done by you in the distracted state of our Government — than per- haps would balance the many gallant & beneficial actions you have done for your Country in Canada. To point them out in a letter would be impossible which is the reason I have but slightly touched on them in former letters. When I have the great pleasure to see CANADIAN CAMPAIGN AND TICONDEROGA. 51 you here — I shall give you a long talk, showing the weakness, folly, Ambition of politicians. Before matters are brought right you may be Witness, you must be witness to all of them. I never yet flattered myself you could have been spared on Acct of the Importance of the Post you command — till properly relieved, — tho all other of your friends were sure of your coming — Gen'l Greene a few days since informed me a G'l Patterson was to take charge of Ticond'a chiefly for your coming home which only gives me the hope of seeing you — busy scenes may perhaps induce you to give your Services to your Country without any intermission — but let me my Friend, advise & beg of you, to come first home, & gratify your Friends & put new life in your Family & Mother who really pine for the beloved Husband, Father & Son. You are the only military man I know who has been so long on Duty — nor is it to be expected or thought the whole man should or could be ab- sorbed by one line of Duty — come then once more let me ask it, & speedily to your desiring Friends, & in a time we will again restore you to the Continent. I have need of you myself for many ac- counts — I have been in the field, if to be as I was may be called so — would to God our militia were better regulated — I was honoured by the Assembly with the Post of Lieu't of the City with Rank of Col'l Command't so that you see I may have been at head of the militia of our State but declined it — for reasons I know will be pleasing to you, when I can see and converse with you. Mr. Johnston having but a few minutes to wait, will excuse the form & manner of this letter as I was all the week with my Family at Hun- ters near you — but away with excuses — as my Friend I know believes I could not neglect him — he will receive all from me as coming from a friendly Heart, which I assure will ever be so while it is the property of Sharp Delany. P.S. Had I expected this opportunity, would have bro't a letter from Mrs Wayne & Mother. The condition of the military hospitals within the territory occupied by Colonel Wayne was, it seems, 52 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. such as required immediate attention. He writes thus to George Clymer, member of Congress : Ticonderoga 15th Dec'r 1776 Dear Sir, — Before this reaches you — you will almost forget that there are some people yet Remaining at Ticonderoga who realy Esteem your friendship — but how long that will be the case I cannot say; — as Death that Grisly Horrid Monster — that Caitiff who Dis- tinguishes neither the Gentleman, nor the Soldier, age, Sex or State is daily making dreadful Havock amongst us the Pennsylvanians : I have buried out of my own Regiment since you left this Ground upwards of fifty men I believe I have once already told you that in my Opinion it was the last part of God's work, the ancient Gol- gotha — Certain it is that the Supreme Being never Intended man- kind to live in it — as few, very few who have Attempted to make a Lodgment, or any stay survived the Sword — the pestilence or famine. We are at present threatened by all three — notwithstanding we shall have the hardiness to brave them out until properly Relieved : — for my own part if I am doomed to fall by either — I wou'd chuse the first as being the most Honorable (altho not the most likely to take place at the present) This you may Depend on as fact that out of the three Pennsyl- vania Regiments, which I have with me, & who Marched full two thousand Effective men into this Country, Officers Included, I shall not bring home more than Nine Hundred; and the most of those Emaciated — worn out and unfit, for further duty — Perhaps keeping us here so long was not bad policy in one sense; as it has prevented the people at large from knowing the hardships and Miseries these poor fellows have endured (on this Infectious Spot) the bare Recital of which wou'd shock Humanity. The Regulars 1 thought Crown Point vastly preferable to this in point of health and Strength — they found it Absolutely Necessary to Relieve the Garrison once a fortnight from Crown Point — and they expended a Million Sterling in fortifying that place — the work we have done here would have Render'd that stronger than ever — and unless we foreclose the English Rebels by taking post there next Spring, they 1 The English army. CANADIAN CAMPAIGN AND TICONDEROGA. 53 will give us more trouble than many Gentlemen are aware of and profit by our Mistake. I must Request you to use your Utmost Endeavors in getting us Relieved as soon as Possible — as the time for which our people are Engaged expires in three weeks — the New England troops go home in fifteen days — the General wou'd not keep them one moment longer than the first of Jan'y. I hope to prevail on our troops to stay with me until Others come to Relieve them — but no time is to be lost, you'l not neglect to Inform Congress that we are Enlisted but till the 5th of Jan'y. Interim I am D'r Sir Your Most Ob't Hum'l Serv't Ant'y Wayne. Colonel Wayne had previously written (December 4) on the same subject to the Council of Safety : " The wretched condition the battalions are now in for want of every necessary except flour and bad beef is shock- ing - to humanity and beggars all description — We have neither beds nor bedding for our sick to lay on or under, other than their own clothing; no medicine or regimen suitable for them ; the dead and the dying lying mingled together in our hospital or rather house of carnage is no uncommon siofht." And acrain to General Gates : " We can't send them to Fort George as usual — the Hospital Being Removed from thence to Albany — and the Weather so Intensely cold, that before they would reach there they would perish — it lays much in your Power by a proper Representation to Congress to have these defects Supplied — and many other Abuses Redressed, that tend to Render the Ser- vice almost Intolerable to men and Officers, but as you are a much better Judge of those Matters than I, I shall say no more on the Subject." 54 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. Colonel Wayne to Colonel Johnston concerning his Regiment. Ticonderoga 1 2th Jany. 1777 Dear Col., — I snatch my pen to give you a flemish Acct. of your Regiment — The Commander of all Armies has taken to himself on this Ground from first to last 200 — he has marked 13 more for his service which I expect he will Draft in a few days — I have sent you 87 Invalids least he should take a fancy to them and I have a few more hid Ready to send by the next opportunity — I hope to follow in a week or two with about 300, being the Remainder and as brave fellows as ever faced an Enemy: of these there are about 150 Re-Engaged during the war, and we probably may Inlist 150 more by the time we arrive in Phil' a which I believe will not be before the first of March — We hear your city has become a Deserted Village — and that the British Rebels and their Savage Auxiliaries on their march through the Jerseys Committed the most Horrid Devastation — and were guilty of Crimes shocking to Humanity, and which modesty forbids to mention — I expect to march at the Head of about 1200 Pennsylvanians and Jerseymen well Appointed, Disciplined and Determined who all call loudly on me to them to take a just Revenge or to meet a Glorious Death — I am D'r Sir ever yours most Sincerely, Ant'y Wayne. P.S. My best Compliments to Delany and all friends — Tell them it is my honest wish to meet an Equal Number of the Enemy on my March — when they may Rest Assured I shall either soon make them pay dear for their past Conduct or stand in no need of any Pro- tection for my Conduct — [Col. Johnston.] The following letter gives some idea of the embar- rassment due to short enlistments in the Army of the Revolution, and the difficulty of enforcing discipline : CANADIAN CAMPAIGN AND TICONDEROGA. 55 Colonel Wayne to General Schuyler. Ticonderoga 1 2th Feb'y 1777 Dear General, — I was favoured with yours of the 7th Ultimo Yesterday — and shall, agreeable to your Desire, keep a pair of fleet Horses at a place called the Red House — about five Miles North of Crown Point, where a small advanced Post is absolutely necessary — for which purpose I shall Detatch a trusty Officer and fifteen or Twenty men — still Continuing the scouting parties as usual — Our Garrison is now very weak. If you have any good troops — be they ever so few — pray send them on with all possible Despatch. After the Jersey Troops are gone, I must in Confidence assure you — that I would much Rather risk my life and reputation, and the fate of America on two Hundred Good Soldiers, — than on all those now on the Ground who will be left behind them — many of whom are Children, twelve or fifteen years of age — In time they'l make good men — as yet they are too young — add to this that they have but about one month to stay — and are badly armed and the Officers Enemies to Discipline. I am in the next place to Acquaint you that Yesterday morning at Gun fire I was Informed that Capt. Nelsons Rifle Company — who used to do duty in my Regiment — were under arms with their Packs slung ready to March and Determined to force their way through all Opposition. On my Arrival at their Encampment — I found them drawn up in Order, and beginning their March. On asking the cause of such Conduct, they began in a tumultuous manner to In- form me that their time of Enlistment was expired last month, and that they looked upon themselves as at Liberty to go home — I Or- dered them to Halt — that I could not Answer them all at once — I directed their leader to step out and speak for them : A Serg't Advanced — I presented a Pistol to his Breast — he fell on his knees to beg his life — I then ordered the Whole to ground their Arms — which was immediately complied with : — I then Addressed them when they with one voice agreed to Remain until the 20th Instant and Return to their duty. This was scarce over when a Certain Jonah Holida of Capt. Coe's Company in Col Robinsons Regiment — Endeavored to excite them to Mutiny again — as you will see by the within Deposition — Interrogating him on the Occasion he Justified his Conduct — I 56 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. thought proper to Chastise him for his Insolence on the spot before the men — and then sent him to answer for his Crime to the main Guard. The Colonel waited on me and very Innocently Informed me that he had a Complaint lodged with him against me that he was Sorry for it — but was obliged to take notice of it, and then De- livered the within paper — On Inquiring I found it was wrote by Capt. Coe — I had him brought before me — He Acknowledged the writing — and also that he knew the cause for which his Soldier was Struck and Confined — but was of Opinion that every Soldier had a Right to Deliver his Sentiments on every Occasion without being punished upon which I Ordered him in Arrest as an Abettor of the Mutiny — I wait for your Orders to send them down to Albany — where you will take such further Measures as you may deem necessary — To try them here by their Own people would answer no good purpose — perhaps the Reverse — You'l be kind enough to excuse this long Narrative and believe me Dear Sir Your most Ob't Hum'l Ser't, Ant'y Wayne. N.B. I believe I shall be able to prevail on Dayton's Reg't to Remain until the first of March unless these people stir them to Mutiny — which I have some Reason to apprehend — lest they them- selves should be asked to stay after the expiration of their time ; for which I hope there will be no Occation. It is curious to observe while looking- over these letters, most of which were written shortly after the Declaration of Independence, that that instrument is seldom referred to in them, and that very little impor- tance is attached to it as giving a new significance to the war. Unfortunately for Pennsylvania, the date of the Declaration coincided very nearly with that of the attempt to introduce a new government into that State unacceptable to a very large and intelligent portion of CANADIAN CAMPAIGN AND TICONDEROGA. 57 the population, by methods which were regarded by many as a simple usurpation of power. The patriots who then bore sway in Pennsylvania were identified, in the minds of many who wished well to the cause, with the party who, after a most violent and bitter struggle, had destroyed the old charter of the Province, and with it the power of those who had formed the governing class in it, and had substituted for it a new Constitution, which did not appear to any one, even those most op- posed to the old system, to work satisfactorily. There were, for instance, loud complaints all through the war that Pennsylvania did not supply her troops in the field regularly with clothing and provisions, and that she neglected to pay them often for months after their pay became due, and that when she did pay them it was often in base money that had little purchasing power. Her persistent neglect in these matters, as is well known, was the cause of a serious mutiny among the troops of the Pennsylvania line in the beginning of 1 78 1, and of constant embarrassment during the war. Of course the blame for this neglect or maladminis- tration was thrown by their opponents upon those who then wielded the power of the State. It should never be forgotten that during the Revolutionary War the struggle was not merely between the rulers of Penn- sylvania and the open enemy, the British army, but also between them and the fierce opposition of a powerful party in their own State. While their opponents de- nounced the ruling powers as usurpers, they retorted by confiscation and test laws, a course which rendered the war highly unpopular to many. It was the intention and result of these laws to disfranchise nearly one-half 58 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. of the population in number, and more than one-half if reckoned by their wealth and intelligence. In short, Pennsylvania fought in the Revolution like a man with one arm tied behind his back, and what strength was left her was too often employed in struggles between contending parties in their own State rather than against the common enemy. The Declaration of Inde- pendence was, unhappily, looked upon by many at the time as a party triumph, and it was followed up here as nowhere else by measures that drove from the public service many men of the highest character who had up to that time been regarded as the foremost patriots of the State. It is hard to estimate how far it paralyzed her efforts during the war. A good deal of the clamor of those days which has survived in history, therefore, is due to this bitter party spirit which had been aroused between those who favored and those who opposed the Constitution of 1776. The opponents of the government organized by it were fewer in number than those who warmly supported it. They belonged to various classes of the population, — to the Conservative Whigs, to the Loyal- ists and Tories, to the Quakers, and even to many of the original advocates of a revision of the charter, who were not satisfied with the Constitution which had been adopted. Many of those who openly expressed their dislike of the new form of government for the State were men of high social position who had belonged to the governing class under the old rigime, and they did not hesitate to sneer at the work of the radical mob, as they called them, and to magnify their errors and their maladministration. The truth is that, as society here CANADIAN CAMPAIGN AND TICONDEROGA. 59 was constituted at the beginning of the Revolution, it was hardly to be expected that the men who had always been leaders in the political affairs of the Province would give up their control without a fierce struggle. Pennsylvania was, therefore, greatly weakened in the Revolution by these internal dissensions. The cor- respondence of Wayne is very instructive in showing how, very early in the war, this evil spirit became a conspicuous element in the progress of the Revolution. The letters just given are remarkable, because they show that civilians like Dr. Rush and Mr. Peters, and military officers of high rank like St. Clair, Thompson, Wayne, Johnston, and Hartley, were out of sympathy in many respects with the men who formed the govern- ment they served. It is prudent, therefore, in reading of the destitution of the Pennsylvania line during the war, to remember these things. CHAPTER III. BRANDYWINE, GERMANTOWN, AND VALLEY FORGE. While Wayne was in command of the garrison at Ticonderoga he was appointed, as has been stated, on the 21st of February, 1777, a brigadier-general in the army. He had evidently become tired of the life of comparative inaction which he led at that post, and was very desirous of being employed in active service and under the immediate command of Washington. On the 1 2th of April, 1777, he was directed by the gen- eral-in-chief to join him at Morristown, and he was at once placed in command of a brigade of troops sta- tioned there, known as the "Pennsylvania line." In order to gain a correct notion of the character of the officers and men thus placed in his charge, many of whom followed his fortunes during the remainder of the war, a few words of explanation may be necessary concerning the organization of the Pennsylvania troops in the Army of the Revolution. The fifty-three battalions of Associators or militia organized at the outbreak of the war had by this time been disbanded, their term of service having expired. Their whole number was four thousand three hundred, and they filled the first quota of troops called for by Congress from Pennsylvania. These were replaced by six Pennsylvania State battalions, a rifle regiment, and a musketry battalion, whose term of service expired 60 BRANDYWINE, GERMAN TOWN, ETC. 61 in January, 1777, they having been enlisted for one year. A reorganization of the troops was then made. Thir- teen regiments of infantry, besides some small bodies of cavalry and artillery, were enlisted in Pennsylvania directly for the Continental service, many of the men, both officers and soldiers, having been members of the old State battalions and re-enlisting in the new for " three years or the war." They were all at this time in General Washington's army, forming the Penn- sylvania line. These regiments should have formed a division and been commanded by a major-general. There were then but two officers of that rank appointed from Pennsylvania, — Generals Mifflin and St. Clair, — and neither of them seems to have been considered eli- gible to the command, St. Clair having succeeded Wayne in the command of Ticonderoga and Mifflin being quar- termaster-general at the time. Wayne was a brigadier- general when he joined Washington's army, and so he remained, it may be said, during the whole war. During all this time, from the beginning to the end, he had always an independent command, burdened with all the labors, anxieties, and responsibilities of the position, without the rank, consideration, or pay, of a major-general. Noth- ing seems to illustrate more fully his true magnanimity and his untiring and patriotic devotion than the cheer- fulness with which he performed the duties without holding the rank of a major-general. Surrounded at all times by subordinates who were adding to his troubles by constant complaints that by the " arrangement" of the civil authorities their due rank and promotion had been withheld from them, there was not a murmur heard 62 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. from Wayne on this score during the war, although he doubtless felt that he had been more deeply aggrieved in the matter of rank than any of his complaining offi- cers. I can find no allusion to this matter in the way of complaint in any of his letters, except an indignant refusal of a request made by one of his friends, early in his career, that he should ask General Gates to recommend him to Congress as a suitable person to fill the post of brigadier-general. The command to which General Wayne was as- signed in the spring of 1777 was, as has been said, com- posed of eight regiments, forming a division of two brieades. The First Brigade consisted of the First Regiment, Colonel Chambers ; the Second, Colonel Walter Stewart ; the Seventh, Lieutenant-Colonel Con- nor; and the Tenth, Lieutenant-Colonel Hubley. The Second Brigade was composed of the Fourth Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel William Butler ; the Fifth, Lieuten- ant-Colonel Johnston ; the Eighth, Colonel Broadhead ; and the Eleventh, Colonel Humpton. There were about seventeen hundred men in the division when General Wayne assumed the command. The other division of the Pennsylvania line in Washington's army, under Lord Stirling's command, was made up of Conway's — formerly Mifflin's — brigade of four regiments, and of Colonel Hau seder's German regiment. At the time that General Wayne joined the army Washington had under his command forty-three regi- ments, all from the States south of the Hudson. They were organized in five divisions of two brigades each, and numbered about seven thousand three hundred men. They were nearly all fresh recruits. The army BRANDYWINE, GERMAN TOWN, ETC. 6 s was then passing through one of those dangerous crises which threatened its existence at the close of each year of the war, arising from its complete renewal by re- cruits who were to take the place of those whose term of service had then expired. As the soldiers of the army in most of the States had been enlisted for a single year only, there was at the end of that year sub- stantially a new army and a new organization, or, as it was called, a new "arrangement." During the period of the incubation of this new army it was necessarily weak, and, as it was naturally to be presumed that the enemy must understand its condition, Washington was kept in a state of perpetual alarm lest an attack should be made upon him by the long-trained and well-disci- plined troops of the enemy, whose numbers exceeded his own threefold. He now reaped the full advantage of the masterly stroke by which he had broken the enemy's army at Trenton and Princeton and forced it to retreat. This particular result was perhaps the least of all the advantages he gained by his strategy. Having occupied the high ground in the neighborhood of Morris- town, he had there an excellent defensive position, which he strengthened by intrenchments. He was thus on the right flank of the enemy's position, and until he was dislodged no movement of Sir William Howe's army could be made towards Philadelphia without great danger of beino- cut off from its communications and o o supplies. Washington therefore thought (wisely, as it turned out) that the Fabian policy was the true one under the circumstances. Thus, while refusing to meet the enemy in the open field he safely intrenched him- self on the heights at Middlebrook, and manoeuvred his 64 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. troops so as to threaten the flanks and rear of Sir Wil- liam Howe's army should he move towards Philadelphia, or should he take the opposite direction and endeavor to form a junction with Burgoyne in the hill-country of the Hudson River. To carry out this policy success- fully so as to cover the country between West Point and the Delaware a general of extraordinary activity and intelligence was needed, in command of troops of such spirit and discipline as to be able to move at a moment's warning. This general was found in Wayne, and the troops chosen for the advanced guard on this special service were the Pennsylvania line under his command. The British army was moved forward to Brunswick, and took up its quarters between that place and Somerset Court-House. Their object was to cut off Sullivan, who was stationed at Princeton, but his re- treat baffled them. General Washington immediately embraced the opportunity of attacking this detachment of the enemy's forces. On the 2d of May an assault was made upon them at Brunswick. They hurriedly left their intrenchments there and retreated to Amboy. What part General Wayne and his troops had in hast- ening "the order of their going" is told in the follow- ing letter. General Wayne to the Board of War. Camp at Mount Prospect 3 June 1777 Gentlemen, — In Consequence of the Orders of His Excellency Gen'l Washington I now send Major Miller for Arms & Clothing for the first Penn'a Regiment Commanded by Col. Chambers — they never Rec'd any Uniform except hunting Shirts which are worn out — and Altho a body of fine men — yet from being in Rags and badly armed — they are viewed with Contempt by the Other Troops, and begin to Despise themselves — BRANDYWINE, GERMANTOWN, ETC. 65 Discontent ever produces Desertion, to prevent which I must in the most pressing manner Request you to Assist him and the Other Gentlemen who go on the same Errand in procuring Clothes and Arms. The Conduct of the Pennsylvanians the Other day in forceing Gen'l Grant to Retire with Circumstances of Shame and Disgrace into the very lines of the Enemy has gained them the Esteem and Confidence of His Excellency — who wishes to have Our Rifles ex- changed for good Muskets & Bayonets — experience has taught us that they are not fit for the field — a few only will be Retained in each Regiment and those placed in the hands of Real Marksmen. — I have taken this Liberty as I am Confident that you have the Honor of your State at Heart — and that you will use every means in your Power to expedite the Arming & Clothing of our People as Soldiers in Order to support it — I am Gentlemen with the Greatest Respect Your Most Ob't and very Humb'l Ser't Ant'y Wayne. General Wayne to Sharp Delany. Camp at Mount Prospect 7th June 1777 My Dear Delany, — I have just time to Inform you that I am well — I intended to say a great deal — but His Excellency has this Moment sent for me — he has posted me in Front & honored me with the Charge of the most material pass leading to the Camp. The Enemy are all at work in fortifying their Camp — we have fairly turned the tables on them — for whilst we are Usefully Em- ployed in Manoeuvring — they are at hard Labor — Our people are daily gaining Health Spirits and Discipline — the spade & pick axe throw'd aside — for the British Rebels to take up — they notwith- standing affect to hold us cheap and threaten to beat up our Quar- ters — if we don't beat up theirs first which is in Contemplation, but this in time. I am again sent for, farewell and believe me yours Most Sincerely Ant'y Wayne. 6 66 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. Graydon in his Memoirs says that he received sub- stantially the same impression after a visit to General Wayne's head-quarters at this time : "The Commander-in-Chief and all about him were in excellent spirits, and as to General Wayne, whom I waited upon at his quarters, he entertained a most sov- ereign contempt for the enemy. In his confident way he affirmed that the two armies had interchanged their original modes of warfare ; that for our parts we had thrown away the shovel, and the British had taken it up, as they dared not face us without the cover of an entrenchment. I made some allowance for the fervid manner of the general, who is unquestionably as brave a man as any in the army, but is somewhat addicted to the vaunting style of Marshal Villars, a man who like himself could fight as well as brag.'' " General Wayne's quondam uniform as colonel of the Fourth Battalion was, I think, blue and white, in which he had been accustomed to appear in exemplary neatness ; whereas he was now dressed in character for Mr. Heath or Captain Gibbet, in a dingy red coat, a black rusty cravat, and tarnished laced hat." — Graydon s Memoirs, p. 277. The same day Wayne writes thus to his wife, in a more serious tone: General Wayne to Mrs. Mary Wayne. Camp at Mount Prospect 7th June 1777 My dear Polly, — I this moment Rec'd yours of the 31st May — and am extremely sorry to hear of your bad state of health — you must Endeavor to keep up your Spirits as well as possible — the times Require great Sacrifices to be made — the Blessings of Liberty can- not be purchased at too high a price — the Blood and treasure of the BRANDYWINE, GERMANTOWN, ETC. 67 Choicest and best Spirits of this Land is but a trifling Consideration for the Rich Inheritance — Whether any of the present leaders will live to see it Established in this Once happy Soil Depends on Heaven ; — but it must, it will at one day rise in America, & shine forth in its pristine Lustre. I would advise you to use every possible Endeavour to get in your Harvest yourself and not put it Out on Shares on no Acc't as grain and Hay will be at a Prodigious price next winter. Have we no kind Neighbours to lend a helping hand ? — I am sure the Bartholomews & Davis's families will have goodness Enough to give you their Assistance and Advice, — present my best Respects to them and all our friends & tell them they live in my grateful Memory — and that I hope at one day to Enjoy peace, Established on the firm Basis of Liberty in their Social Company The Education of my Little Children is a matter that gives me much Concern — and which I [hope] you will not neglect — I have already hinted [that] I expect my little son will not turn aside from virtue, though the path should be marked with his father's Blood — Farewell, God Bless you, Yours Most Sincerely Ant'y Wayne. I can't be spared from Camp. I have the Confidence of the General, and the Hearts of the Soldiers who will Support me in the Day of Action. While General Wayne was cheered by the success of Washington's tactics in baffling the plans of Sir William Howe, and grew every day more hopeful as the proofs of the discipline of the army multiplied, he received letters from his two friends Dr. Rush and Mr. Peters, which, if his temperament had not been of the most buoyant kind and his faith in the triumph of the cause had not been absolute, would doubtless have utterly crushed his spirit. Nothing could well be more depressing than the account they both gave of the political condition of Pennsylvania, then suffering from 68 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. evils which, in their opinion, seemed almost remediless. The letters are given a place here for this among other reasons, that we may be reminded how many causes of deep anxiety tortured the minds of the best men during the Revolution, of which we hear but little in history as it is commonly written, and how the privations and dangers of the field were not the only trials which were borne in giving birth to the government whose protec- tion we now enjoy. We must draw special attention to the manner in which General Wayne received these gloomy accounts of the condition of his native State and the sad forebodings of his correspondents about its future. Nothing is finer or more characteristic of him as a man of true courage and a devoted patriot than the way in which he urges his correspondents to give up for the moment their domestic quarrels and combine all the forces of the State against the common enemy. Dr. Rush to General Wayne. My dear General, — General Sinclair who will deliver you this letter will inform you of the sickly State of the politicks of Pennsyl- vania. Cannon — Matlack — and Dr Young still holdback the Strength of the State by urging the execution of their rascally Government in preference to supporting measures for repelling the common enemy. A majority of the Presbyterians are in favor of the constitution, and in no part of the State do they discover more Zeal for it than in Chester County. Gen'l Sinclair — & Gen'l Thompson ha[ve given pjublic testimony against it, I [wish you] to add your Weight to the Scale of opposition, especially in your native County. The most respectable Whig characters in the State are with us. I need not point out to you the danger and folly of the Constitution. It has substituted a Mob Government for one of the happiest governments in the world. Nothing more was necessary to have made us a free & happy people than to abolish the royal & proprietary power of the BRANDYWINE, GERMANTOWN, ETC. 69 State. A single legislature is big with tyranny. I had rather live under the government of one man than of 72. They will soon be- come like the 30 [tyrants of] Athens. Absolute authority should belong only to God. It requires infinite Wisdom and goodness to direct it. Come, my dear Sir and let us weep together over the dear nurse of our childhood, — the protectress of our youth, and the generous re- warder of our riper years. " De re publica. nunquam Desperandum." Let us unite our efforts once more and perhaps we may recover Penn- sylvania from her delirium — At present, she has lifted a knife to her own throat. Your timely prescriptions may yet save her life. Adieu — my dear friend yours sincerely B. Rush. Philad'a May 19th 1777. Dr. Rush to General Wayne. Philad. June 5th 1777 My dear General, — I formerly thought as you do upon the sub- ject of our government, but I have seen so many men sacrifice their prejudices against it to an honourable or lucrative office, that I am sure nothing but the determined opposition of the old Whigs to the government prevented its execution. They now begin to/« QQ Q uu H O > -j < STONY POINT. 199 commander, General Schuyler, wrote to him, " It is not the least part of my satisfaction to learn that you con- ducted the expedition, and I most sincerely congratu- late you on the increase of honor which you have acquired." General St. Clair, whose relations with Wayne were, as we have seen, somewhat strained, sent him his "cordial congratulations." " It is an event that makes a very great alteration in the situation of affairs, and must have important consequences, and more glorious from its being effected with little loss. It is, in short, the completest surprise I ever heard of." Even his old enemy Charles Lee, who had ventured, as Wayne supposed, to doubt his conduct and bravery at Monmouth, and had in consequence been challenged by Wayne to fight a duel, which was yet in suspense, spoke the genuine feeling of his heart when he wrote, "I do most sincerely declare that your action in the assault of Stony Point is not only the most brilliant, in my opinion, through the whole course of this war on either side, but that it is one of the most brilliant I am acquainted with in history, — upon my soul, the assault of Schweidnitz by Marshal Laudon I think inferior to it. I wish you, therefore, most sincerely, joy of the laurels you have so deservedly acquired, and that you may long live to wear them." To the same effect wrote Generals Greene, Gates, and La Fayette. Indeed, this is one of the few actions of eclat in military history con- cerning which popular opinion and professional opinion coincided. No adverse criticism was ever made in the army on the conduct of General Wayne in the storming of Stony Point. The voice of his friends and of the public outside 200 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. the army was loud in praise of his gallant conduct. Dr. Rush wrote to him, "There was but one thingf wanting in your late successful attack upon Stony Point to complete your happiness, and that is — the wound you received should have affected your hearing, — for I fear you will be stunned through those organs with your own praises." Sharp Delany, to whom the gen- eral had announced his probable death in the assault on the fort, sends him " the sincere congratulations of a friend on your safety and success. They go to you with ten-fold pleasure as I know you are determined on every opportunity to raise the reputation of your coun- try's arms. I know you are determined to do this with- out any thought of self, and therefore fear much for my friend. . . . Every heart here is filled with a due sense of your bravery and the service you have done your country." The President of Pennsylvania, General Reed, wrote him a private note in which he says, " It is not the Surprise of a post or the Capture of 500 men which pleases me so much as the manner and the ad- dress with which it has been executed. You have played their own game upon them, and eclipsed the glory of the English bayonet of which we have heard so much." The Assembly of Pennsylvania, even if it had been somewhat unmindful of the wants of its own troops, claimed a share in the glory which they and their leader had achieved. It will be observed how warmly it praised their humanity. In General Assembly of Penn'a. October 10, 1779. Resolved, That the thanks of this House be given to General Wayne and to the Officers & Soldiers of the Penn'a line for the STONY POINT. 201 courage & conduct displayed by them in the attack on Stony Point, the honor they have reflected on the State to which they belong, the Clemency they showed to those in their power in a Situation, when by the laws of war, & Stimulated by resentment occasioned by the remembrance of a former Massacre, they would have been justified in putting to death every one of the garrison, will transmit their names with honor to the latest posterity & show that true bravery & humanity are inseparable. Unanimously confirmed by the Supreme Executive Council. Gerard, the French Minister, writes on 2 7th July, 1779, to Steuben, " Nothing in my opinion is more just, my dear Baron, than the eulogy you bestow upon the ex- pedition against Stony Point. Plan, Execution, Cour- age, discipline, Address, energy, in short the most rare qualities were found united there, and I am convinced that the Action will much elevate the ideas of Europe about the military qualities of the Americans. I have sent an express to Baltimore to look out for a vessel which may immediately carry the news to France. As to General Wayne I believe we both entertain the same opinion of him." General Greene writes on the same day to his wife that " Steuben thought that this gallant action would fix the character of the commanding officer in any part of the world." The surprise of many people outside the garrison at Stony Point at its capture was almost as great as that of the garrison itself, although of a different kind. Both in and out of the army there had always been an impression produced by such men as Charles Lee and Gates that American soldiers were totally unfit to cope in the open field with an equal number of trained and disciplined English troops, and with still less hope MAJOR- GENERAL WA YNE. of success when they were behind intrenchments. It will be remembered that in the previous year, just be- fore the battle at Monmouth, fifteen general officers out of seventeen gave it as their opinion in a council of war that it would not be safe to attack the retreat- ing British army, and that it should be permitted to escape with its long baggage-train without molestation. Neither Washington nor Wayne held this opinion, and the battle of Monmouth proved that they were right, and that the army that fought there was a totally differ- ent body from what it had been before its instruction in tactics by Von Steuben at Valley Forge. Still, there were many doubters, and probably no general officer could have been found at that time save Wayne who would have undertaken with any hope of success the perilous enterprise of capturing the enemy in his stronghold. The assault on Stony Point was an opera- tion which every one admitted required for its success- ful achievement on the part of the assailants qualities of discipline and valor far greater than those needed in ordinary military operations. Wayne, however, as he was in the habit of saying, " knew his soldiers, and they knew him," and nothing which soldiers had ever achieved seemed to them too formidable for him to un- dertake with a good hope of success. The result was, as we have seen, the success of an enterprise more bold in its conception and more dangerous in its exe- cution than any which had been hitherto undertaken on this continent. The history of the scaling of the Heights of Abraham by Wolfe has been consecrated in British song and story, and Wolfe has a most con- spicuous shrine in the Valhalla as one of the great STONY POINT. 203 heroes of the English race, and yet what in point of difficulty and danger were the climbing of those heights and the subsequent capture of Quebec to a night assault on the garrison at Stony Point without the use of fire-arms, that garrison being protected by redoubts and earthworks and defending themselves by musketry and a formidable artillery ? No wonder that Washington told Wayne, when he was about to embark on this enterprise, that in such an extremity " success depended not so much upon the numbers as upon the fortitude of the men." The ereat condition of success on such occasions, as we have said, is a union of discipline and valor. Such a combination has always been the ideal of the highest military efficiency, and it has been reached in other armies by incentives to action quite different from those which controlled the soldiers of the Revolution. We do not, of course, mean the blind obedience which is the result of a stern discipline, and which moulds men into mere machines for executing the orders of their leader, whatever those orders may be. In modern times motives of a different kind appeal to the martial instincts of the soldier. Take, for instance, the combat at the bridge of Lodi in 1796, as an illustration (to speak only of modern times), where the French army, under the guidance of Bonaparte, forced the passage of the bridge under a murderous fire by the Austrians, which threatened the life of every assailant, but where no one hesitated for a moment to advance. This has always been regarded as a singularly heroic act, and much of Napoleon's early prestige was due to his having led in the assault at that time. But it must 204 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. not be forgotten that in that day military glory was the ambitious dream of every Frenchman. The meanest soldier in the Army of Italy was in his own opinion and in that of his countrymen a far more important personage than the richest banker of Paris. He felt and acted in the hour of supreme danger as if he car- ried a marshal's baton in his knapsack. So, again, take the siege of St. Sebastian in Spain in 1813, where the " forlorn hope" of the British army rushed forward to meet almost certain destruction while scaling the walls of that fortress. When we seek the motive of so prodigal and reckless an exposure of life, we recall the traditions of heroic deeds illustrating the history of certain regiments which were cherished with peculiar pride, and which formed a powerful incentive to gallant action in the hour of danger. We find in these motives the source of a powerful esprit de corps, which has driven English soldiers forward where the danger of death has been greatest, but where all fear has been overcome by a thirst for glory in the individual and by pride in the reputation of the regiment. Motives such as these are familiar in military history as leading to great achievements, but none of them seem in any degree to have actuated our Revolutionary soldiers, although it is possible that some of the officers may have been occasionally stimulated by a love of military glory. Our soldiers did not form a distinct military class, as elsewhere. There were probably few who cared for promotion in the army, and still fewer who were moved by what may be called professional pride. Our soldiers did not come from that class who could not find any other employment in life than soldiering ; STONY POINT. 205 on the contrary, there probably was no private man in the ranks who would not have bettered his material con- dition by leaving the army. They knew that there could be no permanent military establishment here as in other countries, with its aristocratic hierarchy, its social pre- eminence, and its class ascendency. As citizens they would probably have been the first to resist the creation of an army like those of other nations, for they knew, none better, that, with many noble uses, a standing army had been found elsewhere to be the greatest danger to that liberty of the citizen for which they were contending. Such an exploit as that of Wayne would have made him in England a peer with high rank and large money rewards, and have given him, in case he had fallen, a monument at St. Paul's. Here it did not even promote him to be a major-general. The truth is, the army was composed of men who were citizens before they were soldiers, whose education and habits had taught them that they were fighting not for mere military distinction and reputation, for which they cared little, but for the supremacy of law. Such men had but one motive to support them in engaging cheerfully and with determination in an enterprise so perilous as the attack on Stony Point. This great exploit is to be looked upon less as a display of the military genius of Wayne or of the intrepidity of his followers than as an example of what men who have had none of the train- ing of European soldiers, and who are not moved by dreams of military glory, can do when called upon to face extremest danger under the promptings of sternest duty. Many people when they speak of Stony Point re- member that the attack upon it was led by a man who zo6 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. bore during a portion of the war the name of "Mad Anthony," and whatever was perilous about the enter- prise, and about others of a similar kind in which he was engaged, they explain by supposing that their leader was a reckless madman. What has been said concern- ing Wayne's character and career has been said to little purpose if it does not prove that in all his military qualities he was directly the opposite to the rash, heed- less, and dashing officer whom he is sometimes repre- sented to have been. Without discussing here the ques- tion of his military genius and capacity, it may suffice to consider how it was regarded by Washington himself. We have seen that, although he was only a brigadier- general during the war, he was always intrusted by Washington with the separate command of a division, or of large detachments, on special service of impor- tance. He was always consulted by the general before he undertook any such movements, and although Wayne differed in opinion very often from the other generals, almost always advocating "active" measures while they did not think them prudent, Washington never lost confidence in him, but always estimated at their true value his soldierly qualities ; nor was there ever an action in which he was engaged where he was blamed for any rash or imprudent movement. He was alert, active, vigilant, and these qualities sometimes enabled him to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, when those who lacked the energy which stirred his blood faltered. When " the war-blast sounded in his ears" he was, it is true, eager and impetuous, his whole soul absorbed in the work on hand, absolutely fearless of personal risk where exposure might bring victory and STONY POINT. 207 success to his troops, but never foolhardy nor reckless, and sparing of the lives of his soldiers in the hour of the fiercest battle. " His impetuosity, like that of Paul of Tarsus," says Mr. Dawson, "has been mistaken for madness by some of those who witnessed its effects, but, like the madness of St. Paul, that of Mad Anthony Wayne, so called, was only the outpouring of an earn- est, an honest, and a philanthropic heart." It was also his constant care of his soldiers which won their confidence and was the cause of their strong attachment to him. It enabled him to brine the Penn- sylvania line, as long as it was treated fairly and justly by the State authorities, to a condition of effi- ciency and discipline which made it, in his opinion, the elite of the army. After all, he was not called "Mad Anthony" until 1 78 1, and not then because he was recognized as a beau sabreur or a dashing dragoon. The way in which he happened to gain that sobriquet is a curious illustra- tion of the manner in which certain nicknames become fastened upon illustrious personages. It seems, ac- cording to Mr. Moore, in his Life of Wayne, that one "Jemmy the Rover," as he was called, was attached to Wayne's camp in the year 1781, and with him originated the cognomen of " Mad Anthony." The real name of "Jemmy" is not given, but he was an Irishman, and regularly enlisted in the Pennsylvania line. He was subject to fits of insanity, or at least claimed to be so, but probably these were not of a very marked type, for he was employed frequently by Wayne as a spy, and he always returned from the British lines with correct and important information. At times, however, he was noisy 208 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. and troublesome, and on one occasion he was ordered to the guard-house. On his way thither he suddenly halted, and asked the sergeant of the guard by whose orders he had been arrested. By those of the general, he was told. After a few hours he was released, and he then inquired whether Anthony (the name he gave Gen- eral Wayne) was "mad" (meaning angry) or "in fun" when he was placed under arrest. He was told that the general was much displeased with his disorderly conduct, and that if it occurred again he would not only be confined but would receive twenty-nine lashes well laid on. " Then," exclaimed Jemmy, " Anthony is mad! Farewell to you ; clear the coast for the Com- modore, ' Mad Anthony's' friend." General Wayne announced to the commander-in- chief the capture of Stony Point in the following despatch : General Wayne to General Washington. Stony Point, 17th July 1779. Sir, — I have now the honor of giving your Excellency a full and particular acct of the Reduction of this post by the light troop under ray Command. On the 15th Instant at 12 OClock we took up our line of March from Sandy Beach distant about 14 Miles from this place — the roads being exceeding bad & narrow & having to pass over high Mountains & thro' such deep Morasses and difficult defiles that we were Obliged the greatest part of the way to move in single files, — at 8 OClock in the evening the van arrived at a Mr. Springsteels within one Mile & a half of the enemy's lines & formed into columns as fast as they came up agreeable to the Order of Battle herewith transmitted (vide Order) — Col'l Febiger's & Col. Meigs's Regiments with Major Hull's detatchment formed the Right Column — Col. Butler's Regi- ment and Major Murfrees' two Companies the Left. The troops remained in this position until several of the principal STONY POINT. 209 Officers with myself had returned from Reconnoitring the works, — at half after Eleven (being the hour fixed on) the whole moved for- ward — the van of the Right was composed of One hundred & fifty volunteers properly Officered with fixed Bayonets and Unloaded Muskets under the Command of Lieut. Col. Fleury preceded by twenty picked men headed by a Vigilant Officer to remove the Abbatis & Other Obstructions. The Van of the Left consisted of One Hundred Volunteers also with fixed Bayonets & Unloaded Muskets under the Conduct of Major Steward — these were likewise preceded by twenty men under a Brave & Determined Officer. At 12 OClock the assault was to begin on the Right & left flanks of the Enemy's Works & Major Murfrees to amuse them in front, — but from the Obstructions thrown in our way & a deep Morass sur- rounding their whole front and overflowed by the tide rendering the approaches more difficult than at first apprehended, it was about twenty minutes after twelve before the assault began — previous to which I placed myself at the Head of Febiger's Regiment or Right Column & gave the troops the most pointed Orders not to attempt to fire, but put their whole dependance on the Bayonet — which was most faithfully & Literally Observed, — neither the deep Morass, the formidable & double rows of abbatis or the high & strong works in front & flank could damp the ardor of the troops — who in the face of a most tremendous and Incessant fire of Musketry & from Artil- lery loaded with shells & Grape-shot forced their way at the point of the Bayonet thro' every Obstacle, — both Columns meeting in the Center of the Enemy's works nearly at the same Instant. Too much praise cannot be given to Lieut. Colonel Fleury (who struck the enemy's standard with his own hand) & to Major Steward who Commanded the Advance parties, for their brave & prudent Conduct ; Colonels Butler Meigs & Febiger conducted themselves with that coolness, bravery & perseverance that ever will ensure suc- cess. Lieut. Col. Hay was wounded in the thigh bravely fighting at the head of his Battalion — I should take up too much of your Ex- cellency's time was I to particularise every Individual who deserves it for his bravery on this Occasion, however I must acknowledge my- self Indebted to Major Lee for the frequent & useful Intelligence he gave me & which Contributed much to the success of the enterprise — *5 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. & it's with the greatest pleasure I acknowledge to you that I was sup- ported in the attack by all the Officers & soldiers to the utmost of my wishes & Return my thanks to the Officers & Privates of Artillery for their alertness in turning the Cannon against the enemy's works at Verplank's point & their sniping which slipt their Cables and Im- mediately droped down the River. I should be wanting in gratitude was I to omit mentioning Capt. Fishbourn & Mr. Archer my two Aids De Camp, who on every Occasion shewed the greatest Intrepidity & Supported me into the works after I had received my wound in passing the last Abbatis. — Enclosed are Returns of the killed & wounded belonging to the Light Corps, as also that of the enemy together with the number of prisoners taken, likewise of the Ordnance & Stores found in the Garrison. I had forgot to Inform your Excellency that previous to the attack I had drawn General Muhlenburg into my rear who with three hundred men of his Brigade took post on the opposite side of the Marsh, was to be in readiness either to support us, or to cover a Re- treat in case of accident & have not the least doubt of his faithfully & Effectually executing either had there been an Occasion for it. The Humanity of our brave soldiery who scorned to take the lives of vanquished foes calling for mercy reflects the highest Honor on them & accounts for so few of the Enemy being killed on the occasion. I am not fully satisfied with the manner in which I have mentioned Lieut. Gibbons of the 6th & Lieut. Knox of the 9th Penns'a Regiment the two gentlemen who led the advanced parties of each Column — the first had 17 men killed & wounded out of twenty — the latter though not quite so unfortunate in that respect was nevertheless equally exposed — they both behaved with an Intrepidity & address that would have been a Credit to the oldest soldier. I have the honor to be with singular Respect, Your Excellency's most Obt. & very Hum'l Serv't Ant'y Wayne. His Excellency Gen'l Washington. 1 * The official despatches announcing the capture of Stony Point, ex- cept that of Wayne himself, and the correspondence which grew out of the events connected with it, wiH be found in the Appendix, No. III. \ CHAPTER VI. Arnold's treason, and the revolt of the Pennsyl- vania line. If Wayne had counted upon the Continental com- missaries for a more regular and abundant supply of food for the Light Infantry Corps than had been pro- vided by the State authorities for the troops of the Pennsylvania line, he was mistaken in his calculations. The curse of maladministration seems to have afflicted all those with whom General Wayne had anything to do, whether the officials were those of the State or of the Continent. Thus, on the 4th of October, 1779, he thus writes to the commissary of subsistence: "The situation of this corps requires the utmost exertion in your department to prevent mutiny and desertion." From the answer it seems, among other excuses, that the teams were idle, the wagon-master being absent in search of substitutes for those who had deserted ; and this not in the wilderness, but in a comparatively populous district in the State of New York. The numbers of the corps seem to have kept up pretty well, however, only twenty-six rank and file and fifteen non-commissioned officers having been absent on the 15th of October, 1779, — a fact which perhaps may be taken to prove how much pride the soldiers must have had in belonging to so distinguished a body, and how admirable was their discipline. Still, in No- vember Wayne is compelled to complain again of the incapacity or neglect of the commissary of the Light 212 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. Corps, as it was at that time destitute of articles es- sential to its comfort. In the same month one hun- dred and twenty men of his command are reported as quite barefoot, and in the latter part of December, General Washington having directed that the Virginia line should proceed to Philadelphia, in obedience to an order of Congress, General Wayne is obliged to reply, "Colonel Febiger will march to-morrow at 8 a.m., but for want of shoes he must carry a great many of his people in wagons." No wonder that in the last order issued by General Wayne before disbanding the corps and directing them to return to the "lines" of their respective States he should speak of the accumulated distress caused by the extremity of cold, hunger, and nakedness which had rendered the troops desperate. Why it should have been determined to break up an organization so distinguished as the Light Infantry Corps, after it had rendered such gallant service, at the close of one campaign, it is difficult to understand. The action of Congress in detaching one of its most serviceable regiments (the Virginia regiment) may have rendered such a step necessary. Be that as it may, the officers of the corps parted from Wayne with sincere regret and many expressions of their good wishes. The officers of the regiment from the Virginia line, the field officers of the corps, and those com- manding the artillery, as will appear from the following letters, joined in expressing their respect and affection for their commander. Wayne, as soon as arrange- ments for the disbandment of his troops were carried out, asked the commander-in-chief (February 4, 1780) to be employed in any capacity he might think proper. ARNOLD'S TREASON. 213 Second River December 9th 1779. Dear Sir, — The Officers of the Virginia Line, who have had the honor of being commanded by you in the Light Infantry beg leave to return you their sincere Thanks for the Repeated Marks of Esteem & Politeness you have express'd towards them. — They entertain the highest Veneration & Respect for your Char- acter both as a Military Officer and a Gentleman. Under these circumstances we feel the greatest Regret especially at so short Notice to be separated from a Corps we love and a General we honour. — Accept therefore Dear Sir these Sentiments of our Esteem, and believe us, after wishing you every future happiness, Success & pros- perity to be with the most Cordial Affection and Respect Your most obedient and Most humble servants. At the Request and in Behalf of the V'a officers Christian Febiger Colonel. The Honorable Brigadier General Wayne. Light Infantry Camp Second River 9th Dec 1779 Dear Sir, — The approbation of my Conduct by a Corps so respectable as the Officers of the Virginia Light Infantry, must In- evitably afford the sincerest pleasure; — that attention which they are pleased to attribute to politeness, was the effect of their own Merit, which will always Insure the Esteem of the General who has the honor to Command them. Permit me therefore to return my most grateful thanks to them & you for this mark of your Respect, & believe rne to be with singular Esteem Your most obt & very Humble Servant Ant'y Wayne. Col. Febiger Comm. of the Virginia Light Infantry. Light Infantry Camp Second River Dec. 31st 1779. Sir, — In behalf of the officers of Artillery I am to assure you that it's with the greatest reluctance they view the approaching 214 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. period of a separation from the Command of a General whose particular attention, & politeness to them demand their most grateful acknowledgments — Your conduct, & acknowledged good Character as an officer & Gentleman must ever meet with the approbation of those who have the honour of serving under you, and altho a separation will now take place, yet to look forward, we have a hope that at a future day, we shall again be happy enough to meet with that General who we are confident will lead us on to glory & crown us with honour I arn with the Gentlemen of this Corps — Very respectfully J. Pendleton. Officers of the Light Infantry Corps to General Wayne. Light Infantry Camp At Second River Jan'y 1st 1780 Sir, — The close of the Campaign & the dissolution of the Corps necessarily calls us from under your immediate Command, & in Jus- tice to our own feelings we beg leave to tell you, that our experience of your abilities as an Officer has justly gaind you that confidence essentially necessary to ensure success in Military operations. The uniform politeness & attention you have paid to all, has endeard you to every individual under your command ; and has in great measure been the means of preserving a perfect unanimity & Har- mony, seldom seen in a Corps formd by detachments from different States. Be assured, Sir, this does not proceed from the Common motives of adulatory address, but is dictated by the warmest Sentiments of gratitude, from a Conviction that we are eminently indebted to your Care for the Happiness we have enjoyd thro the course of this Cam- paign. We are with the Highest Respect esteem and affection Your most obd't Hble Servts — R. Putnam, Col'l L't I Signd at the unan- Rich'd Butler Col'l L't I imous request of Albert Chapman Maj'r Com'd the Officers in the Jas. Pendleton Cap't Light Infantry. Comm. of Light Artillery ARNOLD'S TREASON. 215 Light Infantry Camp Second River 2nd Jan. 1780. Gentlemen, — The pleasure I experience in your approbation of my Conduct, gives a sensation which words can not express — the unanimity, Mutual Confidence & friendship which (at this period of the War) so conspicuously pervades a Corps, formed by Detach- ments from different States, must produce a conviction to the World, that we are not to be Conquered, by any Idle notion of a Disunion, — nor forced from the field, but by superior numbers. The esteem & affection which you are pleased to express for me, is truly Reciprocal & it's with sincere pleasure I acknowledge that by your good Conduct & example this Corps has acquired the Dis- tinction it now holds. The Dissolution of a body of troops with which I have enjoyed so great a share of happiness, would give me much pain, was I not confident that those sentiments which have so firmly united the American Light Infantry (whilst embodied) will not diminish by a te7tiporary separation. Permit me therefore to wish you an easy and pleasant March, & a joyful meeting with your friends & brother Officers in the Line of the Army, & to assure you that I am with much Esteem Your most Ob't & very Hum'l Servt. Ant'y Wayne. Colonels Putnam & Butler Major Chapman Capt. Pendleton & the other Officers of the Light Corps. Wayne at once returned to his home in Chester County, but on the opening- of the campaign of 1780 (on the 1 8th of May) Washington wrote to him, "I shall be very happy to see you at camp again, and hope you will, without hesitation, resume your com- mand in the Penn'a line." Wayne rejoined the army 216 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. in a few days at Morristown, his movements being prob- ably quickened by a letter from Colonel Johnston from camp of the 7th of May. In this letter Johnston says, "Shall I endeavor to paint the manifold sufferings of the honest soldiery, the distresses of the officers, the wounded feelings of our illustrious General, and the complicated misfortunes attending our country in con- sequence of the state of our finances?" At this time Sir Henry Clinton had returned from the South, and was enlisting Tory refugees with a view of capturing the military stores deposited at Morristown. Washington moved towards the Highlands, fearing that the expedition might be intended to capture the strong- holds there. The regular force of the British at New York was twelve thousand men, in addition to which they had armed about four thousand refugees. The American army at the same time was less than three thousand in number. The British advanced to Spring- field, in New Jersey, which they burned, but retreated to their post at Elizabethtown before Wayne, who had been detached with a brigade to harass them, could reach them. The campaign of 1780 began under conditions even more gloomy and discouraging than that of 1779. The Pennsylvania troops had dwindled away in the most extraordinary manner. By the monthly return of Sep- tember, 1780, there were present in the eleven regi- ments of foot two thousand and five and absent two thousand five hundred and eleven ; in other words, more than one-half of their strength was not present with the colors, and those who were present formed about two-thirds of Washington's army. With this ARNOLD'S TREASON. 217 small force he was obliged to march and countermarch between Morristown and West Point, so as to meet any assault which might be made by the British at New York on any point of this long line. It was apparent that the difficulty with which we had to contend in achieving our independence was mainly a financial one, and that the true path out of the slough of despond into which we had been plunged was not yet discovered. One of Wayne's correspondents, writing in October, evidently thought that the crisis was at hand. He says he " met Steuben at President Reed's, and he thought that the whole army would dissolve by the first of January unless specie could be obtained." Wayne recommended the extraordinary step of sug- gesting to France that unless she provided specie we should be obliged to give up the contest. " Money," he says, "is now out of the question. The soldiers have not seen a single paper dollar for a long time." General Washington writes about this time to Hon- Joseph Jones, — " It does not require with you, I am sure, argument at this late hour to prove that there is no set of men in the United States (con- sidered as a body) that have made the same sacrifices of their interest in the support of the common cause as the officers of the American army — that nothing but a love of their country, of honor, and a desire of seeing their labors crowned with success could possibly induce them to continue one moment in the service, that no officer can live upon his pay, that hundreds, having spent their little all in addition to their scanty public allowance, have resigned because they could no longer support themselves as officers, that numbers are, at this moment, rendered unfit for duty for want of clothing, while the rest are wasting their property and some of them verging fast to the gulph of poverty and distress. — " Tafpan, August 13, 1780." 2i8 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. The soldiers had hoped that the presence of a com- mittee of Congress in camp would do something with that body to alleviate their sufferings, but they had been disappointed. "The army," say the committee who visited the camp at the solicitation of Washington and Wayne, " was unpaid for five months ; it seldom had more than six days' provision in advance ; it was for a number of days on different occasions without meat ; it was destitute of forage ; medical supplies were exhausted, and in short every department of the army was without money or credit, and the patience of the soldiers was on the point of being exhausted." In the midst of all these embarrassments the sterling qualities of Wayne's character, not merely as a military leader but also as a devoted patriot, became more and more conspicuous. Surrounded by men clamorous in their complaints that the State had not done its duty towards them, and therefore ready to desert their ranks, and by officers constantly threatening to resign because they were not paid or because they were not satisfied with the rank assigned them, he was always ready to fight the enemy, if there was any prospect of inflicting injury upon them, even while he was engaged in these fruitless disputes with the State authorities and with Congress. It was determined during the summer to capture a block-house behind Bergen Heights which had been made a place of deposit by the armed refugees of stolen horses and other property the spoils of the neighbor- hood. Wayne, with the First and Second Pennsyl- vania Brigades and four pieces of artillery, was sent to attack it. ARNOLD'S TREASON. 219 The following - account of this expedition is given in his letter to President Reed : Totoway 26th July 1780 Dear Sir, — You have undoubtedly heard of our tour to Bergen — but it is a duty which I owe to you, the troops I Commanded & to myself, to make you acquainted with the Objects of that expedition — least envy, Malice, or the tongue of Slander, should attempt to misrepresent that affair — One was to take all the stock out of Bergen Neck, to prevent the Enemy from receiving constant supplies from the Inhabitants out of that Quarter — and in Case of a siege to secure to our own use those Cattle that they would Inevitably carry into New York. Another was the destruction of a post near Bulls ferry — consisting of a Block House surrounded by a strong stockade and Abbattis Garrisoned by the Refugees & a wretched banditti of Rob- bers horse thieves &c — But the Grand Object was to draw the Army which S'r Henry Clinton brought from Charlestown into an Action in ye Defiles of the Mountain in the Vicinity of Fort Lee, where we expected them to Land in order to succour the Refugee post, or to endeavour to cut off our retreat to the Liberty pole & New Bridge ; the apparent object to them was great, and the lure had like to take the wished effect — three thousand men Consisting of the flower of the British Army were embarked from Phillips — and stood down the river hovering off the land'g near fort Lee — where the 6th & 7th Penns'a Regiments lay concealed with directions to let them land unmolested (giving me Intelligence of the attempt) & then to meet them in the Gorge of the Defile and with the point of the Bayonet to dispute the pass at every expense of Blood, until the arrival of the first & second Penns'a Brigades when we should put them between three such fires as no human fortitude could withstand — and I may now with safety mention, that it was also designed to divert their atten- tion from a meditated attempt upon Rhode Island, by a Combined attack by Land and Water on the French fleet & Army in that Place; this has had the effect, by retarding them four days after they had actually embarked upwards of six thousand men for that purpose it will therefore be too late to attempt any thing at this period as the French will be prepared against it — 220 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. Inclosed is the orders of the 20th & 23d, to which & to the General's Letter to Congress I must refer you for the particulars ; I always had the highest Opinion of the Troop but my most sanguine wishes — fell far short of the real fortitude &: bravery, which per- vades the whole, even the New Recruits — I have it in Command from his Excellency to Inform you, that the Uniforms are all blue faced with white he therefore wishes if possible to have as much red or scarlet, sent Immediately on as will face our soldiers Coats — otherwise the officers & men will appear of different Corps — (the facings of the officers scarlet, and the soldiers white) — the other States will be in their proper uniforms it being that fixed for the Eastern States, and with a little clay may be made to appear as buff, which is the facings of New York & Jersey States so that ours will be the only officers whose uniforms will differ from their soldiers — had we the Cloth and Thread, we could in four days alter the facings for the whole line — it is the General's Intention to Clothe them all new before they meet the troops of France — In- terim believe me with singular Esteem Your most Ob't — Humb'e Servant Ant'y Wayne. His Excellency Joseph Reed Esq'r. President Reed to General Wayne. Philad — Aug. 4 — 17S0 Dear Sir, — I duly received & thank you for your favour of the 26th July inclosing your Orders on the late Excursion to Bergens — They have been spoken of here much to your Honour &: with the gallant Behaviour of the Men shew that tho we did not meet with entire success we deserved it — Neither the Object of the Expedition, nor the Conduct of it was understood fully here at first & as often happens on such Occasions were misrepresented but a few Days & better Information soon set that Matter right — if any Doubts had remained the General's Letter wiped them off tho in some Respects it tended to make the Affair of the Block House a more important Business than it really was — As to the Whispers of Envy & Malevolence & Slander, you must, ARNOLD'S TREASON. 221 my dear Sir, submit in common with your Fellow Men to a share of them, as the Tax which merit & Distinction must pay — The World would be too estimable if every Action was judged upon the Principles of Candor & its due Worth assigned it unalloyed by jealousy & Uncharitableness — In one Respect military Merit is less subject to it than any other — as it has Witnesses & Companions & the Benefits arising to Man- kind from a conspicuous Display of it are such that the World is ready to be its Friend for its own Interest. Should you be called as probably you may to any distinguished Rank of Civil Life you will find the Acts of busy wicked men more successful, & not so easily Detected or parried. — Scarce a Week elapses but some wicked Falsehood takes Wing with Respect to us, flutters about and dies — when a new one more palatable & adapted to the State of the Day arises which in its Turn gives way to a fresher. For a Time I felt myself hurt & spent Time & Labour to counteract them but I have long since learned that the best shield is Integrity & truest Remedy Patience. I am informed that there has been much Industry used this Spring & Summer in Camp on this Score & that it is very frequent at this Time — So much Pains taken to lessen me in the Opinion of Mankind while I am pursuing diligently the Interests of my Country with a single disinterested View to its success in this great Cause, fully convinces me that there are some Men who have different Intentions & who fear honest Men in publick Stations — I have at different Periods had my Passions work'd upon, my In- terest assailed, splendid Prospects held forth to engage me in the Views of Party & I never experienced the full Weight of Enmity till I had fully declined every Overture of this Nature in such a Manner as left no Hope of Success — However I trust there is Virtue & Discernment in the World sufficient to support a Man in doing his duty & that I have some Friends who will judge upon Facts not upon Suggestions especially when they come thro so corrupt a Channel. Farmer has Directions to purchase the red Cloth for the Facings if to be had in Town & they will be forwarded as soon as possible — Lyttle has set out with a supply of stores & a good Stock of Shirts & Overalls — 2000 of each which with what gets to you in other Directions will I hope prove a comfortable supply — MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. Adieu — my best wishes attend you & I beg you to believe me very much Your sincere Friend & Obed. Hble Serv't Jos. Reed — The enemy asserted that the Americans had been re- pulsed from the block-house by a small garrison com- posed of Tory refugees only, and in some scurrilous verses called "The Cow-Chase," which were widely distributed, written by the unfortunate Major Andre a short time before his capture and execution, the exploits of Wayne and the other American officers are ridiculed with a kind of pitying contempt which is very note- worthy. Wayne, whose activity as a successful forager in New Jersey in the winter of 1778 the enemy could never forget, and his officers, were lampooned in a way which betokened the arrogance of the British in treating their antagonists as men of inferior social condition. "The Cow-Chase" closes with this significant verse, — significant indeed, when we recall the sad fate of the author : " And now I've closed my epic strain, I tremble as I show it, Lest this same warrior-drover, Wayne, Should ever catch the poet." The English government thought the defence of the block-house so noteworthy that the king sent his per- sonal thanks to the seventy refugees who composed that garrison. The enemy, according to Wayne, did not discern the real object of the attack, and he ex- plained the mystery in the letter to President Reed which we have just given. ARNOLD'S TREASON. 223 General Wayne during the whole summer was un- tiring in preparing plans for engaging the enemy to advantage. He was not disheartened by the sea of troubles which raged around him, but rather stimulated to adopt new methods of improving the military situa- tion. On the 10th of July he proposes a scheme by which the British army at New York might be taken by surprise, and shortly afterwards he writes to Presi- dent Reed one of the wisest, most temperate, and at the same time most determined letters in the whole correspondence, urging the necessity of renewed efforts on the part of Pennsylvania to carry on the conflict. It seemed as if the greater the danger the greater his resources, and that he was at his best when the fullest demand was made on his courage and energy. General Wayne to General Washington. Camp at Totoway 10th July 1780. Sir, — It was but the evening before the last that I had the honor of first seeing the General state of affairs your Excellency was pleased to lay before the Council of War on the 6th ultimo — which I have given as mature a consideration as time & Circumstances would admit of. I find by a comparative view of our present force with that of the Enemy, after making proper allowances, for the change of affairs, by the reduction of Charlestown, & the reinforcements already arrived at New York under Sir Harry Clinton that they have a de- cided majority in their favor, the force of the enemy being nearly 11,000 effective rank & file regular troops, & about five thousand Militia refugees & etc etc in the whole equal to 16,000 Effectives exclusive of Marines & seamen. The present strength of your army taking in the Garrison of West Point is not more than 7,000 rank & file being reduced (by killed & wounded, expiration of Inlistments, desertion, & other Casualties incident to all armies) at least 1000 men since your last estimate — 224 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. so that Sir Harry Clinton has at this period in New York & its vicinity a Land force more than Double your Numbers. In this estimate I have not taken in any of the recruits or Drafts that are expected from the several States — but from the best Intelli- gence that I have been able to collect the number that may be ex- pected under that description as a reinforcement to this Army, will not exceed 7,000 men. I ground this Calculation on the following proportion viz. New Hampshire 500 Massachusetts 2500 Rhode Island 300 Connecticut 1500 New York 600 New Jersey 600 Penns'a 600 Delaware 200 A very great part of which will be extremely raw troops, & arrive too late to afford an opportunity to reduce them to proper Discipline before they may be called to action — To counterbalance this de- fect — the tories refugees & Militia with the Enemy will be nearly on a footing in that respect — so that our numbers will then stand as 14,000 to 16,000 which leave a balance in their favor of 2,000 men at least. But the assurances that his most Christian Majesty and the Court of France have given of their Generous Intention of sending a re- spectable Land & Naval force to act in conjunction with your Army and entirely under the Influence of American councils, opens the most flattering prospect — which by a proper exertion of the States may be productive of a Glorious Campaign. To what point we ought to direct our Operations, will require some reflection, — there are three Capital Objects that present them- selves, i. e. Canada, New York, & Charlestown. Admit Canada to be the first, we are then to consider, what force will be necessary for us to furnish in addition to the French fleet & army admitting the Navy to consist of Eight sail of the Line with a few frigates, & the Land force of Seven thousand effective rank & file completely provided with all the apparatus for such an Army. — ARNOLD'S TREASON. 225 This force is not adequate to the Reduction of Quebec and its de- pendencies without the addition of at least three or four thousand men from this army — & those regular standing troops — who if for- tunate would also be necessary to remain in Garrison there during the Winter (which could not be expected from the drafts, their time of service terminating in January) — these troops must march by the Cohoes & enter Canada near the confluence of the Sorel with the St Lawrence — ■ The Difficulty of transporting the Cannon provision & baggage is too Obvious to dwell much upon, for the Enemy pos- sessing the Lake Champlain must reduce us to land carriage for the chief part of our supplies, unless the State of our Magazines will admit of sending a sufficient supply round by the French fleet — we are not to expect the Essential article of Provision in Canada, — for altho' they raise a Considerable quantity of summer wheat — there are not a sufficiency of Mills in that Country to manufacture it into flour nor have they more Cattle than what are absolutely necessary for their own consumption, — these are facts not founded upon tradition or Opinion of others — but from my own knowledge & Observation. I beg leave also to premise, that we have little to expect from the Defection of the Canadians — those people will be very cautious how they irritate a second time the British, whilst matters remain the least doubtful — especially whilst a powerful army is in the heart of Our own Country, and the probability of the arrival of a Supe- rior fleet from Britain to that of France in the vicinity of Quebec — during a siege that may be procrastinated longer than we expect. The Intervention of a fleet is also a very serious matter to us — I well recollect the difficulty we experienced in effecting a retreat from that Country in 1776 when we had the full possession of the Lakes ; & have we nothing to apprehend from the exertions of Sir Harry Clinton? — will he remain an Idle spectator at the head of 16,000 men, whilst we are Operating in a distant Country? — will he not rather push his fortune against a Debilitated army, & endeavor to destroy our Magazines, & desolate the Country, — and may he not attempt this with too great a probability of Success? I am therefore of Opinion that Canada is not the most Eligible object; — some of these reasons, especially the last, will operate in full force against an attempt for the recovery of Charlestown, until a more favorable opening presents itself. 16 226 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. The greatest and most capital Object is New York, an Object worthy the utmost exertions of America, & which from its central position affords an Opportunity of drawing our force to a point with the greatest facility, & without those risks & Disagreeable conse- quences attendant upon a misfortune either in Canada or Charles Town ; — Could the eyes of this country be once opened to its true Interest — could the States be roused from the unworthy torpidity into which they have sunk — the Reduction of the Garrison of New York & its dependencies would not be attended with much diffi- culty — but from present appearances I fear our mode of Operation will be very circumscribed — as it will in a great degree be governed by the Numbers we have in the field. Supposing the Drafts & Recruits to have come, & the French troops formed a junction with the other part of your Army — we may then lay our whole force at about 20,000 Rank & file — this number tho' sufficient to prevent an Incursion — will not be equal to an Inves- titure. We therefore can't do with less than 12,000 good Militia in addition, & those engaged for a Certain term — not subject to a fluc- tuation which has too often, — & may again commit us at a very criti- cal period, — and even this force will not be adequate to a Complete Investiture for unless we had two armies — each superior to the whole of our adversaries, — the Enemy by Concentering their force might find an opening to strike us in a Divided state which they dare not attempt if united. I have not such a knowledge of the Country immediately in the Vicinity of New York as to justify me in giving a Decided Opinion as to the most proper & exact point of attack — that will require a minute & close Inspection, — but from the General knowledge I have of Staten & Long Islands — & the probable strength we may have at the Commencement of our Operations; I don't think either very Eligible altho' they may have many real as well as apparent advan- tages — which the Intervention of a fleet from Europe might render very hazardous in the end. I therefore am of Opinion (grounded upon prudential as well as Military principles) that we ought to begin our Operations against New York Island by the way of [ ] and after Establishing ourselves on that Island & securing a safe retreat in case of Acci- dent — we may as Circumstances present effect a lodgment on Long ARNOLD'S TREASON. 227 Island & take such position as will facilitate the reduction of the Garrison, by a combined attack from different points after securing a proper chain of communication. I have given this Opinion on the presumption that our whole force will not exceed 30,000 or 32,000 Effectives, — should we fortunately reach as high as 40,000 I would advise two approaches to commence at the same time, i. e. by the way of [ ] & Staten Island. I have only to add that whatever may be your decision — you may rest assured of the best services of your Excellency's Most Ob't & Very Humb'l Serv't Anth'y Wavne. His Excellency General Washington. General Wayne to President Reed. Camp at Steenrapia 17 Sep 1780 Sir, — At the commencement of this campaign we had the most flattering expectations from the promised succors of his most Chris- tian Majesty as well as from the exertions of these States, but the intervention of a superior fleet to that of our Allies in these seas, the blockade of Brest in which port the second division intended for America is shut up, and the tedious delay, and at length total pre- vention of operations in the West Indies, together with the recent military check we have experienced in South Carolina, and the deficiency of promised aid & supplies in the United States have materially altered the complexion of affairs. In this situation I have been called upon to give my opinion in writing of what I think the most advisable mode of conduct or feasible point of operation — The actual arrival of Sir George Rodney with 10 sail of the line at Sandy Hook will when joined by Adm'l Arbuthnot be Equal to between 20 & 26 sail, so that the forces will be nearly on an equality. Hence we have little reason to expect any thing capital taking place — Could any period be fixed for the arrival of the second division from Brest so as to place our allies in the sovereignty of the seas, I should not be at a loss — But as this is only problematical, or at most eventual, I must acknowledge that I see but a choice of 228 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. difficulties left to determine upon, among others that of experiencing every extreme of distress at this stage of the campaign for the want of provisions is of the most alarming nature, and would of itself be sufficient to defeat the best plan in the power of a General to design. When I look to a period fast approaching I discern the most gloomy prospect, distressing objects presenting themselves — and when I consider that the mass of the people who now compose this Army will dissolve by the first of January, except a little corps enlisted for the war, that they are badly paid and worse fed, I dread the consequence, for these melancholy facts may have a fatal influ- ence upon their minds when opposed to a well-appointed, puissant and desolating Army — Should Sir H. Clinton profit by former error, and commence the General, and pour like a Deluge upon a naked country and once more possess your capital, I have but too much ground to dread that by an introduction of civil gov't he would find many, very many adherents and perhaps a greater number of converts than we at present suspect. I know that you are not to learn that the fidelity of some of the Southern States is much shaken, and that the great proportion of the landed interest in your State would have little objection to submit to the former gov't and I can from my own knowledge (but not without pain) assure you that the Farmers in this State (New York) appear to wish for peace on any terms owing to the mode in which we have been necessitated to ration our troops and forage our horses, which is truly distressing to them, and affords but a very partial relief to us — yet little as it is — it has hitherto prevented the disso- lution of this Army — I know that a true picture of our situation must be very distress- ing to the mind and hurtful to the eye of a gentleman who from principle, as well as from his station must be deeply interested in the fate of America. Yet it is a duty which as a Citizen and as a Soldier I owe to you, to myself, & to my country to show it in its true colors, and also to assure you that I am not influenced by any apprehensions for my own liberty or Safety. I have fully & deliber- ately considered every possible vicissitude of fortune. I know that it is not in the power of Britain to subjugate a mind determined to be free. Whilst I am master of my own sword, I am governor of my ARNOLD'S TREASON. 229 own fate. I therefore only fear (but greatly fear) for that of my country, and would wish to warn her of her danger and point out the only mode that can possibly rescue her from impending ruin. We have it yet in our power to remedy & correct former mistakes and rise superior to every difficulty and danger. This can only be done by a foreign loan, and by a completion of our regiments. The Eastern States seem fully convinced of their error, and from the best intelligence will exert every power to complete their quotas of troops for the war. Pennsylvania in this will have greatly the advantage. The levies now in camp are enlisting upon trust. While this spirit is up, I wish we were provided with some hard cash. This is the time to take them. If we wait much longer the termination of their service will be so near, that they will begin to watch for the day when nothing will induce them to enlist. Add to this that these men are now on the spot, that there is no danger of being imposed upon by Deserters, that every man we enlist we are sure of, and that they have acquired some discipline and adroitness in exercise and ma- noeuvring, by the close attention and indefatigable industry of our officers, while they still continue to improve with unwearied zeal. Very Sincerely Ant'y Wayne. While beset with these anxieties and embarrassments Wayne encountered a new difficulty, or rather a revival of an old one. The year before, it will be remembered, the officers of the line had been much dissatisfied at the appointment made by Congress of Major Macpherson as a brevet major. In some way, not now easily to be explained, the difficulty was then patched up, but in August, 1780, when a new corps of light infantry was to be organized, Major Macpherson was transferred to it according to his brevet rank. This gave rise to serious trouble among the officers of the line, and they all threatened to resign their commissions if the ap- pointment of Major Macpherson were insisted upon. 230 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. We give the correspondence on this subject between Generals Wayne and Irvine with General Washington, which is on many accounts interesting. The design of forming a new Light Infantry Corps in the summer of 1780 was abandoned, and the necessity of settling this thorny question was thus evaded. Generals Wayne and Irvine to General Washington. Tappan, 10th August 1780. Sir, — It was not until some time after your Excellency was made acquainted with the very great dissatisfaction which the Majors of the Penns'a line experienced on the appointment of Major Macpher- son to a Command in the Light Corps drawn from this state, — that we were informed of the address which they presented to you; — the moment we discovered the effect that appointment had upon them, every means in our power was used to Conciliate matters, — & we had a flattering prospect from the nice feelings of Major Macpher- son, that an opening would be made (by a voluntary resignation) for one of those Gentlemen to supply his place in the Light Corps — without hurting the feelings of your Excellency, or entering into an Investigation of the propriety or right of Brevets taking a per- manent Command in a. full corps — drawn from one State during a Campaign. — Upon this Ground we prevailed upon the Majors to hold their Commissions for a few days, until the Army was in a more fixed state, & to give time for cool reason to govern — hoping something might take place in the Interim that would restore har- mony & Content, — but the Solemn manner in which we were called upon yesterday morning by the Colonels & Lieu't Colonels on this Occasion convinced us that the Dissolution of the Line would but too probably take place unless the cause could be removed — and being requested by them to make a true representation to your Ex- cellency of their feelings & Determination, — we were Induced to wait on you at 12 O'Clock — yesterday, & to communicate Viva Voce — what we had in charge from them. We have at your Excellency's request called upon those Officers to commit their Objections to writing — this they decline, saying that the Majors have already stated them in their address to you, & that ARNOLD'S TREASON. 231 they are Influenced by the same feelings and will abide the same fate as their Majors. We shall not attempt to advocate the matter, or to give an Opin- ion on the usage or custom of brevet appointments — and altho' an office extremely distressing to us — yet it is a duty which we owe to your Excellency — to our Country — & to ourselves — to declare, that unless some happy event Immediately Intervenes — we do not believe it to be in our power to prevent the Resignation of a Corps of Offi- cers, who have upon every Occasion produced a Conviction, that they are second to none in Esteem & attachment to your Excellency, — fidelity to the States, — or prowess in the field. Interim we have the Honor to be with every Sentiment of re- spect Your Excellency's most Ob't & very Humb Servt's Ant'y Wayne Wm Irvine (Copy) His Excellency Gen'l Washington. Generals Wayne and Irvine to General Washington. Tappan nth Aug't 1780 12 O'Clock. Sir, — We have this moment received your Excellency's favour of this day & shall Immediately communicate it to the Field officers of the line — Could our most sanguine wishes prevail — an Immediate termination would be put to this alarming affair — But we cannot yet flatter ourselves of any happy effects from the utmost of our exertion — which rest assured will not be wanting on this occasion We have the honor to be with singular Esteem Your Excellency's Most Obed't Humble Serv'ts Anthony Wayne. Wm Irvine. (A Copy) 232 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. Generals Wayne and Irvine to the Field Officers of the Pennsylvania Line. Tappan i 2th August 1780 6 o'Clock p.m. Gentlemen, — Let us entreat you by the sacred ties of Honor, friendship, & Patriotism — well to Consider the measure recom- mended by us last evening — & however your feelings may be wounded — reflect that ages yet to come may owe their happiness, or misery, to the Decision of this hour. — Your own fate is so Involved with that of your Country's, that the same cause which hurts the one, will mortally wound the other. For God's sake, be yourselves — and as a band of Brothers — rise superior to every Injury — whether real or Imaginary — at least for this Campaign, which probably will produce a Conviction to the World — that America owes her freedom to the temporary sacrifice you now make. You will also reflect that this is a favor solicited by men who would bleed to Death, drop by drop, to defend your honor — as well as that of your very Affectionate Hum'l Serv'ts Ant'y Wayne Wm Irvine. N. B. at all events do not come to a final decision (should it be contrary to this requisition) before 7 o'Clock in the morning when we may have something to Offer that may meet your Approbation. The Field Officers OF THE PENNS'A LlNE. Major Macpherson to General Wayne. 12 August 1780 Major Macpherson presents his Compliments to General Wayne, & informs him, he has considered the matter he mentioned to him relative to a separate Command — and thinks it extremely improper in him to say a single word on the subject — The only reason that prevented him at once declaring himself in this manner was a wish before he determined to consider the matter maturely — tho' the same opinion struck him at the time the matter was mentioned. ARNOLD'S TREASON. 233 With respect to the information General Wayne received from Col Stuart — Major Macpherson requests he will contradict that matter in the Division. — Colonel Stuart — as he informs Major Mac- pherson only said it was his opinion that if General St. Clair would request Major Macpherson to relinquish his right to the Command on the Infantry that he would do it. The gloomy campaign of 1 780 was made still gloomier at its close by the memorable treason of Arnold in Sep- tember of that year. The details of this attempt (which had so well-nigh succeeded) to betray the garrison at West Point and its dependencies into the hands of the enemy are too well known to need recapitulation here. The part which was taken by General Wayne and the Pennsylvania line in defeating this treasonable scheme is not so well known, and some account of it should be given in any true story of its commander's life. His division was then stationed near Haverstraw, and in those days when there seemed a disposition to suspect the loyalty of every one, and when even Arnold could prove a traitor, it is satisfactory to find that im- plicit trust was placed not only in Wayne, but in the men who commanded his regiments, — Chambers, Wal- ter Stewart, Craig, W. Butler, Harmar, R. Butler, with true and stanch General W. Irvine at their head. On their arrival at West Point, "having marched over the mountains sixteen miles in four hours without losing a man," they were placed by General Washington in charge of the post, he being well assured that they would prove its most trustworthy safeguard amidst the threatening dangers by which it was surrounded. The choice of the Pennsylvania regiments for such a duty at such a time has a significance which was very apparent 234 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. at that crisis, but which has been singularly overlooked by historians. Major-General St. Clair, in command of the Penn- sylvania line, was stationed at West Point. On the ist of October the troops under his command were the Pennsylvania division and Meigs and Livingston's Con- tinental regiments. " Unless you think it necessary for the immediate security of the post to draw the first Penn'a (Wayne's) brigade nearer West Point," says the order of Washington, "I should wish it to remain some- where in its present position (guarding the Defile), as it may then at the same time serve the purpose of rein- forcing the main army in case of a movement against it. But on the first appearance of the enemy coming in force up the River, that Brigade should have previous orders to march to your succor." " I was ordered on here," says General Irvine, "with my Brigade (2d Penn'a) on the alarm that was occasioned by Arnold's villainous business. I made a rapid march and found the place on my arrival in a most miserable condition in every respect. About 1800 militia had been at the Post, but were chiefly detached on various pretences. Those who remained had not a single place assigned them, nor had a single order what to do. I have not heard from Head Quarters to-day, but I have reason to believe that Major Andre and Smith must be hung." General Wayne to General Washington. Smith's White House 27th Sep'r 1780 Dear Sir,-— 6 OCiock a.m. * ******* Your letter of yesterday from the Robinson house came to hand between 7 & 8 OCiock in the Evening. As the troops were much ARNOLD'S TREASON. 235 fatigued for want of Sleep — no prospect of any more of the enemy up the river — & being in possession of & Commanding the pass by Storm's, &c towards West Point, with a road in our rear to file off our Artillery by Haverstraw forge under the Mountain, Gen'l Irvine & myself thought it best to remain in this position until morning — or until a move of the Enemy should take place — in the latter case to make a rapid move for West Point, sending our Artillery & bag- gage by the route already mentioned as soon as the latter should arrive. I forgot to mention to your Excellency that the 1st & 2nd Bri- gades marched from Tappan at a moments warning leaving our tents standing, Guards & Detachments out, & pushed with rapidity to Secure this pass — where it would be in our power to dispute the Ground inch by inch — or to proceed to West Point as occasion might require, which was effected in as little time as ever so long a march was performed in. As the wind at present is strong down the river — neither Baggage or Guard yet arrived though every moment expected — I shall take post at Williams's with the first Brigade & Artillery of the 2nd — Gen'l Irvine will move slowly to Storms & wait your further Order with regard to the Baggage Waggons horses &c The Wind is too high for the boats to make way up the river was the baggage even arrived The troops are at present employed in working for to day & tomorrow so that no time will be lost until I receive your further orders I am Your Excellency's Most Ob't HI St Ant'y Wayne. [To Gen'l Washington.] General Wayne to H. A. Sheel. Haverstraw near Stoney Point 2nd Oct'r 1780 Dear Sheel, — I am confident that the perfidy of Genl. Arnold will astonish the multitude — the high rank he bore — the eclat he had Obtained (whether honestly or not) Justified the world in giving it him. But there were a few Gentlemen who at a very early period of this War became acquainted with his true Character ! — when you 236 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. asked my Opinion of that Officer I gave it freely — & believe you thought it rather strongly shaded — I think I informed you that I had the most despicable Idea of him both as a Gentleman & a Soldier — & that he had produced a con- viction on me in 1776 — that honor & true Virtue were Strangers to his Soul, and however Contradictory it might appear — that he never possessed either fortitude or personal bravery — he was naturally a Coward, and never went in the way of Danger but when Stimulated by Liquor even to Intoxication, consequently Incapacitated from Conducting any Command committed to his charge I shall not dwell upon his Military Character or the measures he had adopted for the Surrender of West Point — that being already fully Elucidated, but will give you a small specimen of his peculate talents — What think you of his employing Sutlers to retail the publick Liquors for his private Emolument, & furnishing his Quarters with beds & other furniture by paying for them with Pork, Salt, Flour, &c drawn from the Magazines — he has not stopped here — he has de- scended much lower — & defrauded the old Veteran Soldiers who have bled for their Country in many a well fought field, for more than five Campaigns, among others an old Serg't of mine has felt his rapacity — by the Industry of this man's wife they had accumu- lated something handsome to support them in their advanced age — which coming to the knowledge of this cruel spoiler — he borrowed 4,500 Dollars from the poor Credulous Woman & left her in the Lurch. — The dirty — dirty acts which he has been capable of Com- mitting beggar all description — and are of such a Nature as would cause the Infernals to blush — were they accused with the Invention, or execution of them — The detached & Debilitated state of the Garrison of West Point — Insured success to the assailants — the Enemy were all in perfect readiness — for the Enterprize — & the discovery of the treason — only prevented — an Immediate attempt by Open force to carry those works — which perfidy would have effected the fall of, by a slower & less sanguine mode. — Our army was out of protecting distance — the troops in the possession of the Works a spiritless Miserabile Valgus — in whose hands the fate of America seemed suspended — in this Situation His Excellency — (in Imitation of Caesar & his tenth ARNOLD'S TREASON. 237 Legion) — called for his Veterans — the Summons arrived at One OClock in the morning — & we took up our Line of March at 2 — & by sun rise arrived at this place distant from our former Camp 16 miles — the whole performed in four hours in a dark night — without a single halt or a man left behind — When our approach was announced to the General he thought it fabulous — but when con- vinced of the reality — he received us like a God — & retiring to take a short repose — exclaimed — "All is safe, & I again am happy" — May he long — very long Continue so — The protection of that Important place is committed to my Con- duct until a proper Garrison arrives — I shall not throw myself into the Works — but will dispute the Approaches inch by inch and at the point of the bayonet, decide the fate of the day in the Gorge of the Defiles — at every expense of blood, until death or Victory cries — " hold" — "hold" — It is not in our power to Command Success — but it is in our power to produce a Conviction to the world that we de- serve it — & I trust that whatever may be the Issue, — my Conduct will never require the palliation of a friend, or memory cause a blush to shade the cheek of any tender acquaintance. Apropo' there is one to whom you'l be so Oblig'g as to present my kindest wishes Adieu my Dear Sir & believe me Yours Most Sincerely Ant'y Wayne. [To Hugh Sheel, Esq.] Hugh A. Sheel to General Wayne. Philadelphia Oct. 22, 1780 My dear General, — Dr. Skinners sudden & unexpected depart- ure from this gives me scarcely time to thank you for your obliging favor which was delivered to me by Mr. Litell. It made me very happy to find that our worthy and illustrious General manifested his confidence in you and the Pennsylvania Line by calling on you on so critical an occasion as the infernal treachery of Arnold produced — the extraordinary march you made invited the applause of all — but not the surprise of any who knew you — the character you gave me in confidence of Arnold several months ago, made a strong impression on my mind — it has been verified fully — his villany & machination never cou'd have been carried on, but thro' the 238 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. medium of his Tory acquaintances in this place — & this points out the absolute necessity of putting an end to every kind of intercourse with disaffected & suspicious characters Female as well Male, & in the fullest manner Justifies the resolution entered into & published by you, & the other Gentlemen of the Army in this Town, last Spring — A very great number of Citizens have adopted the same measure & have associated themselves not only for that purpose, but for the removal of obnoxious characters out of the State — it is opposed by some Gentlemen here — from whom you w'd not expect opposition to so necessary a measure. We have been alarmed by an acc't of a new piece of treachery in Virginia — a Scotch gen- tleman, Mr David Ross of Petersburg, possessed of an immense fortune, is now in prison — for holding a correspondence with L'd Cornwallis, the Commission of Brigadier Gen'l was granted to him & found in his possession, & his dispatches with the Bearer were secured — in them were Commissions for the different Officers of a Reg't that Ross was to embody — & w'ch He transmitted to L'd Cornwallis to sign — it appears that on the arrival of a force ex- pected from N : York — He was to arm the convention Troops — No other particulars have yet come to hand — but from the number who were commission'd it is likely that great discoveries will be made. As soon as they are made known I will transmit them to you — as I request you may any thing new that occurs in y'r part of the world. As Dr. Skinner will give you a full detail of City news, I have but to beg you may believe me to be with sincere respect & esteem My D'r Sir Y'r much Obliged & most Obed't Serv't H. A. Sheel.' Notwithstanding the devoted loyalty and high disci- pline which distinguished the Pennsylvania line on this 1 Hugh Sheel was a native of Ireland, and a physician. He prac- tised medicine in Philadelphia towards the end of the Revolution, and in 1780 subscribed five thousand pounds to establish the bank organized to supply the American army with money needed for supplies. He removed to Kentucky, where he was subsequently drowned in attempting to cross a river. REVOLT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA LINE. 239 occasion, and which led it to undergo any privation in order to defeat the treasonable designs of Arnold, these very men were driven a few months later into open mutiny, and, desperate in their sufferings, threat- ened to march to Philadelphia and coerce Congress to yield to their claims and to redress their grievances. How is this strange transformation of unshaken fidelity to a mutinous spirit to be accounted for ? It is very evident that a growing feeling of discon- tent, which many mistook for disaffection to the cause, prevailed in the Pennsylvania line towards the close of the year 1 780. This discontent arose from three causes, each of them involving an alleged violation of the con- tract which the State had made with the soldiers. These were, first, the non-payment of the men, or rather their payment in a nominal currency far depre- ciated beyond what they had agreed to receive ; sec- ondly, an insufficient supply of provisions and clothing ; and, thirdly, the conviction that it was the intention of the authorities to hold all those soldiers who had en- listed for three years or the war for the latter period. The soldiers complained — and it seems to us, from all the testimony accessible, with good reason — that to keep them for an indefinite period, subject to all the priva- tions from which they suffered, was unjust and wrongful. It may be said in palliation of their conduct in taking the redress of their grievances into their own hands, that their mutinous acts were regarded by them as pro- tests against the violation of the contracts made on the part of the State when they entered her service. Wayne, knowing well how wide-spread was the feeling of dis- content among his troops, looked forward to the first of 2 4 o MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. the coming January, when the three years' enlistment of his men would expire, with ominous apprehension. " You may believe me," he writes to Colonel Johnston on the 1 6th of December, " that the exertions of the House [the Assembly] were never more necessary than at this crisis to adopt some effectual mode and immediate plan to alleviate the distress of the troops, and to conciliate their minds and sweeten their tempers, which are much soured by neglect and every extreme of wretchedness for want of almost every comfort and necessary of life." Again, he writes to President Reed about the same time, ''Our soldiers are not devoid of reasoning facul- ties, nor callous to the first feelings of nature. They have now served their country for nearly five years with fidelity, poorly clothed, badly fed, and worse paid. I have not seen a paper dollar in the way of pay for more than twelve months." So Major Church writes, "As my time in the service soon expires, I am not entitled to draw rations. It is very distressing. I have not a farthing of money, nor has the regiment received any these fourteen months." General Wayne to Colonel Johnston {at Philadelphia). Mount Kemble 16th Dec'r 1780 My dear Col., — I sincerely wish the Ides of Jany was come & past — I am not superstitious, but can't help cherishing disagreeable Ideas about that period. I know that I have the hearts of the soldiery & that my presence is absolutely necessary in Camp You may believe me my D'r Sir that the exertions of the House were never more necessary than at this Crisis to adopt some effectual mode & Immediate plan to Alleviate the distress of the Troops & to conciliate their minds & sweeten their tempers which are much REVOLT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA LINE. 241 soured by neglect & every extreme of wretchedness for want of almost every comfort & necessary of life — Had I it in my power to assure them that as a reward for past services & their more than Roman Virtue the Hon'ble Assembly had given them a solid landed property which might at any time be turned into Specie equal or Superior to the nominal debt due them, I am confident that we should restore Content & Insure fidelity, on the Contrary we have every thing to fear from their Defection, how- ever I am Determined to brave the storm & am Yours most Affectionately Ant'y Wayne. Col. Johnston. This condition of the army caused the most serious apprehensions on the part of the public, and what was not done either by the Congressional or by the State authorities to afford relief was attempted by private enterprise and benevolence in Philadelphia. To relieve the wants of the soldiers the Bank of North America was established in that city, in the hope that by its means money might be raised for their pay ; and the women there, headed by Mrs. Reed, the wife of the President, and Mrs. Bache, the daughter of Dr. Frank- lin, set to work in earnest to procure material, from which were made and sent to camp large quantities of clothing, — even more needed at that inclement season by the soldiers than their pay. But these remedies had been delayed too long or were upon too small a scale to produce an immediate impression or to pre- vent an explosion. Wayne endeavored by stricter re- straint and discipline to bring his men completely under his control. They complained, and he replied that he would much rather be accused of severity than of a relaxation of discipline. 17 242 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. Between nine and ten o'clock on the evening of the ist of January, 1781, the men of the Pennsylvania line, with few exceptions, rushed from their huts, paraded under arms without officers, supplied themselves with ammunition and provisions, seized six pieces of artil- lery, and took the horses from the general's stables. The following letter from General Wayne to General Washington presents a striking picture of this frightful scene : Mount Kemble 2d Jan : 1781 Half after 4 o'clock A.M. Dear General, — It is with pain I now inform your Excellency of the general mutiny & defection which suddenly took place in the Penn'a line between 9 & 10 o'clock last evening — Every possible exertion was used by the officers to suppress it in its rise ; but the torrent was too potent to be stemmed. Captain Bitting has fallen a victim to his zeal and duty, Captain Tolbert & Lieu- tenant White are reported mortally wounded, a very considerable number of the field & other officers are much injured by strokes from muskets, bayonets & stones, nor have the rioters escaped with impunity — Many of their bodies lay under our horses' feet, and others will retain with existence the traces of our swords and espon- toons. They finally moved from the ground about eleven o'clock last night, scouring the grand parade with round & grape shot from four field pieces, the troops advancing in solid column with fixed bayonets, producing a diffusive fire of musketry in front, flank & rear. During this horrid scene a few officers with myself were carried by the tide to the forks of the road at Mount Kemble, but placing ourselves on that leading to Elizabethtown, produced a conviction in the soldiery that they could not advance on that route but over our dead bodies. They fortunately turned towards Princeton. Colonels Butler & Stewart (to whose spirited exertions I am much indebted) will accompany me to Vealtown where the troops now are. We had our escapes last night — Should we not be equally fortunate to-day our friends will have this consolation, that we did REVOLT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA LINE. 243 not commit the honor of the United States or our own on this unfortunate occasion. Adieu, my dear General, & believe me &c Anthony Wayne. One of the most curious features of this remarkable revolt was the manner in which the so-called mutineers treated their officers. There does not seem to have been any animosity towards them as such, and force was employed by the mutineers only when for their purposes it was necessary to disarm them. On Wayne's pointing his pistols at them at the beginning of the outbreak there were a hundred bayonets at his breast, and those who handled them exclaimed, " We love you, we respect you, but you are a dead man if you fire. Do not mistake us : we are not going to the enemy ; on the contrary, were they now to come out you would see us fight under your orders with as much resolution and alacrity as ever." This disposition of the soldiery was confirmed by their permitting the general and Col- onels Richard Butler and Walter Stewart to accompany them. These officers, at apparently great personal risk, remained with the revolters for nearly two weeks, pre- venting them from doing further mischief, and acting as their mediators with the State and Congressional authorities in an effort to bring about a settlement of their grievances. During their march to Trenton they kept up, according to President Reed, " an astonishing regularity and discipline." A great alarm was, of course, caused by the march of the revolted troops towards Philadelphia, and Congress appointed a committee to confer with them, who do not seem to have gone be- yond Bristol. The President, with more boldness, met 244 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. them in their camp near Princeton and listened to their complaints. He was received with a military salute. "Their first demand," he says, "was that whoever was tired of the service might be discharged." This was at once refused. "Their nominal leader was," he tells us, "a very poor creature, and very fond of liquor," and he seems to think that the extravagance of his proposition is to be accounted for in that way. After a great deal of peaceful and temperate discus- sion between the soldiers and President Reed and Vice-President Potter, representing the State, the fol- lowing settlement was agreed upon and carried out : i. That no soldier shall be retained beyond the period of his enlistment, and where it appears that the enlistment-paper has not been signed voluntarily the man shall be discharged. 2. In order to settle whether the man enlisted for three years or indefinitely for the war, a board shall be appointed by the government. 3. The bounty of one hundred dollars given by Congress f or re-enlistment shall not be regarded as conclusive evidence that the man enlisted for the war. 4. Auditors to be appointed at once to settle the pay of the men. 5. Clothing to be issued in a few days to all the men who are to be discharged. 6. General amnesty and oblivion. On the 29th of January Wayne writes to Washington giving an account of the final settlement of the revolt, and tells him that out of the two thousand four hun- dred men composing the Pennsylvania line the commis- sioners of Congress under the above-cited agreement o o REVOLT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA LINE. 245 had found that twelve hundred and fifty were entitled to their discharge. He says, " We shall retain more than two-thirds of the troops. The soldiers are as im- patient of liberty as they were of service." Thus terminated what seemed to the panic-stricken people of the time, and perhaps still more so to the conscience-stricken legislators in Congress and the As- sembly, a most formidable and dangerous revolt. Re- duced to its true proportions, it now appears simply as a lawless and irregular method of seeking; a redress of grievances of an intolerable kind and of long duration, the existence of which was recognized on all hands. The people in those days felt, owing to their English traditions, a wholesome alarm at any appearance of an attempt of the military to usurp the powers of the civil authorities. Even General Washington himself was not insensible to the dangers which might result if the authority of the troops was not subordinated at all times to that of the Legislature. It is true that on the 3d of January, upon hearing of the mutiny, he wrote to Wayne, " The officers have given convincing proof that every thing possible was done by them to check the mutiny on its first appearance, and it is to be regretted that some of them have fallen sacrifices to their zeal." But on the 29th of January he writes in a different tone to the governors of the several States : " The weak- ness of this garrison and still more its embarrassment and distress from a want of provisions made it impos- sible to prosecute such measures with the Pennsyl- vanians as the nature of the case demanded, and while we were making arrangements as far as practicable to supply these defects an accommodation took place which 246 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. will not only subvert the Penn'a line but have a very pernicious influence upon the whole army." Washing- ton, when he first heard of the mutiny, evidently ap- prehending further trouble, wrote immediately to the governors of the New England States in this strain (January 5, 1 7S1 ) : "The aggravated calamities and distresses that have resulted from the total want of pay for nearly twelve months, the want of clothing at a severe season, and not infrequently the want of provisions, are beyond description." So when, shortly after, a revolt of very small proportions took place in the Jersey line from the same causes, measures were taken to crush it out at once. There were several reasons which rendered the Pennsylvania revolt in the eyes of the authorities, both military and civil, much more serious than a mere man- ifestation of the discontent of the soldiers. The army of Washington at that time was in a most critical con- dition, believed by many, including the enemy, to be at the point of dissolution, and the Pennsylvania line formed the larger portion of that army. One great fear was that the mutineers might join the British army. The English had made every preparation to receive them at Elizabethtown and Perth Amboy, five thousand troops having been detached for that purpose. Sir H. Clinton, as soon as he heard of the mutiny, de- spatched spies to the camp of the insurgents to induce them to join him, and offered to receive them into the English army under the most favorable conditions. 1 These proposals reached those in revolt on the 7th of January. Instead of being entertained, they were 1 Moore, 129. REVOLT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA LINE. 247 promptly rejected by the soldiers, they spurning the idea of "becoming Arnolds," as they expressed it. They placed the two bearers of these propositions in confinement as spies, and before their submission they were ready to hang them. They sent the overtures of the British general to Wayne, with a solemn assurance 11 that should any hostile movement be made by the enemy the Division would immediately march under their old Beloved Commander to meet and repel it." Certainly such men never had any intention of desert- ing the American cause for the purpose of joining the British army. In the pride of their patriotism they spurned the reward which was offered them for the capture of the spies. Another cause of alarm with many was the fear that the revolters would proceed in a body to Philadelphia and overawe Congress and the Assembly into granting their claims. So considerable a person as General St. Clair, who commanded the division, was disposed to think that they should be allowed to cross the river, for then they could not desert to the enemy ; but President Reed and the Committee of Congress evidently thought that in order to avoid the imminent danger of coercing the civil authorities some binding compromise or agree- ment should be made with them before they came within their reach. Much false pride was undoubtedly sacrificed on the part of the authorities in bringing the quarrel to an early settlement. What the soldiers might have done had they reached Philadelphia it is in vain to speculate, but it is very clear that the terms of the final settlement were fair, equitable, and just. Various theories have been put forward to explain 2 4 8 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. this revolt. No explanation is needed beyond the in- tolerable condition of the men and their neglect by Congress and the State. A curious error has been fallen into by many historians, including' Mr. Bancroft, in speaking of the Pennsylvania line, that " it was com- posed in a large degree of new-comers from Ireland," and this has been said not only to account for the al- leged lawlessness and disaffection of the men at the time of the revolt, but also (by General Harry Lee) to explain the extraordinary brilliancy of their courage on the battle-field. These writers are evidently think- ing of the characteristic qualities of the Celtic Irish- man in war; but there were not, it is said on good authority, more than three hundred persons of Irish birth (Roman Catholic and Celtic) in the Pennsylvania line. Two-thirds of the force were Scotch-Irish, a race with whose fighting qualities we are all familiar, but which are quite opposite to those that characterize the true Irish Celt. Most of them were descendants of the Scotch-Irish emigrants of 171 7-1 730, and very few of them were " new-comers." 1 * In regard to the statement that the Pennsylvania line was com- posed mainly of Irish, the following letters, one from Dr. William H. Egle, the State Librarian, the other from John Blair Linn, Esq., of Bellefonte, both of them editors of the Pennsylvania Archives, which contain the lists of the soldiers of the Revolution from this State preserved at Harrisburg, should prove satisfactorily that it was made without authority : State Library of Pennsylvania. Harrisburg, Pa., April II, 1892. Charles J. Stille, LL.D., Philadelphia. My dear Sir, — In reply to your inquiry of 9th April, permit me to state that Mr. Bancroft and other writers were entirely wrong in REVOLT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA LINE. 249 On the whole, then, it would appear that the mutiny of the Pennsylvania line on investigation amounted to their statement as to the nationality of the soldiers of Wayne's Division. With the exception of the Scotch-Irish, who formed about two-thirds of his force, the remainder were almost wholly of German parentage. In the French and Indian War the emigrants from the Province of Ulster were chiefly selected, while those of pure Irish descent or migration were rejected on the ground that they were Roman Catholics and that they would not be loyal to the Province when opposed by the French troops. If you so desire, when the op- portune time arrives I might amplify what I have here simply alluded to. The Irish were not in it, although all immigrants from Ireland were thus claimed. The facts are, few Irish came until after the War of the Revolution. I doubt if there were 300 persons of Irish birth (Roman Catholic and Celtic) in the war from Pennsylvania. Yours with respect, William H. Egle. Bellefonte, Pa., April 11, 1892. My dear Sir, — Mr. Bancroft and General Henry Lee were cer- tainly in error in stating that the Pennsylvania Line was composed for the most part of Hibernians who emigrated and enlisted in our army. The Scotch-Irish emigration of 171 7-1 730 in its descendants furnished the bone and sinew of the Pennsylvania Line. Except in a few regiments from the neighborhood of Philadelphia there were very few. then recent emigrants enlisted in the Line. Sons of German emigrants furnished quite a respectable portion of the Line, as the rolls of companies from Northampton, Bucks, Lancaster, indicate by their patronymic denomination. There were a few sons of English emigrants; but the Scotch-Irish of Phila- delphia, Chester, Lancaster, Cumberland, Northumberland, Alle- gheny, and Westmoreland Counties composed the large majority of the Pennsylvania Line, as the names indicate, confirmed by very extensive examination of Pension applications, rolls at Harrisburg, and extensive acquaintance with families in central and western Pennsylvania, who were represented in the Pennsylvania Line. r~ -z 250 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. this : It was adopted as the only method within the power of the men to compel the authorities, State and Congressional, to do them justice, or, in other words, to keep their contract with them. They asked for three things, as we have said, which having been promised them were withheld, — namely, pay, clothing, and pro- visions. Having enlisted for three years, they insisted that they should be discharged at the end of their term, and not be kept illegally under arms because the mili- tary authorities thought that as veterans they would prove more useful than raw recruits. The substan- tial justice of their claims cannot be denied, although their method of asserting them was unlawful. The authorities, therefore, in yielding did not violate the true theory of military discipline, which is based quite as much upon the justice of those who command as They were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians : Irvines, Chambers, Butlers, Potter, Wilson, McAllister, McFarlane, Hollidays, McClellan, Grier, Buchanan, Simonton, Thompson, McClean, etc., etc., emigrants and sons of emigrants from the North of Ireland, from Antrim, Londonderry, Tyrone, Donegal, Fermanagh, and Cavan, as I have had occasion to trace them. In central and western Pennsylvania, in the frontier counties, there were a good many Scotch-Irish emi- grants who came on between 1769 and 1774, who enlisted, as rolls compared with old Church records show. There is nothing in the annals of Pennsylvania, as far as I have examined them, to sustain the assertion that Irish emigrants, as dis- tinguished from the Scotch-Irish, formed a component portion of the Pennsylvania Line, but much to the contrary. Respectfully Your ob't serv't, John B. Linn. Charles J. Stille, LL.D., Philadelphia, Pa. REVOLT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA LLNE. 251 upon the implicit obedience of those who are com- manded. Exactly how far the American government at that time, considering its own origin, was in a condition to exact absolute compliance with its orders when it had violated constantly the rights of the soldiers, it is not worth while to inquire. But we must remember always how completely this revolt differed in its cause and progress from ordinary military revolts. There was no disaffection to the cause for which they had for five years been fighting, there was no licentious soldiery carrying terror among the unarmed inhabitants and plundering them when free from the control of their officers, and they never asked for anything to which in the opinion of all they were not fully entitled. It is impossible to read any faithful account of this re- volt without being struck with the attachment and de- votion of his soldiers to General Wayne, and the wise and judicious measures which he took to lessen the evils attendant upon it. We have seen how earnestly he pleaded with the authorities to take such measures before it broke out as would have rendered it unneces- sary. When such efforts failed he was the strict disci- plinarian, striving in vain to repress the mutiny with arms in his hands. When all military order and disci- pline had been subverted, he and his brave comrades, Richard Butler and Walter Stewart, forgetful of per- sonal danger, remained with the men, not, certainly, with any immediate expectation of subduing the revolt, but with the hope of preventing the most dangerous consequences which were feared from it, — the desertion of the soldiers to the enemy or their coercion of Con- 252 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. gress. When they were disposed to return to their duty upon an intimation that their reasonable claims would be granted, Wayne was the trusted mediator whose counsels brought peace and safety at this dan- gerous crisis. Seldom has a general with revolted troops had such a task to perform, and never was it performed more nobly and more successfully. The following official account of the revolt of the Pennsylvania line is taken from the letters found in the collection of the Wayne MSS. : General Wayne's Order concerning the Mutiny. Head Quarters Mount Kemble 2nd Jan'y, 1781 Agreeably to the proposition of a very great proportion of the Worthy Soldiery last evening Gen'l Wayne hereby desires the Non Commissioned Officers & privates to Appoint one man from each Reg't to represent their Grievances to the Gen'l who upon the Sacred Honor of a Gentleman & a Soldier does hereby solemnly promise to exert every power to Obtain an Immediate redress of those Grievances & he further plights that Honor that no man shall receive the least Injury on account of the part he may have taken upon this Occasion, & that the persons of those who may be Ap- pointed to settle this affair, shall be held sacred & Inviolate The General hopes soon to return to Camp with all his brother Soldiers who took a little tour last evening Ant'y Wayne B.G. General Washington to General Wayne. Head Quarters New Windsor 3rd January 1781 My dear Sir, — I this day at Noon reed, yours of the 2nd in the morning, by Major Fishbourn, who has given me a full account of the unhappy and alarming defection of the Pennsylvania line. The officers have given convincing proof that every thing possible was REVOLT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA LINE. 253 done by them to check the mutiny upon its first appearance, and it is to be regretted that some of them have fallen Sacrifices to their Zeal. I very much approve of the determination of yourself, Col'l Butler and Col'l Stewart to keep with the troops, if they will admit of it, as, after the first transports of passion, there may be some favorable intervals which may be improved. I do not know where this may find you, or in what Situation. I can therefore only advise what seems to me most proper at this distance and upon a consider- ation of all circumstances. Opposition, as it did not succeed in the first instance cannot be effectual while the men remain together, but will keep alive resent- ment and will tempt them to turn about and go in a body to the enemy, who by their Emissaries will use every Argument and means in their power to persuade them that it is their only Asylum, which, if they find their passage stopped at the Delaware, and hear that the Jersey Militia are collecting in their rear, they may think but too probable. I would therefore recommend it to you to cross the Delaware with them, draw from them what they conceive to be their principal Grievances and promise to represent faithfully to Congress and to the State the Substance of them and to endeavour to obtain a redress. If they could be stopped at Bristol or Germantown the better — I look upon it, that if you can bring them to a negocia- tion, matters may afterwards be accommodated, but that an attempt to reduce them by force will either drive them to the Enemy or dis- sipate them in such a manner that they will never be recovered. Major Fishbourn informs me that General Potter and Col'l Johnston had gone forward to apprise Congress of this unhappy event, and to advise them to go out of the way to avoid the first burst of the storm. It was exceedingly proper to give Congress and the State notice of the Affair that they might be prepared, but the removal of Congress, waving the indignity, might have a very un- happy influence — The mutineers finding the Body, before whom they were determined to lay their Grievances, fled, might take a new turn, and wreak their vengeance upon the persons and properties of the Citizens, and in a town the size of Philadelphia there are num- bers who would join them in such a business. I would therefore wish you, if you have time, to recall that advice and rather recom- mend it to them to stay and hear what propositions the Soldiers 254 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. have to make. Immediately upon the receipt of your letter I took measures to inform myself of the temper of the Troops in this quarter, and have sent into the Country for a Small Escort of Horse to come to me, and if nothing alarming appear here and I hear nothing further from you, I shall, tomorrow morning, set out to- ward Philadelphia by the Route of Chester, Warwick, Col Sewards, Davenports Mill Morris Town Somerset Princetown, Trenton, on which you will direct any dispatches for me. As I shall be exceed- ingly anxious to hear what turn matters have taken, or in what situ- ation they remain, you will be pleased to let me hear from you. I am with very great Regard Dear Sir Your most Hble Sert. G'e Washington — P. S. 4 Jany 7 o'clock a.m. Upon second thoughts I am in doubt whether I shall come down, because the mutineers must have returned to their duty or the business be in the hands of Congress before I could reach you, and because I am advised by such of the General Officers as I have seen not to leave this post in the present Situation of things — temper of the troops — and distress of the Gar- rison for want of Flour, Cloathing and in short everything — Brig. Gen. Wayne. Major Moore to General Wayne. Pennytown Jan'y 5, 1781 Dear General, — On Wednesday night about eleven o'clock 80 Officers armed with Col. Craig at our head left the Hutts & pro- ceeded to the Middlebush road when Hamilton & myself (as it was thought We could with safety pass the Troops) were detached to in- form you of the approach of these Officers & the position they meant to take. We arrived at the Borders of Prince town yesterday at 12 o'clock, were stopped by a Guard, treated with a great deal of inso- lence & turned back. Col. Craig & those I first mentioned have rode round to Allentown & from there I believe will cross the river. We have arranged ourselves here in two Companies commanded by Col Harmar & wait your Orders — REVOLT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA LINE. 255 The Artillery & ammunition which was left is in good order & I believe will be brought here — Please to give my compliments to Cols Butler & Stewart. I have secured the Baggage of the former. Your Baggage to Doctor Blatchleys. I am Sir, with confidence & respect yours Thos. H. Moore. Gen'l Wayne — 3 o'clock P.M. N.B. I should not have been so particular but this goes by a safe hand T. M. General Wayne to President Reed. Princeton 8th Jany. 1781 Dear Sir, — Being determined to bring matters to a speedy Issue at every Consequence & risk, we sent for the Serj'ts at y 2 after 4 OClock this Evening & Insisted upon their marching from this place towards Trent-town in the morning, or that we would leave them to Act as they pleased, & to abide the bad Effects of their own folly. In consequence of which they had come to a Resolution of moving in the morning & bringing along the two Caitiffs [the spies], pre- vious to the receipt of yours, by Mr. Caldwell. I am Sir Your Most Obt. Hum'l Ser't Ant'y Wayne. [To Gov'r Reed.] General Wayne and Colonels Butler and Stewart to the Officers. Princeton Jan'y 8th, 1781 half-past Eleven o'clock Dear Gentlemen, — This accompanies copies of the orders, prop- ositions, interrogations, and answers which have passed between the troops and ourselves since the unhappy night of the 1st Instant — Yesterday President Reed, and a Committee from the Council arrived here with full powers to settle this unhappy disturbance; they were met by twelve serjeants ; who Laid before them the griev- ances Complaind of by the troops — Many arguments were used to Convince them of the enormous injustice which some of their demands containd, and the total im- as 6 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. possibility of our ever receding from the just and equitable offers which we have made — Their demand of having the 20 dollar men all discharged, seems still to remain unalterable in their minds, and you may rest assured as inadmissible in ours — Before such a step can be taken (which will rob us of ^ds of the Line) a total dissolution must take place, and we must depend on Events for Collecting them together — This morning an answer is to be received from them which will determine the line of Conduct to be in future pursued Our attendance here, our unwearied diligence in explaining mat- ters to the soldiery, and the Coolness of temper to which we have reduced them, will, we flatter ourselves meet the approbation of our Brother officers and fellow Citizens in General — On hearing of your anxiety to have us with you, we determined at all events to quit this place and leave them to follow their wild & ungovernable inclinations, but this step we are prevented from taking by our Worthy Generals advice ; as well as that of Governor Reed, and the other Gentlemen You have among the papers, proposals sent the Line by Sir H'y Clinton, the propositions as well as the Conveyers of them were both immediately handed to us. The men are prisoners, and we hope will meet the fate they deserve It was a happy Circumstance they had us to apply to, at this alarming and important moment had we been absent, and the pro- posal left to work on the minds of the Soldiers — tis difficult to divine what the result might have been An anxiety for your Situation adds much to the unhappiness and distress of our minds — We have been impatiently waiting to hear from you, but are only now and then able to have your distress pictured to us by people who have pass'd amongst you That our anxieties, distress of mind and unhappiness of situation may soon terminate is the ardent wish of Dear Gent. Your afTte friends A. Wayne R. Butler W. Stewart REVOLT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA LINE. 257 Colonel Hub ley to General Wayne. Dear General, — We have just received your favor by Mr. Nes- bitt — Your unwearied attention to settle the unhappy dispute, must, and is particularly acknowledged, by all who I have had any conversation with — From appearance, matters will shortly be brought to an issue — tho' not to your & our wishes, yet considering circumstances, beyond my expectations. — I hope that every Credit will be given to you & your Colleagues, for your exertions, for my part I shall do every thing in my power to acquaint my friends & the world how much they are indebted to you. — I am with my best Comp's to Col'ls Stewart & Butler, Your Obt hum Sert Ad'm Hubley Jr — N.B. From your Letters of Yesterday, I fear some erroneous repre- sentations with respect to the officers, toward you and your Colleagues, have been made to you — I hope we shall see you shortly when you will be Convinced & imbibe a very different opinion of us. [Addressed] Brigadier Gen'l Wayne Trenton Proposals to the Mutineers. His Excellency Joseph Reed Esq'r Governor & the honb'le Brig- adier General Potter of the Supreme Executive Council of the State of Pennsylvania having heard the Complaints of the Soldiers, as represented by the Serjeants, inform them, that they are fully au- thorized to redress reasonable Grievances & they have the fullest Disposition to make them as easy & happy as possible for which end they propose — First — That no Non-Commissioned Officer or Soldier shall be de- tained beyond the time for which he freely & voluntarily engaged — but where they appear to have been in any Respect compelled to enter or sign, — such Instruments to be deemed void & the Soldier discharged — Secondly — To settle who are or are not bound to stay three per- sons to be appointed by the President & Council who are to ex- amine into the Terms of Inlistment — when the original Inlistments 18 2 5 8 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. cannot be found the Soldier's oath to be admitted to prove the Time and Terms of Inlistment, & the Soldier to be discharged upon his Oath of the Condition of the Inlistment — Thirdly — Wherever any Soldier has inlisted for three years, or during the war he is to be discharged unless he shall appear after- wards to have re-inlisted voluntarily & freely — the Gratuity of ioo Dollars given by Congress, not to be reckoned as a bounty or any men to be detained in Consequence of receiving that Gratuity — The Commissioners to be appointed by the President & Council to adjust any Difficulties which may arise on this Article also — Fourthly — The Auditors to attend as soon as possible to settle the Depreciation with the Soldiers & give them Certificates — Their Arrearages of Pay to be made up as soon as Circumstances will admit & fifthly — A Pair of Shoes, Overalls & Shirt will be delivered out to each Soldier in a few days as they are already purchased & ready to be sent forward — whenever the Line shall be settled — Those who are discharged to receive the above Articles at Trenton producing the General's Discharge — The Governor hopes that no Soldier of the Pennsylvania Line will break his bargain or go from the Contract made with the pub- lick & they may depend upon it that the utmost Care will be taken to furnish them with every necessary fitting for a soldier — The Governor will recommend to the State to take some favorable notice of those who engaged for the War — The Commissioners will attend at Trenton when the Clothing, & the Stores will be immediately brought & the Regiments to be settled with, in their Order— A Field Officer of each Regiment to attend during the Settlement of his Regiment: pursuant to Gen'l Waynes Order of the 2nd Instant No Man to be brought to any Tryal or Censure for what has hap- pened on or since New Year's Day but all Matters to be buried in Oblivion — Jos. Reed, President Jas. Potter [Gov'r Reed & Genl. Potter's proposal to the line — 1781] REVOLT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA LINE. 259 The Revoltcrs to President Reed. His Excellency's proposals being communicated to the different Regiments at Troop beating this morning January 8th 1781 — They do voluntarily agree in Conjunction that all the Soldiers that were inlisted for the Bounty of twenty dollars ought to be discharged Immediately with as little delay as Circumstances will allow — except such Soldiers who have been since voluntarily re-inlisted, the re- mainder of his Excellencys & the Honble board of Committee's pro- posals is founded upon Honor & Justice ; but in regard to the proposals of the Honble. Board seting forth that there will be appointed three Persons to sit as a Committee to Redress our grievances it is there- fore the General demand of the line, and the board of Serjants that we shall appoint as many members as of the opposite to sit as a Committee to determine justly upon our unhappy affair, as the Path we tread is Justice, & our Footsteps founded upon Honor — Therefore we do unanimously agree that their should be some- thing done towards a speedy Redress of our present Circumstances — Signed Wm. Bawser, Sec'ty — Jan'y 8, 1 781 — Princktown — [Copy of the Proposals of the Serjeants to the President &c Jany. 8th 1781] President Reed to the Mutineers. Dear Sir, — I received your Favour this Evening, & also the Pro- posals signed by Sergeant Bawser, which as they contain in Sub- stance what was offered last Evening shall be granted except that ap- pointing Persons to set with those nominated by the Honourable the Council, cannot be complied with. This implies such a Distrust of the Authority of the State which has ever been attentive to the wants of the Army that the Impropriety of it must be evident. But any Soldier will have Liberty to bring before the Commissioners any Person as his Friend to represent his Case. The Hon. the Com- mittee of Congress have resolved that the Spies sent out should be delivered up as soon as convenient & upon that being done Con- gress will proclaim a general Oblivion of all Matters since the 31 2 6o MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. December — provided the Terms offered last Evening are closed with & the Troops remain no longer in their present State. It is my clear Opinion that they should march in the morning to Trenton where the Stores are, their Cloathing expected if not by this Time arrived, by which I mean Overalls & some Blankets — I hope they will come to a Speedy Determination & am Dear Sir Your Obed Hble Serv't Jos Reed. Jan. 8, 1781 [8th Jan'y 1781 from Gov'r J. Reed] General Wayne to General Washington. Trenton 29th January 1781 Dear General, — The Commissioners of Congress have gone thro' the Settlement of Inlistments of the Pennsylvania Line except a few Stragglers, and have ordered about 1250 men to be discharged out of the Aggregate of the Infantry, and 67 of the Artillery, so that we may count upon nearly 1150 remaining, including the non- commissioned officers furloughed pursuant to the Direction of the Commissioners until March & toward April, except recruiting Serg't & Music. I shall leave this place tomorrow morning after seeing the Arms & Accoutrements forwarded to Philadelphia where I shall expect your Excellency's further Orders. General Irvine will also be anxious for your Directions, he is now there preparing for the recruiting Service. I gave early Orders to the Regimental Quarter Masters to secure the public stores of their respective Corps, & particular Directions to Mr. Hughes the Division Quarter Master, to collect the whole and return them to Q. M. General's Store at Morris Town, except the few Arms & Accoutrements left in the Huts, which I have ordered to be sent to this place by the Return Waggons & so by Water to Philadelphia. I am happy to inform you that the loss of these essential Articles is far short of what we had reason to expect, indeed there was scarcely a man discharged or furloughed who did not pro- duce a Receipt for the Delivery of his Arms & Accoutrements. REVOLT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA LINE. 261 Inclosed are the printed Forms of Orders for Discharges — Dis- charges and furloughs, by which your Excellency will find that I have had my share of very Distressing Duty, attended with some disagree- able scenes at almost every Hour of Day and Night, which will also palliate for any seeming neglect in point of frequent Intelligence. I have the Honor to be in every Vicissitude of Fortune Your Excellency's most obed't & affectionate hble Serv't Ant'y Wayne. B@-" Inclosed is a Philad'a paper of the 24th Instant in which you'l see that some Gentlemen have given themselves Ample Credit for the part they have had in this unfortunate affair. His Excellency Gen'l Washington. General Washington to General Wayne. Head Quarters New Windsor Feby. 2nd 1 781 Dear Sir, — In mine of the 29th of January I partly answered yours of the 21st — Yours of the 17th had been duly received, and I am since favored with that of the 29th January I am satisfied, that every thing was done on your part to produce the least possible evil from the unfortunate disturbance in your line, and that your influence has had a great share in preventing worse extremities — I felt for your Situation — Your anxieties & fatigues of mind amidst such a scene, I can easily conceive — I thank you sincerely for your exertions — You request to be exempted from the recruiting Service, and em- ployed in the field — at present the last is not possible — but 'till you hear further from me, you need not occupy yourself about the first — I write to General Irvine by this opportunity With the greatest regard I am Dear Sir Your most Obed't Serv't G'e Washington Gen. Wayne — 262 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. General Wayne to General Washington. Thil'A 27th Feby 1781 Dear General, — I was honored with your favor of the 2d Instant and experience much happiness in your Approbation of my Conduct during the unfortunate Defection of the Penns'a line. But as I am informed that the tongue of slander (among some Individuals in the State of N. Jersey) has not been Idle on this Occasion, I hold it my duty to mention that as far as Orders & example had Influence the persons & property of the Inhabitants were protected & the strictest discipline Observed Inclosed is a Copy of one of the last Orders Issued for this purpose, which was faithfully Observed in every minutia on the part of the Officers, even at 9 OClock the night of the revolt at which hour every thing appeared favourable and all the Soldiers either in their Hutts or properly Accounted for — Indeed one of their Complaints was, that they had experienced more restraint & strict duty than usual in Winter — however I would much rather be accused of that — than a relaxation of Disci- pline — or inattention to the rights of the Citizen nor was any legal means left unattempted to quiet the minds of the troops which your Excely will see by the Inclosed copy of an Order of the Ultimo — It is with pleasure I again Assure your Excellency that I am very much Indebted to all the Officers for their attention to Duty & Spirited exertions on this occasion & in particular to Col' Is Stew- art & Butler who as Commanding Officers of Brigades cheerfully risqued their lives & participated in every vicissitude of fortune with me — I now Inclose your Excellency a Copy of the General Officers answer to the Queries of the Honble. House of Assembly, & their proceedings thereon, which I hope will be productive of very salu- tary effects — I have the Honor to be with Singular Esteem Your Excellency's Most Obt & very Hum'l Sert Anth'v Wayne. [To Gen'l Washington.] CHAPTER VII. THE VIRGINIA CAMPAIGN AND YORKTOWN. The Pennsylvania line was almost wholly dissolved by the revolt. It was a long- time before the people recovered from the panic produced by it. The Board of War, indeed, was so anxious to get rid of what they considered the dangerous element in the army that they not only paid the men of the Pennsylvania line on their discharge what was due them, but issued to each soldier gratuitously a ration for every twenty miles on his way homeward. The Congressional committee, which was probably not very strict in examining the claims for discharge, set free about twelve hundred and fifty men, so that no more than eleven hundred and fifty remained in the division. General Washington complained that this commission had been imposed upon, but, upon the advice of St. Clair, the com- mander, the matter was hushed up. Measures were at once taken to recruit the regiments and to reor- ganize the division. It was decided to reduce the num- ber of regiments to six. Of course it was necessary to retire a proportionate number of officers. Of the men who were retained many were veterans, having served continuously for five years. No greater proof could be given of the confidence they inspired, and of Wayne's high qualities as a leader, than that shown by the eagerness with which the old soldiers as well as 263 264 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. the officers pressed forward to serve again under him. There seems to have been no effort to exclude the former mutineers from re-enlistment. Two-thirds of those whose time had expired and who had been dis- charged were desirous of re-entering the service under Wayne's command, and, in his language, "were as im- portunate for service as they had been for their dis- charge. " The trouble was not with the service nor with the officers, but with the broken promises of the State and of Congress with regard to their pay and clothing. On the 26th of February, 1781, Wayne was ordered to command a detachment of the Pennsylvania line which it had been determined to send as a reinforce- ment to General Greene, then in charge of military affairs in South Carolina. The detachment was to con- sist of details from each of the six regiments, in num- ber about eight hundred, and the rendezvous and head- quarters were established at York in Pennsylvania. 1 It was a lone and tedious business to reorganize the men and procure the needed supplies for the expedition. In his efforts to prepare them for the campaign he was embarrassed by difficulties of the same sort that he had encountered so many times since the beginning of the war. Recruits for the expedition were scarce, the needed supplies were not forthcoming, and the worthless paper which was given him to pay his men it was soon found would purchase nothing in the way of the commonest necessaries. No allowance was made for the actual depreciation of this miscalled 1 See Appendix, No. III. THE VIRGINIA CAMPAIGN AND YORKTOWN. 265 money below its nominal value, and, as was most natu- ral, there was much discontent on the part of the men to whom it was offered, and mutterings and threats which, according to the law-martial, came very near to mutiny. The result of this renewed attempt on the part of the State to pay its soldiers in nominal money, when it had agreed to pay them in what was real, is clearly expressed in the following letter of Wayne of May 20, 1 781 : " When I arrived at York there was scarcely a horse or a carriage fit to transport any part of our baggage or supplies. This difficulty I found means to remedy by bartering one species of public property to pro- cure another. The troops were retarded in advancing to the general rendezvous by the unaccountable delay of the auditors who were appointed to settle and pay the proportion of the depreciation due them, which, when received, was not equal to one-seventh part of its nominal value. This was an alarming circumstance. The soldiery but too sensibly felt the imposition ; nor did the conduct or counsel of the inhabitants tend to moderate but rather to inflame their minds by refusing to part with any thing which the soldiers needed in ex- change for it, saying it was not worth accepting, and that they (the soldiers) ought not to march until justice was done them. To minds already susceptible to this kind of impression and whose recent revolt was fresh in their memory little more was wanting to stimulate them to try it again. The day antecedent to that on which the march was to commence, a few leading mu- tineers on the right of each regiment called out to pay them in real and not ideal money : they were no 266 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. longer to be trifled with. Upon this they were ordered to their tents, which being peremptorily refused, the principals were immediately either knocked down or confined by the officers, who were previously prepared for this event. A Court-martial was ordered on the spot, — the commission of the crime, trial and execu- tion were all included in the course of a few hours in front of the line paraded under arms. The determined countenances of the officers produced a conviction to the soldiery that the sentence of the Court-martial would be carried into execution at every risk and con- sequence. Whether by design or accident, the partic- ular friends and messmates of the culprits were their executioners, and while the tears rolled down their cheeks in showers, they silently and faithfully obeyed their orders without a moment's hesitation. Thus was this hideous monster crushed in its birth, however to myself and officers a most painful scene." On the 20th of May Wayne's corps, much smaller in numbers than he had anticipated, and by no means well equipped, but according to his own account re- duced to discipline and harmony by the prompt execu- tion of two of the mutineers, marched southward from York. In consequence of the attempt of Lord Corn- wallis, who had made a rapid march from South Caro- lina after the battle of Eutaw Springs, to form a junction with General Phillips, who commanded the British forces on the James River in Virginia, Wayne was ordered to reinforce La Fayette, who commanded in that State, before proceeding to South Carolina. Wayne joined La Fayette on the 7th of June at Fredericksburg with about eight hundred men. He formed his men into THE VIRGINIA CAMPAIGN AND YORK TOWN. 267 two battalions, the first commanded by Walter Stewart and the other by Richard Butler. These battalions and one from Virginia under Colonel Gaskin formed a brigade, and acted together as such under Wayne until the surrender of York town. Wayne brought with him one company of artillerists, but no cannon. La Fayette's command was made up of detachments from the New England regiments and those of Jersey in Washing- ton's army. There was also a corps of Virginia militia, varying greatly in number at different times, under La Fayette, whose effective force was, previous to the junction, not more than twelve hundred men. Unfortunately, Wayne had been so long detained in Pennsylvania by the difficulty of obtaining supplies that before his arrival in Virginia Richmond had been burned by the predatory force under Phillips and Arnold, while the planters on the shores of the rivers emptying into the Chesapeake are said to have lost property by their depredations amounting in value to several millions of pounds. The command of the combined force of the enemy in Virginia was now held by Cornwallis, who manoeuvred in such a way as to command the penin- sula between the James and York Rivers. His head- quarters were at Portsmouth, opposite Norfolk, which he converted into a fortified depot for the reception of supplies from the fleet by which, if necessary, it might be protected. The object of La Fayette and Wayne during the summer of 1781, when their army formed the only American force in Virginia, was to check the raids of the English detachments sent into the interior of the country intent on robbery and the destruction of military stores. It was also important to prevent the 268 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. retreat of Cornwallis from Portsmouth into North Car- olina. It was essential to the success of Washington's plan for the campaign that Cornwallis's army should be held, for the present at least, at the mouth of the Ches- apeake, and until Washington with the army from the North and the French fleet should co-operate in the autumn to complete his discomfiture by blockading his army. Of course the English could not understand the significance of the movements which Washington was making so as to secure the aid of another French fleet which was expected to arrive in the Chesapeake from the West Indies. He concealed his plans under the pretext of attacking New York with the aid of the French forces under Rochambeau. By a strange infat- uation, Sir Henry Clinton in New York greatly aided Washington's plan by ordering Cornwallis to establish himself at some strong point at the entrance of the Chesapeake. La Fayette and Wayne, who had been admitted to a partial knowledge of Washington's plans, were satisfied in the latter part of the summer that if they were carried out Cornwallis must surrender. After the junction of La Fayette and Wayne, they followed the marauding army, which was then oper- ating on the peninsula between the James and York Rivers, avoiding, of course, a general engagement, as their force was greatly inferior in numbers, and striving to find an occasion on which they could do some ser- vice by attacking the British rear-guard. This mode of campaigning involved a great deal of wearisome march- ing and countermarching with much distress to La Fay- ette's men, and inflicted, apparently, very little injury on the enemy. It certainly had the effect, however, of THE VIRGINIA CAMPAIGN AND YORK TOWN. 269 confining hostile operations within a comparatively lim- ited territory. On the 6th of July it seemed as if the long-hoped-for opportunity of attacking the enemy to advantage had arrived. Cornwallis, moving down the James River on his way to Portsmouth, sent a portion of his force across the river. Intelligence was brought to La Fayette that the English force was cut in two by a wide river, and that consequently there was a favorable chance of attacking its rear, which still re- mained on the left bank and north side of the James. La Fayette directed Wayne to move forward at once and attack that portion of the force which had not yet crossed. Upon arriving at Green Spring, near the enemy, Wayne discovered that the intelligence that any considerable portion of the army had passed the river was false. He and La Fayette, leading the advance, in order to make a more complete reconnoissance had crossed a swamp by a causeway with a force of about eight hundred men before they ascertained that they had a large portion of Cornwallis's army in their front, and they soon found this force formed in battle array. La Fayette at once sent back to the main American army, a distance of five miles, for reinforcements, ordering those left behind to join them with all speed. " Mean- time," says Wayne, " the riflemen in the advance com- menced and kept up a galling fire upon the enemy, which continued until five in the afternoon, when the British began to move forward in columns, upon which Major Galvan [a French officer in the Continental ser- vice] attacked them, and after a spirited although un- equal contest retired upon our left. A detachment of light infantry under Major Willis having arrived also 270 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. commenced a severe fire upon the enemy, but it was obliged to fall back. The enemy observing our small force began to turn our flanks, — a manceuvre in which had they persevered they must have inevitably sur- rounded our advanced corps and taken position between this corps and the other portion of the army, com- posing the reinforcement about to join them. At this crisis Colonel Harmar and Major Edwards with part of the 2d and 3d Penn'a regiments under Colonel Hump- ton, with one field piece, having joined, it was deter- mined, among a choice of difficulties, to advance and charge the British line, although it numbered more than five times our force." In other words, Wayne, perceiving that he was confronted by the entire force of the enemy, whose lines overlapped and endangered his flanks, decided instantly that the proper move to make was a vigorous charge. A sudden retreat might have ended in a panic. To await the shock of the ap- proaching army might be ruinous. " With the instinct of a leader and the courage of a lion," says Professor Johnston, " he determined to become the assailant, — to advance and charge." Within seventy yards of the enemy, and for fifteen minutes, a sharp action took place. All the horses of the American artillery were either killed or disabled. In danger of being out- flanked all the time, the Pennsylvania line was steady, and retreated through the woods and across the swamp to Green Spring, where it re-formed. This charge at Green Spring has always been re- garded as the most brilliant example of the character- istics of Wayne's military genius. To be sent as he was with a small reconnoitring force across a swamp THE VIRGINIA CAMPAIGN AND YORKTOWN. 271 passable only by a narrow causeway, to find himself confronted by a force five times as large as his own, and to escape being surrounded and captured, was a feat which required absolute presence of mind on his part and the power of deciding in a critical juncture what was to be done on the instant, as well as perfect discipline in his soldiers. Wayne seems to have had that military instinct which led him to see exactly what ought to be done at the particular moment, and the courage to do it. It was a case in which what ap- peared to be rashness was the best — indeed, the only — course he could pursue. He had that absolute confidence in the courage of his troops which led him to undertake what seemed a very bold manoeuvre, per- fectly convinced that they would follow wherever he should lead. He was blamed by some military critics, but the weight of authority was entirely on his side. Washington writes to him, — "I with the greatest pleasure received the official account of the action at Green Spring. The Marquis de La Fayette speaks in the handsomest manner of your own behavior and that of the troops in the action." General Greene, his friend and commander, says, "The Marquis gives you glory for your late conduct in the action at Jamestown, and I am sensible you merit it. It gives me great pleasure to hear of the success of my friends, but" (and he here speaks from his own experi- ence) " be a little careful and tread softly, for, depend upon it, you have a modern Hannibal to deal with in the person of Cornwallis. Oh that I had had you with me a few days ago ! your glory and the public good might have been greatly advanced." General 272 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. Wayne did not follow Greene's advice to tread " softly on the heels of Cornwallis," who was soon shut up in Yorktown, whence he " came out to vex his enemies no more." One of the most enthusiastic letters which Wayne received at this time was from Robert Morris, who paints in lively colors the effect of so gallant an action as that of Wayne in strengthening the tone of public feeling. "We have received," he says, "a full report of the action at Green Springs. It is very flat- tering to find our troops arrived at that degree of dis- cipline which enables them to face with inferior numbers that proud foe who have heretofore attempted to treat our army with such contempt. It is still more agreea- ble to find that this handful of troops have been led to the conflict by officers revered for their public and esteemed for their private conduct through life. I do assure you, my worthy friend, that I shall think my present toils well rewarded when they enable you and your competitors for glory to enjoy the sweets while you endure the toils of a military life." The following is the official report of the action by La Fayette to General Greene, 8th of July, 1781 : {From the Pennsylvania Gazette, July 23, 17S1.) Head Quarters July 8, 1781 Sir, — I have the honour to enclose to your Excellency a copy of ray letter to Maj. General Greene, containing the proceedings of the two armies since ray last. With great respect &c &c La Fayette. His Excellency the President of Congress THE VIRGINIA CAMPAIGN AND YORKTOWN. 273 Ambler's Plantation, opposite James River July 8, 1781 Sir, — On the 4th instant the enemy evacuated Williamsburg, where some stores fell into our hands, and retired to this place, under the cannon of their shipping. The next morning we ad- vanced to Bird's Tavern, and part of the Army took post at Nor- rell's Mill, about nine miles from the British Camp. The 6th I detached an advanced corps under General Wayne, with a view of reconnoitring the enemy's situation. Their light parties being drawn in, the picquets, which lay close to their encampments, were gallantly attacked by some riflemen, whose skill was employed to great effect. Having ascertained that Lord Cornwallis had sent off his heavy baggage under a proper escort, and posted his army in an open field, fortified by the shipping, I returned to the detachment which I found more generally engaged. A piece of cannon had been at- tempted by the Vanguard under Major Galvan, whose conduct de- serves high applause. Upon this the whole British Army came out and advanced to this wood occupied by General Wayne. His corps chiefly composed of Pennsylvanians and some light infantry, did not exceed 800 men, with three field pieces, but notwithstanding their numbers, at sight of the British Army the troops ran to the rencontre; a short skirmish ensued with a close, warm, and well directed fire ; but as the enemy's right and left of course greatly out- flanked ours I sent General Wayne orders to retire half a mile to where Colonels Vose and Barber's light infantry battalions had arrived by a most rapid move, and where I directed them to form. In this position they remained till some hours in the night. The militia under General Lawson had advanced and the continentals were at Norrell's mill, when the enemy retreated during the night to James island, which they also evacuated, crossing over to the south side of the river. The ground at this place and the island was suf- ficiently occupied by General Muhlenburg. A number of valuable horses were left on their retreat. From every account the enemy's loss has been very great, and much pains taken to conceal it. Their light infantry, the brigade of guards, and two British regiments formed the first line; the remainder of their army the second. — The cavalry were drawn up but did not charge. >9 274 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. By the enclosed return you will see what part of General Wayne's detachment suffered most. The services rendered by the officers make me happy to think that although many were wounded we lost none. Most of the field officers had their horses killed ; the same accident to every horse of two field pieces made it impossible to move them, unless men had been sacrificed. But it is enough for the glory of General Wayne and the officers and men he commanded, with a reconnoitring party only to have attacked the whole British Army close to their encampment, and by this severe skirmish hastened their retreat over the river. Colonel Boyer of the riflemen is a prisoner. I have the honour to be &c &c La Fayette. Major-General Greene. {From the Pennsylvania Gazette, August I, 1781.) "Extract from the Marquis La Fayette's General orders. " Amf.ler's Plantation, opposite James River, July 8, 1781. "The General is happy in acknowledging the spirit of the de- tachment commanded by General Wayne in their engagement with the total of the British Army, of which he happened to be an eye witness. He requests General Wayne, the officers and men under his command, to receive [torn] best thanks. " The bravery and destructive fire of the riflemen engaged, rendered essential service. "The brilliant conduct of Major Galvan and the Continental de- tachment under his command, entitle them to applause. " The conduct of the Pennsylvania field and other officers are new instances of their gallantry and talents. The fire of the light infan- try under Major Willis checked the enemy's progress round our right flank. The General was much pleased with the conduct of Captain Savage, of the Artillery, and it is with pleasure he also observes, that nothing but the loss of horses could have produced that of the two field pieces. — The zeal of Colonel Mercer's little corps is hand- somely expressed in the number of horses he had killed." The following letters show the care taken by General Wayne of his wounded officers : THE VIRGINIA CAMPAIGN AND YORKTOWN 275 Providence Forge 10th July 1781 My dear Friends, — Gratitude Duty & Inclination independent of those principles which ought to Inform every humane heart, leads me to use every possible exertion to render Gent'n (who have so honorably & freely bled in the defence of the Liberties of this Country) as comfortable as Circumstances will admit of, be assured that nothing but the most positive assurance of your being so would have prevented me from using every exertion to have you properly supplied & attended to It is but this moment I was informed of the inattention which you have experienced — & have fallen upon the only means in my power to remedy it by directing the Commissioners of the County to supply you with those Comforts which wounded Officers are en- titled to, & if the County will not pay it to place it to my acct. — I shall be happy to hear from you often & wish you to Command my services on every Occasion That you may soon recover from your wounds & restored to your anxious friends is the sincere wish of your most Obt & very Hum Sert — Ant'y Wayne. The Wounded Officers to General Wayne. Sir, — We have ben Hon'd with y'r kind inquire respecting Our health, and situation, generously ofering to Supply our wants, even at your own expense — Altho* our accommodations have ben but indiferent owing to the Inhospittality of the people, and a neglect in the heads of the medical department for this State — we did not think it concistent with the character of soldiers to give uneasiness to a Gentleman whos known generrosity, and Parental care, has endeared him to evry officer and Soldier under his com'd, and remov'd evry doubt of his Indefatigable assiduity to render their Situation Happy — We at present have a prospect of being Supply'd with evry thing necesary to render our Situation as comfortable as the climate will admit of. It is the opinion of the Surgeons that a cooler Climate would be more friendly, and tend to expedite the rejoining our commands; 276 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. Strongly recommending our repairing to Penns'a until the heat of the season is over. If such an expedient should meet with your Approbation, our reliance must be in you to enable us to procead in character. A light waggon for the purpose of transporting our Baggage, and orders to Draw Forage would be necessary, whether we can be supply'd with Horses, and Sadies, without y'r Friendly Aid is uncertain — The Marquis was so good as to send one of his Aides to inquire after our wants, we informed him of our Difficulty respecting Horses &c, he said we should be supply'd, but we fear the multi- plicity of buisness has prevented his recollecting the promise — In Short, sir, our Dependance is on you, to equip us for the Tour to the North, hoping to return in a short time and prove our selves worthy the notice of that General whose Ambition is to reward the Brave. In the mean time beg leave with evry Sentiment of Esteem, to Subscribe ourselves Sir y'r verry Humble Serv'ts W. Finney and Companions Hanover 12th Aug't 1781 Gen Wayne After the engagement at Green Spring Lord Corn- wallis retired to Portsmouth, on the south side of the James, and began to fortify himself there. La Fayette, fearing that further raids might be made by detach- ments of British troops into the interior of the country for the destruction of military stores and other prop- erty, or that Cornwallis might decide to retire into North Carolina, ordered Wayne to cross the river at Westover 1 and take post at Cabin Point, on the road * On his leaving Westover, then, as now, the stateliest of all the colonial houses in Virginia, Mrs. Byrd, the widow of the former THE VIRGINIA CAMPAIGN AND YORK TOWN. 277 between Norfolk and Petersburg, so that any attempt to retire on the part of Cornwallis might be frustrated. But the days of Cornwallis's raids and forays in Vir- ginia, as well as the time for his safe retreat, were at last over. He had received orders from Sir Henry Clinton, about the time that Wayne crossed at West- over, to select the most advantageous post at the mouth of the Chesapeake and fortify his position, placing himself in ready communication with the fleet, which was expected to aid him in his operations. The place which he selected, in pursuance of these orders, but contrary to his own judgment, which pointed to a retreat into North Carolina as the proper course to be taken, was, as is well known, Yorktown. The cam- paign in Virginia, from which the English ministry had hoped such great things, was a disastrous one, owing to the active and enterprising opposition made by La Fayette and Wayne. All the interest in the great drama which was to ter- minate in the ignominious surrender of the troops they had been pursuing during the summer becomes from this time concentrated on the siege of Yorktown. Each separate part of the complicated plan which had been arranged by Washington for the destruction of Corn- wallis seemed to work in wonderful harmony with the rest. All moved forward together with the certainty of an inexorable fate. On the 25th of August Washing- ton crossed the Hudson on his march to lower Virginia, the rear of his army being reinforced by the French troops under Rochambeau lately stationed at Newport. proprietor, wrote General Wayne a note thanking him for his great kindness and expressing her good wishes. 278 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. On the same day De Barras sailed with the French fleet from Newport for the Chesapeake, carrying with them the stores for the troops and the siege-artillery. On the 30th of August De Grasse with another French fleet coming from the West Indies, carrying three thou- sand troops under Saint-Simon, anchored safely in Hampton Roads before Admirals Graves and Hood, the English admirals, reached the Virginia capes. These troops were landed a few days later at Burwell's Ferry. 1 On the same day the fleet of De Barras, which had also just arrived in the Chesapeake, formed a junction with that of De Grasse, and the combined fleet (far superior in the number of ships) went to sea in search of the English squadron under Graves and Hood. The French so much damaged the English fleet off the mouth of the Chesapeake as to insure its non-intervention during the siege of Yorktown. Thus it appears that by a most remarkable coincidence — or shall we not say by a wonderful providential interpo- sition ? — all Washington's plans were successfully car- ried out, and the larger portion of the force which was to crush Cornwallis arrived within striking distance of Yorktown with a precision hitherto unknown in mili- tary history. During these five days while events were hastening to a crisis, La Fayette received from Wash- ington a confidential communication telling him of the proposed combined action of his own army and its '"Went down with Stewart and saw the landing of the French troops on James Island. Mortifying and surprising sight to two British flag ships that lay at this place who never heard the least whisper of this great event until the troops and vessels were among them." — Richard Butler's Diary, September 2, Ij8i. THE VIRGINIA CAMPAIGN AND YORK TOWN 279 French allies with the French fleet at the mouth of the Chesapeake. This was all that was needed to induce La Fayette to take every precaution to oppose with his own troops and those of Wayne any attempt on the part of Cornwallis to escape into North Carolina. They awaited with anxious impatience the arrival of Washington and Rochambeau. Before the arrival of Rochambeau General Wayne wrote as follows to Robert Morris : Williamsburg 14th Sept. 1781. The arrival of the Count De Grasse with a large fleet of Men of War &c must have been announced in Phil'a long before this will reach you ; I wish that the State of our Magazines &c had been such as to enable us to Improve the moment of his Arrival, but it was not nor is not even at this moment. I don't know how it is, but I have not felt so sanguine on the Occasion — as the naval & land force sent us by our good & great ally would justify — probably it is Occasioned by our former disappoint- ments when matters bore a flattering appearance. Do you know notwithstanding all this that I have been extremely uneasy lest the Appearance of a British fleet off this Cape should Induce the Count to follow them too far & leave an Opening for the British to enter — to his exclusion. Admiral Hood with 8 (?) sail of the Line last Wednesday week made His appearance. The Count De Grasse with 22 Sail weighed anchor i4of which Engaged Hood — the Other could not get up in time. 4 Sail of the Line were left to defend the entrance of the Cheseapeake. The British admiral fled too soon for anything but an act of Choice — may he not wish to draw De Grasse towards New York & expose the French fleet to the Effects of the Equinoctial Storm, whilst the british lay snug in harbour — The Count D'Estaing was taken in by Lord Howe — this time three years ago — partly in the same manner — but it cannot — it must not be the case now. Unless fortune is uncommonly unkind Lord Cornwallis & his Army must submit to the Combined force of France & America, his numbers are more than is Generally given out, we shall find them 2 8o MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. very little short of 7000, taking in the Marines there are at least 6000 Combatants officers included exclusive of negroes — so that During the Absence of the Count De Grasse, who has a large body of marines on board Destined to act with us — The french troops are the finest & best made body of men I ever beheld — their Officers and Gen'l & I will be answerable for their being soldiers, we have the highest Opinion of their Discipline & can not doubt their prowess — (?) [To Robt. Morris, Esqr.] ' On the 2d of September an unfortunate accident hap- pened to Wayne which very nearly deprived him of the glory of participating in the siege of Yorktown. He had occasion one evening to visit the camp of La Fayette, when one of the sentries mistaking him for an enemy fired his musket and wounded the general in the fleshy part of the leg. But no wound could check his ardor or his enterprise on the eve of the great events which he knew were about to transpire. He writes to Mr. Peters on the 12th of September "that if powder enough had been put into the cartridge, the ball which grazed the bone would have gone through his leg." He tells him that " this caitiff" (a favorite expletive with him) " disorder is now leaving me, and I shall in a few days take an active and interesting command in despite of the ball, and hope to participate in the glory attending the capture of Lord Cornwallis and his ma- rauding army." It is interesting to notice, by the way, the expression of the good feeling of the officers called out by this misfortune of their general. In his private • There seem to be some omissions in this rough draught of the letter sent to Mr. Morris, but it is so characteristic that it has been thought best to print it without any attempt to supply the omissions. THE VIRGINIA CAMPAIGN AND YORKTOWN. 281 diary bold Richard Butler, who had so often been Wayne's chosen comrade in deadliest peril, writes, "The wound is mortifying to this good officer, and to the troops he commands, who love him, and wish his presence with them in the field on all occasions." Wayne and his colonels seem to have been the first American officers to welcome the French troops under M. de Saint-Mame, brought by the fleet of the Comte de Grasse, and to aid them in selecting a suitable place for an encampment near Williamsburg. They seem to have been very soon on pleasant terms with the strangers. On the 26th of September Washington's army, with the French auxiliaries under Rochambeau, reached Wil- liamsburg. Washington was received with the high- est honors by the newly-arrived French troops, and they and the Americans soon became very effusive in the expression of their joy that they were engaged in a common enterprise under such a general, which promised to be so successful and to produce such brilliant results. The officers of each army vied in their efforts to entertain worthily those of the other. Butler speaks in his diary of one of these entertain- ments, where an elegant band of music played "an in- troductive part" of a French opera, " signifying the happiness of the family when blessed with the presence of the father," — a singular mixture of sentiment with warlike surroundings. 1 1 The opera referred to is probably the once famous opera of "Lucille," by Gretry, at that time very popular in Paris. It con- tained the well-known song, — " Ou a-t-on plus de bonheur Qu'au sein de sa famille," etc. 282 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. There was nothing specially noteworthy in the part taken by the Pennsylvania line under Wayne at York- town. His two battalions, containing about seven hundred men, were brigaded as heretofore with Col- onel Gaskin's Virginia battalion, and formed part of the division under Yon Steuben. The third battalion of Pennsylvanians, under Colonel Craig, arrived too late to take part in the siege, and so did General St. Clair. The storming and capture of the two redoubts, the only operation attended with serious danger, was not assigned to the Pennsylvania line, but two of its battalions supported the attack. The truth is, the su- periority of the allies in numbers, and the skill with which they made use of their siege-artillery, made the surrender of Cornwallis as certain as any event in war could be. On the 1 7th of October the enemy beat the chamade at ten o'clock. Negotiations for the surrender immediately followed, and on the 19th the garrison be- came prisoners of war, and Cornwallis's army was no more. 1 The news of the capitulation was received with un- bounded joy all through the country ; but it seemed to be the signal, as victories in the past had been, not for renewed efforts, but for a relaxation of the vigor and energy with which the war had been prosecuted. As 1 To show the strange course which the amenities of civilized warfare take, we insert a note of Lord Cornwallis to General Wayne declining the latter's invitation to dinner: " Lord Cornwallis presents his compliments to General Wayne, and is sorry he cannot have the pleasure of waiting upon him to-mor- row, being engaged to dine with the Count Saint Maime. "Nov. 1st." THE VIRGINIA CAMPAIGN AND YORKTOIVN 283 after Saratoga and after Monmouth, many believed that peace was not only well assured, but that it was nigh at hand ; a most fatal delusion, which added to the cost of our independence many lives and much treasure. It is worth while to reproduce here a letter from General Wayne, one from Colonel Walter Stewart, and another from his trusty chaplain, Rev. David Jones, explaining the condition of feeling in Congress and the Assembly of Pennsylvania after the surrender of Yorktown. General Wayne to Robert Morris. York, 26th Octr. 1781 The surrender of Lord Cornwallis with his Fleet & Army must have been announced in your city before this period It is an event of the utmost consequence & if properly Improved may be productive of a Glorious & happy peace ; but if we suffer that unworthy torpor & supineness to seize us, which but too much pervaded the Councils of America after the Surrender of Gen'l Bur- goyne, we may yet experience great Difficulties, — for believe me it was not to the exertions of America, that we owe the Reduction of this modern Hannibal, nor shall we always have it in our power to Command the aid of 37 sail of the Line & 8000 Auxiliary veterans — Our allies have learned, that on this Occasion, our regular troops were not more than equal to one half their Land force : and altho' our prowess was such as to establish our Character as Soldiers — our means & numbers were far inadequate to the Idea they had formed of American resources Yet the Resources of this Country are great & if Councils will call them forth we may produce a Conviction to the World that we deserve to be free — for my own part, I am such an Enthusiast for In- dependence, that I would hesitate to enter heaven thro' the means of a secondary cause unless I had made the utmost exertions to merit it. The Pennsylvanians with some other troops have another field of glory in view — if successful you'l soon hear from us, till when & ever believe me yours Most Sincerely Ant'y Wayne. 284 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. I dare not commit myself to paper — I wish you could take a prospective view of us for a few moments, you then would better understand me. [To Rob't Morris, Esq.] Colonel Stewart to General Wayne. Philad'a Dec. 24, 1781 My Dear General, — ... As you dreaded, our chimney corner soldiers in this place immediately on the capture of Cornwallis took up the opinion that the war was at an end. Congress were full of the idea of reduction, but this Gen'l Washington put a stop to ex- cept in the General officers. The number necessary for the army he is to mention, and Gen'l Lincoln our Secretary at War is to nomi- nate those who remain. I have not yet heard the number mentioned, nor the mode by which Lincoln will proceed to retain them in the service. He must I think do it agreeable to their rank as he will hardly attempt to leave out Superior and keep in inferior officers. Those who retire go on half- pay for life, but I am much afraid it will be very hard to come at. Morris has no prospect of paying the Army nor do I believe that it will be in his power for a long time — All those officers who held Brevet Commissions and were not attached to any line have their accounts settled and one fifth of their pay given them ; the rest they fund with Mr. Morris at six per cent. All the French engineers who were at York in the service of America have got a step in rank. Portail is a Major-General, Gouvion a Colonel &c — Knox is try- ing hard for the Major General's commission, and is backed by the General. 'Tis at present doubtful, but you know our "grand body" cannot withstand regular approaches, and perseverance, both of which I am of opinion will be used in the present case. Indeed as they have broke through all rules in the present appointments, I think they ought and will attend to Knox, whose merits are Equal to any of the newly promoted. Our Legislature have done nothing. Their whole session has been employed in the investigation of the election which I am told will prove a villainous one and will criminate in a high degree Gen- eral Lacey. They have now adjourned until February and God knows what they will do on their meeting. THE VIRGINIA CAMPAIGN AND YORKTOWN 285 Philad'a is not as agreeable this winter as it has been, & I am sorry to tell you our cloth is not as much attended to as they were formerly. Be assured, the Army is the place for sociability, friend- ship, and happiness. You need not expect to see any recruits shortly from this State as there are no measures whatever pursuing to raise them. Yours sincerely Walter Stewart. Chaplain yones to General Wayne. Philad'a Dec 28, 1781 Dear General, — It would take a large volume to give you a sketch of our public matters in the State of Penn'a, in short, noth- ing is done by our civil officers that answer any good purpose for the Army — Our taxes are insupportable, and all seems likely to be con- sumed in support of civil government. The old adage is true, " Out of sight out of mind." I know not when you will receive any thing, the Financier says, as I am informed. All the money lately borrowed from France will be little enough to pay the contractors for the Army — None can be spared for the pay of the Army — This should be collected by taxes, but alas ! hard money is heavy, not to be drawn from the Treasury — What is lamentable is that our civil officers receive their pay, but no period is fixed to pay the Army. To-day the Assembly rise, and I believe they have done little more than quarrel about the election. I know not when it will be in my power to return, as I can get no money. Mrs. Wayne spent Wednesday evening at my house she is hearty. . . . I have no pleasure in Penn'a at present. In the Army there is some Virtue still— David Jones — CHAPTER VIII. THE GEORGIA CAMPAIGN. Ox the i st of November a detachment consisting of Colonel Butler's, Colonel Walter Stewart's, and Colonel Craig's battalions of the Pennsylvania line and Colonel Gist's Maryland battalion, was ordered to leave Williamsburg and reinforce General Greene's army in South Carolina. These troops were com- manded by Wayne as brigadier- and St. Clair as major- general. On the 4th of January, 1782, this detach- ment joined General Greene at Round O in South Carolina. Passing by General St. Clair, Greene sent Wayne into Georgia with a very small force with gen- eral instructions to re-establish as far as might be pos- sible the authority of the United States within that State. To understand fully Wayne's position and operations in the campaign that followed, some ex- planation of the condition of affairs at that time in Georgia is needed. The people of that State were then utterly demoral- ized and impoverished by the partisan warfare which had been so long waged within its limits. The peculiar distress of the inhabitants was due quite as much to the bitter, malignant hatred subsisting between the Whigs and Tories of the State, with both of whom the cruel custom of putting people to death after surren- der prevailed, as to the operations of the British army. 2S6 THE GEORGIA CAMPAIGN. 287 The population was sparse and scattered, and no set- tled law was recognized or obeyed. Taxes could not be collected, and the poverty of the State was such that the Legislature in 1782 passed a law authorizing the governor to seize upon the first ten negroes he could find, sell them, and appropriate the proceeds to the payment of his salary. Yet this was the same Legis- lature that was so penetrated with gratitude for the services of General Wayne in rescuing the State from the enemy, and in restoring peace, law, and order, that they voted thirty-nine hundred guineas for the purchase of the confiscated rice-plantation of Sir James Wright, the last royal governor of the colony, to be presented to General Wayne in the name of the people of Georgia. Wayne began his campaign by recommending to the governor (Martin), in accordance with General Greene's instructions, that he should issue a proclamation offer- ing pardon and protection to those Tories of the State who had been aiding the British and oppressing their neighbors, on condition that they would make their sub- mission by a certain date. This proclamation, as it an- nounced the policy to be pursued towards the adherents of the royal government in the event of the success of the American arms, doubtless helped to weaken the force of the enemy in the interior. In the mean time active preparations were made by Wayne for a campaign which should subdue all active resistance. Wayne's force in Georgia consisted of about one hundred of Moylan's dragoons, a detachment of field artillery, a body of three hundred mounted men from Sumter's brigade, under Colonel Hampton, Jackson's 288 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. and McCoy's volunteers, amounting to one hundred and seventy men, and such of the militia as the gov- ernor of Georgia could induce to take the field. For the first time during the Revolutionary struggle Wayne was separated from his long-tried and well-trained com- rades of the Pennsylvania line, who were retained in South Carolina by General Greene. He felt their loss sorely, as he tells the general, " Pray give me an ad- ditional number of Penn'a troops. I will be content with one battalion of Pennsylvanians. They can bring on their own field equipage without breaking in upon any part of the Army. I will candidly acknowledge that I have extraordinary confidence and attachment in the officers and men who have fought and bled with me during so many campaigns. Therefore if they can be spared you will much oblige me." With the paltry force at his disposal (raw and inexperienced troops for the most part) he was expected to subdue not only the English garrison at Savannah, composed of thirteen hundred regulars, five hundred militia, an indefinite number of refugees, and the Indians their allies, Creeks and Cherokees. Savannah, however, was the only post which was garrisoned by any considerable force of the enemy. To isolate this garrison from the rest of the State, and particularly from its Indian allies in the interior, was Wayne's first object. He took post at Ebenezer, twenty-five miles above Savannah, on the river. He drew a line from this point to the Ogeechee, intending to cut off the gar- rison from its supplies as well as from aid from the hostile Indians. His force was too small effectually to guard this line, and General Clarke, the commandant THE GEORGIA CAMPAIGN. 289 at Savannah, attempted to destroy by fire all the food for man and beast to be found within the circle, and thus force Wayne to abandon his position. Wayne suc- ceeded, however, not merely in preventing a junction between the English and the Creek Indians outside, but also in defeating each party in detail as it attacked him. Thus, on the 19th of February, 1782, he decoyed by stratagem a large party of Indians coming from the interior within his power, and, after taking from them a considerable amount of the provisions which they were carrying to Savannah, sent them back to tell their own tribesmen that Savannah would certainly be captured by the Americans, and that the best policy for the Indians would be to remain neutral. A considerable force from the Savannah garrison came out to support the Indians ; but, finding that they were too late, they retired. So, again, on the 21st of May, the garrison, under Colonel Brown, made a sortie in considerable numbers. To repel them Wayne was obliged to march at night more than four miles over a narrow causeway crossing a swamp to reach the enemy's camp. But he felt, as he characteristically says, "that the success of a night attack depends more on the prowess of the men than their numbers," — one of his war maxims, by the way, on which he constantly acted. His vanguard charged with the utmost impetuosity the English force, and the result was the defeat and dispersion of Colonel Brown's party, consisting of a large body of cavalry and a detachment of regular infantry and of Indians. He gives the following account of the difficulties and hardships of this short campaign : 290 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. " It is now upwards of five weeks since we entered this State, and during that period not an officer or sol- dier with me has undressed for the purpose of changing his linen ; nor do the enemy lay on beds of down. "The duty done by us in Georgia was more difficult than that imposed upon the children of Israel. They had only to make bricks without straw, but we have had provisions, forage, and almost every other apparatus of war to procure without money; boats, bridges, &c. to build without materials except those taken from the stumps, and what was more difficult than all, to make Whigs out of Tories. But this we have effected and have wrested the country out of the hands of the enemy with the exception only of the town of Sa- vannah." On the 24th of May some of the more violent of the Creek Indians coming- from a great distance in the in- terior, who had not listened to the advice which he had sent them to remain neutral, made an attempt to sur- prise Wayne's camp at Sharon, within a short distance from the enemy's lines. These Indians were led by Guristersijo, the principal warrior of the Creeks, and attacked Wayne's camp suddenly with great fierceness on the night of the 24th. Wayne's troops recoiled for a few minutes, and lost some of their guns, but they soon rallied and advanced to the charge, supported by Colonel Posey and Major Finley, who attacked them on the right flank with such irresistible vigor that the sav- ages were totally routed and driven into the swamp and their chief, Guristersijo, was slain. This, like the other attacks on Wayne's force, was a combined action on the part of the English and the Indians. As soon THE GEORGIA CAMPAIGN. 291 as it was daylight the British made their appearance, but they were soon driven back into the lines of Sa- vannah by a vigorous assault. " Our trophies," says Wayne, "are an elegant standard, 107 horses with a number of packs, arms, &c. and more horses are hourly secured and brought in. Such was the determined bravery with which the Indians fought that after I had cut down one of their chiefs, with his last breath he drew his trigger and shot my noble horse dead under me." The result of these battles decided the fate of Georgia. It is true that the British Ministry, after the vote of the House of Commons denouncing a continuance of the war, in February, 1782, regarded the question of aban- doning Savannah and Charleston as one of time only, yet neither place was given up until the commanders were forced to do so by the success of the military operations of the Americans. Savannah was evacuated on the nth of July, and Charleston in December of that year, and Wayne was at the head of the forces which took possession of both places. The campaign of Wayne in Georgia was the only one which had been completely under his own superin- tendence and direction. It was regarded on all hands, at that time, not merely as most brilliant in its results, but as exhibiting generalship and military skill in a wonderful degree. He was no longer spoken of as 44 Mad Anthony," for his achievements made him worthy to rank as a strategist with Turenne or the Duke of Marlborough. That such a small force as his, made up for the most part of raw and inexperienced volun- teers, interposed between the garrison at Savannah and 292 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. its allies the warlike Creeks and Cherokees, should so manoeuvre as to defeat each of these hostile bodies in turn while they were attempting to support each other, three times in three months, and compel at last the evacuation of Savannah, the stronghold of the enemy in Georgia, was regarded by every one as due to the inspiration of a military genius of the very highest order. Nowhere was Wayne a greater hero than among the people whom he had rescued from insup- portable anarchy in so short a time. Georgia showed her gratitude, as we have said, by giving out of her poverty thirty-nine hundred guineas to purchase an estate for her deliverer. The contrast between this treatment and that of Pennsylvania of her illustrious son is thus characteristically spoken of by Wayne's old friend and comrade Richard Butler: "It gives great satisfaction to the generous souls among your friends here to think that the people of more Southern climes have paid some deference to your merits, and have demonstrated it in a more solid manner than empty poor praise. This is an article of no more worth here than the Continental currency." The British army having evacuated Savannah, Wayne was ordered by General Greene to return with his force to South Carolina to aid in the reduction of Charleston. He left Georgia in August, 1782, bearing with him kind wishes from the grateful hearts of its inhabitants, and an expression of the great esteem in which his military qualities and his kind and considerate treat- ment of the troops under his command were held by all the officers of the auxiliary force which had served with him. He was also much gratified at the conclu- THE GEORGIA CAMPAIGN. 293 sion of his labors by the receipt of a letter from General Greene in which the latter thus expresses his apprecia- tion of the value of his services during the campaign. He had at all times the support and sympathy of his commander. General Greene to General Wayne — Extract. Head Quarters Ashley River July 14, 1782 Dear Sir, — I am very happy to hear that the enemy have left Savannah, and congratulate you most heartily on the event. I have forwarded an account thereof to Congress and the Commander in chief expressive of your singular merit & exertions during your com- mand and doubt not that it will merit their entire approbation as it does mine. There was, indeed, no dissenting voice in any quarter either as to the brilliant results of the campaign or as to the skill and bravery with which it had been con- ducted by Wayne. He had, truth to say, just then much need of sympathy and encouragement. The war was over, and with it was gone, as he felt, all opportunity of gaining further distinction as a sol- dier. Almost immediately after his retirement to South Carolina he was attacked by a form of fever which has always proved dangerous to unacclimated whites on that low coast. During the three autumnal months the ranks of his little army were fearfully thinned by this plague, and he himself was so utterly prostrated by the disease that, although he recovered his health measura- bly, he never afterwards regained his full strength and vigor. As soon as he was able to take the field he ap- plied for active service. In the beginning of December the light infantry of the army and the legionary corps 294 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. formerly commanded by Colonel Harry Lee were added to his force by General Greene. The number of Penn- sylvania troops serving in South Carolina was so re- duced by disease and by casualties of all kinds that those who survived were consolidated into one battalion. All that were left were about six hundred men who had enlisted for the war, and one hundred and fifty eighteen-months men. At this time (December, 1782) Richard Butler, who was in charge of the recruiting depots in Pennsylvania, wrote to General Wayne that in these depots there were more than eighteen hundred enlisted men for the infantry, besides a considerable number of men engaged for the cavalry and the artillery. But they were not sent on, the State authorities de- clining to do so under the fatal delusion which had so often misled them, that their services would not be needed, and therefore that it would be useless to incur any further expense in preparing them for the field. No more men were engaged, and those who had been recruited were not paid. During the winter General Wayne was engaged in negotiating a treaty of peace with the Creeks and Cherokee Indians at Augusta, which completed his work of the pacification of Georgia. In October, 1783, he was appointed by Congress major-general by brevet on the recommendation of the Executive Council of Pennsylvania. It is not a little singular that a man recognized on all hands as one of the most skilful and successful officers of the army, one who had performed for several years most satisfactorily the duties of a major-general, should have gone through the war with the rank of brigadier-general only. It is THE GEORGIA CAMPAIGN. 295 due to the State authorities of Pennsylvania to say that this apparent neglect was caused by no want of effort on their part to force a recognition of his merits upon Congress. Indeed, it can hardly be said that the blame should rest on that body for not according him the rank to which his great services seemed to entitle him. The difficulty arose from the vicious system of promotion which had been adopted by Congress early in the war in order to avoid exciting jealousy on the part of the States which furnished most men for the army. The rule was that the generals should be assigned to each State in proportion to the number of men it sent into the field. Pennsylvania had two major-generals very early in the war, — Mifflin and St. Clair. It is true that her troops garrisoning Fort Pitt, Sunbury, and Fort Stanwix were in number laro-e enough to form an- other brigade, as has been said, and to entitle Wayne, who was the senior brigadier, to promotion ; yet Con- gress persistently ignored the claim of Wayne on such grounds, and at last was forced to make him a major- general by brevet, in consideration of the extraordinary value of his services. Of this half-hearted and hesitating recognition of his services Wayne seems never to have complained. It was not his way. He and his comrades seem to have been much more affected by the unkind and ungen- erous suspicions which were expressed by selfish and unscrupulous politicians concerning the motives and intentions of those who had established the Society of the Cincinnati. Few things are more discreditable in the history of the Revolution than the aspersion of the character of 296 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. those who had brought about the triumphant result, because they saw fit at the close of the war to establish a fraternal association among the survivors to aid each other in time of need, and to keep alive in their children the memory of their heroic deeds. The sorrow and indignation with which two of the most distinguished veterans of that war regarded this attempt to heap odium on them are aptly expressed in the following letters of General William Irvine and General Wayne : General Irvine to General Wayne. Carlisle April 28, 1784 Dear General, — The Society of the Cincinnati is now bandied about in this quarter, and held up as a growing evil of vast impor- tance — in short as the fore-runner of the entire loss of liberty. For this purpose and to favor the Constitution Mr. Burk's performance is sent from Philadelphia to all true friends in the State, and propa- gated as a warning to rouse jealousy & enrage the populace against the members. I was informed yesterday that a scheme is on foot if the election can be carried, to disfranchise every member of the Society as a preparation ; in case they have spirit to resent — to drive every soul out of the State. How true this is I will not venture to say, but sure I am that there is base ingratitude enough interwoven in the constitution of a majority of the multitude to prompt them to greater Villainy than can well be imagined, and it is too melan- choly a fact that there are not a few of their leaders of similar dis- positions, and the bulk of the people have acquired the extreme liberty they now enjoy on too easy terms to feel the real use or bene- fit of peace, and instead of gratitude to those who have not only done the business, but are almost the only sufferers, look upon them as nuisances which must at all events be removed out of the way. General Wayne to General Irvine. Waynesborough, 18 May 1784 Dear General, — The revolution of America is an event that will fill the brightest page of history to the end of time. The conduct THE GEORGIA CAMPAIGN. 297 of her officers and soldiers will be handed down to the latest ages as a model of virtue perseverance & bravery. The smallness of their numbers, and the unparalleled hardships & excess of difficulties that they have encountered in the defense of this country from her coldest to her hottest sun, places them in a point of view hurtful to the eyes of the leaders of faction & party, who possess neither the virtue nor the fortitude to meet the enemy in the field, and seeing the involuntary deference yet paid by the bulk of the people to the gentlemen of the army, — envy, that green-eyed monster, will stimulate them to seize with avidity every opportunity (or rather pretext) to depreciate the merits of those who have filled the breach, and bled at every pore. Nor is Caitiff ingratitude the growth of any particular country or climate. The Republics of Greece & Rome furnish precedents innumerable for them to go upon, and the order of the Cincinnati was a favorable opening for them to enter, which with the sophistical & labored performance of an angry & disap- pointed man has served as a baneful medicine to poison the minds of the people & prejudice them against us. General Wayne was elected president of the Georgia State Society of the Cincinnati July 5, 1790. In June, 1783, the soldiers of the army received six months' furlough, and in December following they were discharged, as a definitive treaty of peace had in the mean time been agreed upon. The soldiers in the Pennsylvania line received for the three months' pay due them notes of the nominal value of twenty shillings, but worth, really, but two shillings to the pound. Some recruits at the depot at Lancaster, indignant at their dishonest treatment, came in a body to Philadelphia as soon as they received their furlough, to demand justice, or what was equivalent to it, their just dues. So far as appears, there never was any attempt on the part of these men to overawe Congress by force. They used no threats of violence, but they insisted, as was right 298 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. and natural, that the contract made with them should be observed. Some members of Congress became alarmed, frightened possibly, and that body agreed to adjourn to Princeton, alleging that their liberty was restrained by a mob in Philadelphia. Had there been any real cause of alarm, the means of quelling any dis- turbance were at hand. President Dickinson (the gov- ernor of the State), it is true, did not call out the militia, because it was apparent that as between Congress and the soldiers the multitude earnestly supported the rightful claims of the latter, and, besides, the people of Philadelphia had seen too much of the members of Congress during the many years it held its sessions in their city to feel any exalted respect for the dignity of that body. Had an overt act been committed by the discharged recruits (or so-called soldiers) there would have been no difficulty in checking them. It so hap- pened that the first two companies of Wayne's veterans had just arrived from South Carolina, and were quar- tered in the city barracks pending their discharge. As soon as the alarm was given, these two companies fell in to a man and marched to the President's house and reported to the general in command. 1 Doubtless had their assistance been required either to protect Con- gress from coercion or to guard the money belonging to the government which was supposed to have been deposited in the bank, they would soon have made short work of the Lancaster recruits. The prospect that the soldiers on their discharge would be left in a pitiable condition of want and suffer- * Denny's Journal, p. 257. THE GEORGIA CAMPAIGN. 299 ing excited the sympathy of all those who had profited by their labors. Wayne seems to have been impressed with the necessity of making (so far as it was in the power of the State to do so) their return to civil life easy and natural. On the 20th of April, 1 783, he writes to President Dickinson of Pennsylvania, — " You are pleased to ask my advice on any thing respecting the troops under my command belonging to your State ... I fondly flatter myself that the wisdom & justice of the Executive and Legislative bodies of Penn'a will remove every bar, & open wide the door of welcome and receive her returning soldiery with open arms and grateful hearts, and I cannot entertain a doubt that they on their part will cheerfully & con- tentedly resume the garb and the habits of the citizen." How these hopes were fulfilled we discover when we find that the soldiers when they were disbanded were offered about one-tenth of what was due them (two shillings or two shillings and sixpence in real value for twenty that was due) in full of all demands. CHAPTER IX. WAYNE IN CIVIL LIFE. In the month of July, 1783, General Wayne, after having seen the last of the Pennsylvania troops em- barked at Charleston for Philadelphia, returned to his native State shattered and enfeebled by the fever from which he had suffered. From this cause he was unable to take part in the final ceremonies which attended General Washington's farewell to the army at New York. He was also too ill to attend the commander- in-chief as he passed through Philadelphia on his way to Mount Vernon. In anticipation of his return, Dr. Rush wrote him in September, 1782, a most kind letter, full of generous appreciation of his services, and telling him with what honors he would be welcomed on his return to his native State by his friends. Dr. Rush to General Wayne. Philad'a 16 Sep 1782 My Dear Sir, — The evacuation of Savannah tho' a voluntary act of the enemy was attended with circumstances that have given you credit among your friends. Penn'a loves you. You are one of her legitimate children. Let nothing tempt you to abandon her. The strangers and the vagabonds who have destroyed her gov't can only be deposed by a union of the native and ancient citizens. There are honors in store for you here — Chester county claims you. Come, my friend, and sit down with the companions of your youth 300 WAYNE IN CIVIL LIFE. 301 under the shade of trees planted with your own hand. 1 Come and let the name of Wayne descend to posterity in your native State. If your descendants act as you have done it cannot fail of being respected while the sun shines & the rivers flow — The exertions of the enemy for some time past have been greatly upon the ocean. This City has lost at a moderate computation ^800,000 by captures since the first of January. The spirit of the ministry, it is true, is changed but the profits of the war are so im- mense in New York to Digby & his officers, that we can expect no mitigation of our losses at sea, until the sound of peace reaches the last British cruiser on our coast. ******** Benj. Rush. General Wayne to Dr. Rush. Charlestown Dec. 24 1782 Dear Sir, — Want of health & not inclination prevented my ac- knowledging your obliging favor of the 16th of Sept'r. On the second of that month I was seized with a violent fever, nor have I from that period to this hour enjoyed one day's health. Frequent emetics & constant application of the Peruvian bark. I have this consolation that neither idleness nor dissipation has so injuriously affected my constitution, but that it has been broken down and nearly exhausted by encountering almost every excess of fatigue diffi- culty and danger in the defence of the rights & liberty of America from the frozen lakes of Canada to the burning sands of Florida. I feel the lively force of friendship with which you so anxiously solicit my return to my native State, which I shall eventually do, not influenced by the fascinating idea of the honors you say await me (for they have lost their power to please) but from a fixed deter- mination to revisit my Sabine field where I yet hope to pass many happy hours in domestic felicity with a few of our friends unfettered by any public employ & consequently unenvied. Until then & ever believe me with true affection & esteem, Yours &c Anth'y Wayne. * There was at this time a rumor that it was General Wayne's intention to take up his residence in Georgia. 302 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. In the Constitution of Pennsylvania adopted in 1776 there was a provision peculiar to that State, creating a body to be called the Council of Censors. It was to meet every seven years, and two censors were to be elected in each county. They had no legislative power, but their duty was to inquire whether the Constitution had since their last meeting been preserved inviolate, whether the taxes levied had been duly collected, and whether the laws of the State generally had been exe- cuted. This body had the power, in case it found that there had been any violation or neglect of the provi- sions of the Constitution or laws by the other branches of the government, to pass censure upon the offending party, and to recommend to the Assembly the repeal of all such laws as might appear to have been enacted contrary to the Constitution, and, two-thirds consenting, a revision of that instrument by a convention. Wayne was elected a member of the Council of Censors in 1783, and consequently held that position immediately after the conclusion of the war. It will be readily understood that to perform the functions de- volved upon it at such a time, which was nothing less than the substitution of legislation proper for a time of peace for that which had prevailed during the war, called for statesmanlike skill and prudence of no ordi- nary kind. General Wayne was evidently an active spirit in the Council of Censors while he held office. He maintained upon many questions which came before it very pronounced ideas. He was chairman of the committee appointed to ascertain how far the provisions of the Constitution had been carried out by legislation, and how far and in what way, if at all, they had been WAYNE IN CIVIL LIFE. 303 violated. The report of this committee is interesting. It treats of measures of conciliation and how far they should be adopted now that peace was restored, and recommends that a course should be taken to make the transition easy from a state of revolution to a normal condition. The committee report that many of the provisions of the Constitution had been violated by the laws passed by the Assembly during the seven preced- ing years, and there their action seems to have ended. The great measure recommended is a revision of the Constitution. The committee say (January, 1784), in regard to this revision of the Constitution, " It is well known how in times of danger the Constitution (of 1776) forsook us, and the will of our rulers became the only law. It is well known likewise, that a great part of the citizens of Pennsylvania from a perfect conviction that political liberty could never long exist under such a frame of government were opposed to the establish- ment of it, and when they did submit to it, a solemn engagement was entered into by its then friends that after seven years should be expired, and the enemy driven from our coasts, they would concur with them in making the wished for amendments. The minority in the Council is said not to represent more than one third of the inhabitants, yet the Constitution can not be amended because two thirds of the members of the Council can not be found to approve it." General Wayne having retired from the Council of Censors was elected a member of Assembly from Chester County in the years 1784 and 1785. While there he displayed his usual activity, and lent the in- fluence of his great name to aid the adoption of meas- 304 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. ures of justice and humanity, exhibiting the same broad and liberal spirit regarding the provisions of the revo- lutionary code as that by which he had distinguished himself in the Council of Censors. His great desire was to make the Revolution in its results an actual blessing, both to those who had been hostile and to those who had been neutral while the war lasted. To accomplish this object it was necessary that the laws passed in 1777 and in 1778 disfranchising forever as suspected Tories and Loyalists nearly one-half of the population of the State in number, and much more than one-half if reckoned by their wealth and taxable property, should be repealed. By these acts it had been provided that no resident of the State should ever be permitted to vote for any officer of the govern- ment, or be chosen himself to any office, unless before the 1st of November, 1779, he had taken the oath — or test, as it was called — prescribed by law, by which he renounced his allegiance to the King of Great Britain, and declared his fidelity to the State of Pennsylvania. Many besides Loyalists, or adherents to the English crown, had refused or neglected to take this test. The Quakers were, of course, opposed to all political tests. Neutrals, non-resistants from a variety of causes, as well as those who from conscientious scruples were opposed to war (although after it was over most of them were well affected to the State), were included among the non-jurors, the taxation of whose property had greatly aided during the war to support the Amer- ican cause. The object, of course, of this harsh legis- lation was to keep the control of the Revolution in the hands of its friends as long as possible. While the war WAYNE IN CIVIL LIFE. 305 lasted, such a precaution might, perhaps, be regarded as necessary ; but peace once declared, such measures became, in the opinion of General Wayne, not only arbitrary but highly impolitic. At no time, it seems to me, in his whole career did Wayne's true greatness of soul and magnanimous spirit appear more conspicu- ously than in his unceasing efforts to rid Pennsylvania of these odious laws. No one could doubt that he had done more than any inhabitant of the State by his mili- tary services from the beginning to the end of the war in support of the cause of the Revolution. No one could doubt that that Revolution was irrevocable ; hence his voice, pleading until it forced people to listen to him for a more generous treatment of those who during the war had clung to the old order and thereby had become disfranchised, became in the end most powerful in over- coming the bitter prejudices of the successful party. As little seems to be now known of the violence of the measures of proscription adopted in Pennsylvania during the Revolution and continued in force many years after the close of the war, a slight sketch of some of the more important of them may not be out of place. By the act of June 13, 1777, it was provided that all the male white inhabitants of the State above the age of eighteen years should, within a short time, limited by the act, take an oath of allegiance to the State, and forswear allegiance to the crown. On the 1st of Octo- ber, 1778, this test was renewed and the following oath prescribed : " I, A. B., do solemnly and sincerely declare and swear or affirm that the State of Pennsylvania is and of right ought to be a free sov- ereign and independent State, and I do forever renounce and refuse 21 3 o6 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. all allegiance subjection and obedience to the King or Crown of Great Britain. And I do further swear that I never have since the Decla- ration of Independence, directly or indirectly, aided, assisted, abetted or in any wise countenanced the King of Great Britain, his generals, fleets or armies or their adherents in their claims upon these United States, and that I have, ever since the Declaration of the Inde- pendence thereof, demeaned myself as a faithful citizen and subject of this or some one of the United States, and that I will at all times maintain and support the freedom and sovereignty and independence thereof." By the act of 1779 all persons who had not taken the test required by the act of 1777 were directed to take the oath of allegiance prescribed in the act of 1778 within a limited time. Those who refused or neglected to do so were rendered incapable of electing or being elected or holding any office or place within the govern- ment, serving on juries, or keeping schools, except in private houses ; and after the time specified for taking such test, if they had not taken it they were forever excluded from taking the said oath or affirmation, and were deprived of the privileges of the citizens who com- plied with the provisions of said act. Such were the test acts in force during the war. They and the accompanying confiscation acts were enforced with merciless severity. In March, 1784, a petition was presented to the Assembly asking that these "tests" should be abolished. It was laid upon the table, and a resolution providing that a committee should be ap- pointed to revise the laws imposing these tests was rejected, five members only voting in its favor. In September of the same year petitions were presented stating that a large number of young men had attained the age of eighteen years since the test was established, WAYNE IN CIVIL LIFE. 307 and asking that the law might be relaxed in their favor. This was also rejected. Then, again, a proposition was made in December of that year by General Wayne and his friends in the form of the following resolution : " Whereas, The Assembly is about to impose a tax for paying the interest on the State debt, and whereas it appears that a great portion of the inhabitants are disfranchised by Acts of Assembly founded on causes which no longer exist, therefore, in order to render this tax perfectly agreeable to the 8th & 17th Sections of the Consti- tution as well as to favor the more general circulation & credit of the paper money to be emitted, " Resolved, That a Committee be appointed to bring in a Bill re- vising the Test Laws and admitting all persons as Citizens who have not been active or criminal in opposition to the liberties of the State." This was also rejected. It was then proposed that all those who had not taken the oath required by the act of 1777 might enjoy the privileges of a citizen if they would now take the test required by the act of 1778. This proposition was adopted, twenty-nine yeas to twenty-two nays. This result caused great popular excitement, the fear being that at last the claims of the non-jurors were to be recognized. On the 28th of September the Assembly was evenly divided upon a proposition to revise the Test Laws, showing how much time had done to soften the asperities of party. The Speaker voting in the affirmative, some of the members opposed to the re- vision, nineteen in number, arose, and left the Assembly in great confusion, without a quorum. Addresses were published by both sides, and the excitement was kept up to fever heat. The contest was renewed in the Assembly at the next session, when General Wayne, upon a consideration of 3 o8 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. petitions from the non-jurors for the repeal of these laws, insisted upon their repeal, using the well-worn arguments in favor of his views, and especially that the necessity of continuing such laws on the statute-book was done away with by the peace, and that nearly one- half of the inhabitants of the State were deprived by them of the privileges of citizens. These resolutions of Wayne were voted down in December, i 784, by a vote of fourteen yeas to thirty- nine nays, and the report of a committee affirming that " it would be impolitic and dangerous to admit persons who had been inimical to the sovereignty and inde- pendence of the State to have a common participation in the government so soon after the war," was adopted by a vote of forty-two to fifteen. The struggle continued with little intermission until 1789, when the contest be- tween the non-jurors and what may be called the Revo- lutionary party in the State (although many of the most active Whigs had long favored the abolition of tests) reached a conclusion in March of that year. A motion was adopted at that time in the Assembly to " repeal all laws requiring any oath or affirmation of allegiance from the inhabitants of the State." Thus this strange quarrel ended. It had at least one good effect. It cured for- ever the people of Pennsylvania of intolerance of this kind. Wayne had fought many times in the Revolution against desperate odds with a more rapid success than in this battle against the obstinate but honest prejudices of his misguided friends and fellow-countrymen. Wayne was a member of the Convention called in Pennsylvania in 1787 to decide upon the ratification of the Constitution of the United States. He was, as may WAYNE IN CIVIL LIFE. 309 be supposed, one of the most active and ardent cham- pions of its adoption, as he well may have been, for no one had suffered more in his own person from many of the evils which this Constitution proposed to remedy. During these conflicts in the Assembly General Wayne was endeavoring to cultivate to the best ad- vantage his paternal estate in Pennsylvania and his rice-plantation in Georgia. When he entered upon the military service his farm and tannery in Chester County were necessarily placed in the hands of agents, and Wayne estimated, as we have seen, his loss from a want of personal supervision of his estate during the war at seven thousand pounds. His estate in Georgia, which had been presented to him by the State, was a rice-plantation of nearly eight hundred and thirty acres, capable of producing large crops if its owner could have procured a sufficient number of laborers to cultivate it. These laborers, according to the practice of that day in Georgia, must have been necessarily slaves, and Wayne had not the means needed to purchase them. He had not the money himself, nor could he at that time secure either in Georgia or in Philadelphia the very considerable sum required for the purpose. Some one in Philadelphia (probably his friend Robert Morris) suggested that he should negotiate a loan for that purpose in Holland. In a letter dated October 22, 1784, to Mr. Van Berkle, the Minister Resident of Holland in this country, he sets forth the object of the loan and the nature of the security which he offered for its repayment. The letter is interesting as showing the value of the estate which had been given him by Georgia. 310 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. Philadelphia 22nd Oct'r 1784 Sir, — When I had the honor of presenting the Opinion of Mess'rs Wilcocks & Lewis (two of our most eminent Counselors learned in the law) respecting the title of Waynesborough together with the Draught & Valuation thereof before Chief Justice McKean I in- formed your Excellency that I wished to give that Estate as Security for the money that might be lent upon it in Holland & to make re- mittance from time to time for the Interest &'cs in rice from my Plantation situate upon the river Savannah in the State of Georgia which Estate was granted and confirmed to me in fee simple by the General Assembly of that State in consideration of the Services ren- dered them when Commanding Officer in that Department in 1782. This Estate used to net Sr James Wright from 800 to 1000 Barrels of rice, or from between 2400 & 3000 Guineas pr Annum — it is therefore an Object of considerable consequence to me to set to work again the soonest possible, for which purpose I shall proceed for that Quarter in the course of a few weeks, in order to prepare it for a Crop in the Spring, but shall want the aid of about Eour thou sand guineas to stock it with Negroes. I will punctually pay the Interest by annually remiting rice to Amsterdam, together with the principal in the course of two or three years if wanted. I should have offered that Estate as Security on Mortgage in preference to Waynesborough but was unacquainted with the laws of Georgia as to Aliens. The Security by the Laws of Pennsyl- vania is as Valid & Certain as to a Citizen. May I therefore take the Liberty of requesting your Excellency to do me the particular favor of writing to the Gentlemen in Amster- dam (a Copy of whose letter upon money matters you have already perused) & should I be fortunate enough to succeed in the Loan you will add to the many Obligations already conferred upon Your Most Obt & very Hum Ser't His Excell'y Ant'y Wayne P. I. Van Berkle Minister of the United Netherlands to The United States of America — WAYNE IN CIVIL LIFE. 311 A year later he received a letter from Mr. Morris, telling him that the prospect of negotiating a loan of four thousand guineas in Holland was not as favorable as had been anticipated, but he still thought that Gen- eral Wayne might obtain the money in that country in the course of the summer. What a strange commen- tary all this is on the poverty of our people at that time, and of the low state of our credit abroad ! Neither here nor in Europe, it seems, could four thousand guineas be borrowed on such security as Wayne had to offer, including a mortgage upon his Chester County farm. The general was, unfortunately, too sanguine of the success of his negotiations with the Holland bankers, and, supposing the loan concluded, drew bills for the amount on his correspondents. These bills were not paid, and were returned protested. The money raised upon them in this country had been probably used for the purchase of negroes, as Wayne writes to his wife from Georgia in August, 1786, in terms which lead one to suppose that his plantation was in successful opera- tion. It became, of course, necessary that he should pay these bills, which seem to have come into the hands of the agent of a Scotch house in Savannah, by whom immediate payment was demanded. Wayne had no money, nor could he at that time raise any, although his estate was abundantly sufficient to pay his debts. He took the only course which any honest man would have taken under the circumstances. He proposed to his creditors either that time should be eiven to him to meet their claims or that his Georgia planta- tion should be taken in satisfaction of the debt due 312 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. them. No answer was ever vouchsafed to this propo- sition except a suit at law, the object of which was to make his estate in Pennsylvania, as well as that in Georgia, liable for the payment. Wayne was humili- ated and indignant beyond expression at this kind of treatment, and stormed in his letters about the Shy- locks who were determined to have the pound of flesh, in a way which goes to prove, what indeed is plain from all history, that a successful general may be, and often is, a very bad financier. It is not worth while to go further into the details of the unfortunate controversy which grew out of this generous gift of the State of Georgia. It doubtless did more to embitter the closing years of Wayne's life than anything which had ever happened to him. It forced him to do what must have been most galling to the pride of such a nature as his, to urge one of his friends, a member of Congress from South Carolina, to ask the President to appoint him to the command of the forces which he felt quite sure must be raised to repel the incursions of the Creek Indians. The result in the end was that Wayne, having paid his debt, held his Pennsylvania estate and sacrificed that in Georgia. Thus ended his effort to make the gift of the people of that State produce, as it was intended it should do, an income. The following letter to his wife, written some years afterwards, shows how deeply he felt the humili- ation of being in debt. He felt it all the more bitterly as the debt had been incurred in order to make that gift a real and available one. It is strange that so much of Gen- eral Wayne's sufferings, bodily and mental, should have been due to the well-meant act of the people of Georgia. WAYNE IN CIVIL LIFE. 313 Richmond, Georgia — 5 July 1790 I had intended writing you a long letter, but my head will not permit me, at present, to write with any degree of coherency. Per- secution has almost drove me mad and brings to my recollection a few lines from "The Old Soldier," " Once gay in life & free from anxious care, " I through the furrows drove the shining share, " I saw my waving fields with plenty crowned, " And yellow Ceres joyous smile around, " Till roused by freedom at my country's call " I left my peaceful home & gave up all. " Now, forced alas ! in distant climes to tread, " This crazy body longs to join the dead. " Ungrateful country ! when the danger's o'er, " Your bravest sons cold charity implore. " Ah ! heave for me a sympathetic sigh " And wipe the falling tear from sorrow's eye." Adieu — a long adieu Yours most affectionately A. W. In the midst of his financial difficulties General Wayne seems to have retained the affections of the people of Georgia. He had been obliged, owing to the necessity of his looking after his estate there, and also in Pennsylvania, to change his residence so fre- quently that it became somewhat difficult to determine of which of the two States he was, in his legal relations, a citizen. A large portion of the people of Georgia determined that he had all the legal requisites to serve them as a member of Congress. He was accordingly returned as having been elected on the 3d of January, 1 79 1, a member of the House of Representatives from that State. His election was contested by his opponent, 3 i4 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. Mr. James Jackson, and the House having - taken the testimony of many witnesses in Georgia was satisfied that he had been unduly and illegally returned as a member. The election seems to have been conducted without any legal formalities, private persons having acted as magistrates, and one of the State judges having been convicted in Georgia of having certified as true a false return. The whole business was so irregularly conducted that the House of Representatives instead of giving the seat to the contestant declared all the election proceedings void and ordered that a new one should take place. It was not pretended by any one that Wayne had been in any way privy to the fraudu- lent acts of those who acted as election officers. As he says in a letter written shortly after the decision of the House, " Both Federalists and Anti-Federalists pro- nounced in the Halls of Congress that after the fullest investigation my character stood pure and unsullied as a soldier's ought to be." So free was he from any suspicion of this kind, that a few days after the ques- tion had been decided he was appointed by President Washington general-in-chief of the army. CHAPTER X. THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE NORTHWESTERN INDIANS. In April, 1792, General Wayne was appointed by President Washington commander-in-chief of the army of the United States. There are several circumstances connected with this appointment which are noteworthy. In the first place, it shows that the President shared the general conviction that General Wayne was not involved in the scandals which grew out of this contested elec- tion in Georgia, and that his personal character was wholly unaffected by the decision of the House of Rep- resentatives. Then, again, the position to which he was called was one which at that time required military and diplomatic skill of the highest order to fulfil the duties it imposed upon the commander. Upon his con- duct, indeed, would depend, in a great measure, whether the United States should become involved in intermi- nable war with the Indians of the Northwest, as well as with the English, whose refusal to comply with certain articles of the treaty of 1783, and notably with that which provided for the evacuation of the forts in the territory northwest of the Ohio, had led a large party in the country to clamor for war, and nearly every one to feel that hostilities were inevitable. These last cam- paigns of Wayne were perhaps the most arduous of any in which he was ever engaged, and certainly the importance of the interests at stake in them, which in 3»5 316 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. one word may be described as the peaceful and perma- nent occupation of our national territory between the Ohio and the Mississippi by emigrants from other sec- tions of the country, can hardly be exaggerated. It will be remembered that the country north and west of the Ohio having been ceded by Virginia and Connecticut to the United States, a territorial govern- ment had been organized there in 1 78?. Every effort had been made to induce people, and especially those who had belonged to the disbanded army of the United States, to occupy that region. The result was that a large body of emigrants from all parts of the country, as well as old soldiers and their families, soon strove to make their new homes in this region, where they were constantly exposed to the cruel incursions of the Indian savages. To such an extent did these emigrants suffer that it was calculated that between 1783 and 1790 more than fifteen hundred of them, including women and children, were slain. Of course the duty and policy of the government were plain, and that was to provide protection and safety for those whom they had invited to occupy their lands. It is well to understand that these atrocities were not caused for the most part by any provocations on the part of the whites. The true source of the trouble among the Indians was much older and deeper than any quarrel between them and the whites occurring in the territory itself. It was nothing less than a deter- mination on the,- part of the savages that the whites should never occupy the lands west of the Ohio, and that that river should form the permanent boundary between them. These Indians of the Northwest were CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE INDIANS. 317 /the Shawnees and the Delawares (generally called the Miamis), who had been driven from Pennsylvania and had taken refuge in Ohio after the capture of Fort Du- quesne by Bouquet in 1763. As the allies of the Eng- lish during the Revolution they had proved, under a series of capable chiefs, among the most persistent and bitterest enemies of the American cause. When it was determined to subdue them by a military force, they and their numerous allies, the Wyandots, the Miamis, the Chippewas, and the Pottawatomies, were concen- trated in a powerful confederacy in the northwest por- tion of Ohio, near the rivers Miami, the Maumee, then called Miami of the Lake, and Lake Erie. Here they had ready access to their allies, the Indians further west, to the Canadians, and to the English garrisons at Detroit and at certain smaller posts in Northern Ohio. That they were aided and encouraged by organized forces of Canadians and English not only in their forays against the settlers, but also in their hostilities against the American government, in the heart of whose lands the English had established their garrisons, no one doubted. Hence the danger that in striking the Indians we might be drawn into a war with England. The government had undertaken several times with- out success to reduce these tribes to submission, first by means of treaties and afterwards by force. From the time the territory was organized until the tribes were rendered powerless by military conquest there was one stumbling-block in the way, which no effort by negotiation, and no policy of conciliation, and no successful skirmishing, could remove, and that was, as we have said, their determination that the Ohio River 318 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. should form the boundary between them and the whites. Every emigrant in their view was an enemy and an invader of Indian soil, and as such might be rightfully driven off, or murdered in case of resistance. The government at last most reluctantly determined to send into the northern portion of Ohio an armed force for the protection of the settlers. In 1 790 General Harmar, who had been one of the most distinguished officers in the Pennsylvania line during the Revolution, was sent by St. Clair, the governor of the Northwest Territory, with a force of fourteen hundred men to put an end, if possible, to the Indian atrocities from which the settlers were suffering. The army was a motley collection of men without training, ill armed, and totally unwilling to submit to the restraints of discipline. The men were very badly led by officers who, brave indeed, little under- stood how to cope successfully with the wily foe they were about to encounter. They destroyed on their march a number of Indian villages, but the savages themselves were untouched. At last they met them in force near the site of the present Fort Wayne in Indiana. Here the Indians surprised them, broke into their camp, and, after driving them from it with con- siderable loss, forced the army to retreat to Fort Wash- ington (Cincinnati), disgraced in its own eyes and with- out inflicting upon the Indians that punishment which would henceforth keep them quiet. The result was, in fact, only to irritate to a greater degree the savages and to increase their thirst for revenge. At that time, it was said, there were only two hundred and eighty men on the lands of the Ohio Company capable of bear- ing arms, so that they were in no condition to defend CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE INDIANS. 3 r9 themselves without aid. The massacres after Harmar's expedition were renewed, and the panic among the Western settlers became more alarming than ever. To complete the work undertaken by Harmar was the reason for fitting out the expedition of St. Clair against the Northwestern Indians in i 791. His purpose originally was to establish a chain of forts from Cincin- nati to the Maumee (Miami of the Lake). He had with him about two thousand three hundred regular troops, and pushed on northward, placing his forts at convenient distances. Meantime his force was much diminished by illness and desertion. On the 3d of November he reached a point in the Indian country near the junction of the St. Joseph and St. Mary, after- wards called Fort Recovery, where they were attacked in great force by the savages. The regular soldiers were for a long time steady, and met the Indians in the formation prescribed for fighting troops trained in the same military tactics as themselves. But these tactics did not answer with the Indians. Officer after officer was shot down, and to complete their discomfiture the militia, into whose camp in the rear of the regulars the Indians had penetrated, were driven into the rear of the line, a movement which was not only fatal to the success of those who were bravely holding their own against the enemy in front, but one which threw the whole army into disorder. There was no alternative left but flight, for the Indians had determined to sur- round the army and to destroy every man in it. They were bravely resisted for hours, but the result was in the end that more than six hundred of St. Clair's soldiers were killed or disabled. Many officers were 320 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. killed, among them five of high rank. Some of these were among the most distinguished of the Pennsylvania line under Wayne's command during the Revolution- ary campaigns. On that field fell General Richard Butler, one of the most brilliant and heroic officers of the army of the Revolution, the friend and com- rade of Wayne, as we have seen, in many of the des- perate battles of that war. The following account of the death of General Richard Butler is given in a letter from Colonel E. G. W. Butler (his nephew) to the late General Robert Patterson, of this city : "Having been shot through the arm & then through the body, my father [Edward Butler], then a captain in St. Clair's army, removed him [General Butler] from the field, and placed him against a tree. He then returned to the battle field and found his other brother, Major Thomas Butler, shot through both legs. He took him from the field and placed him by the side of the General. After the loss of two-thirds of our Army it gave way, and the Indians commenced a hot pursuit. Finding my father incapable of saving both his brothers, my noble uncle, the General, said : ' Edward, I am mortally wounded. Leave me to my fate and save my brother.' And so they left him alone in his glory ! " Soon after Major Gaither of his command seeing the General alone called to some men to assist in taking him from the field, when he remarked, • No, Gaither, you will only compromise your own safety by the attempt. Take this sword & keep it for my sake, and God bless you !' " The defeat of Harmar and St. Clair, more especially that of the latter, caused the utmost consternation and dismay throughout the country. These defeats were at once made use of by the opponents of the national administration as pretexts to accomplish party ends, CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE INDIANS. 321 and large numbers of the people were at once arrayed against the prosecution of any Indian war whatever. The cost of maintaining the army, the spectacle of its leader, St. Clair, so ill "as to be unable to stand," the utter want of discipline among the soldiery, the wretched arms with which they were supplied, and the still more wretched food which the contractor provided for them, were all spoken of as so many proofs of ignorance or gross mismanagement, and the changes were so skil- fully rung on charges such as these, that an Indian war, even to maintain our unquestioned territorial rights, became the most unpopular of measures. Fortunately, there was strength enough in the administration and Congress to withstand party assaults such as these. The government determined to use an adequate force to maintain our rights and protect the settlers. The first thing to be done was to reorganize the army and appoint Wayne to the command. By the new or- ganization the army was to consist of one major-general, four brigadier-generals and their respective staffs, the necessary number of commissioned officers, and five thousand one hundred and twenty non-commissioned officers and privates, the whole to be denominated the Legion of the United States. The Legion was to be di- vided into four sub-legions, each to consist of the com- missioned officers named and one thousand two hundred and eighty non-commissioned officers and privates. The previous army having been nearly annihilated, a new one was to be recruited. Wayne was, as we have said, ap- pointed to the command of this force (which was not yet raised), and he was told by the Secretary of War at parting, in May, 1792, by way, it is presumed, of encour- 322 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. aging him to do his duty, " that another defeat would be inexpressibly ruinous to the reputation of the gov- ernment." The only stipulation made by Wayne on assuming command of the expedition was that the campaign should not begin until his Legion was filled up and properly disciplined. General Wayne must have been a very sanguine man if he could have looked forward with any confidence to the success of the un- dertaking in which he was now embarked. We shall see, however, from the preparations he made for the campaign, that he trusted nothing to good fortune, and that in all his movements against the Indians nothing was more conspicuous by its absence than the "mad- ness" which is popularly attributed to him. He went to Pittsburgh in June, 1792, and there en- deavored to recruit and organize his army, — his " Le- gion," as it was called. Many of the experienced officers upon whose intelligent aid he had depended during the Revolutionary War had been slain in the disastrous cam- paigns of Harmar and St. Clair, and others had retired from the military service. He was forced with a most inadequate staff so to drill and discipline his troops that they would be able successfully to fight with the Indians. Even among the boldest and most adventurous spirits in the army there was neither hope of glory nor pros- pect of reward in an Indian war. The sad fate of St. Clair's men, the horrible mutilations and cruelties prac- tised by the Indians upon their prisoners, and their savage mode of warfare generally, were not calculated to rouse much enthusiasm among the officers. In the private soldiers, and especially in the recruits, the prospect of an Indian campaign excited a feeling of CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE INDIANS. 323 horror which rendered them liable at any moment to a panic. Desertions became so common that in a short time those who forsook their duty became almost as numer- ous as those who remained true to their colors. Fifty- seven recruits left a small detachment on the road from Carlisle to Pittsburgh, and such was the panicky feeling among those who remained that Wayne, in August, 1792, writes from the latter place, "Two nights since, upon a report that a large body of Indians were close in our front, I ordered the troops to form for action, and rode along the line to inspire them with confidence, and gave a charge to those in the redoubts, which I had recently thrown up in our front and right flank, to maintain their post at any expense of blood until I could gain the enemy's rear with the dragoons ; but such is the defect of the human heart, that from excess of cowardice one third of the sentries deserted from their stations so as to leave the most accessible places unguarded." It is evident that soldiers such as these required a long training and familiarity with military discipline be- fore they could be led against the Indians with any hope of success. Instruction in tactics and training in their military duties were persistently carried on by the commanding general and such of his officers as had any knowledge or experience. The natural result was that as the camp grew in numbers the confidence of the troops and their efficiency increased in the same proportion. During the summer and autumn efforts were made by Wayne to ascertain whether the Indians were still 3 2 4 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. disposed to be defiant. Their continued depredations on the frontier and the boastful attitude which they maintained were the answers they gave to all attempts at negotiation. It soon became clear to Wayne that the only way to secure Ohio for the settlement of white men was to march into the country occupied by the Indians and subdue them. Towards the close of the summer, therefore, he moved his camp to a position on the Ohio about twenty-seven miles below Pittsburgh, so as to be nearer the seat of hostilities. To this camp he gave the name of "Legionville." There he re- mained during the winter, recruiting his army, instruct- ing it regularly in its military duties, and in the mean time (not discouraged by his hopeless efforts made hitherto) striving in vain to conciliate the Indians. During this winter the discipline of his little army was greatly improved. At the close of March he writes, " The progress that the troops have made both in manoeuvring and as marksmen astonished the savages on St. Patrick's day; and I am happy to inform you that the sons of that Saint were perfectly sober and orderly, being out of the reach of whiskey, which baneful poison is prohibited from entering this camp except as the component part of a ration, or a little for fatigue duty or on some extraordinary occasion." His force now consisted of about two thousand five hundred men, and he was inspired with high hopes of success in the event of a conflict with the red men. A character- istic act of his at this time proves his confidence and spirit. He asked the Secretary of War to send him certain flags and standards for the Legion, and on re- ceiving them he wrote what, coming from a man of his CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE INDIANS. 325 keen sense of military honor, had a peculiar significance : "They shall not be lost." In May, 1793, he moved his camp to Fort Washington, the present site of Cincin- nati. Although in the preceding January he had been told by General Knox, the Secretary of War, "The sentiments of the citizens of the United States are adverse in the extreme to an Indian war," and although a commission of men of the highest position in the country had been named to treat with the Indians in the hope of securing peace, still General Wayne re- laxed in no way his efforts to maintain a highly disci- plined and efficient army. Most probably he felt, after his experience with the savages, that the Indians would yield to no terms which we could offer them. He was told again by the Secretary of War, " It is still more necessary than heretofore that no offensive operations should be undertaken against the Indians." Still he persevered, and it was well for the country, as will soon appear, that he listened not to the voice of the charmer when she promised peace. He sent to Kentucky for mounted volunteers to aid his own troops, who became more disciplined and efficient every day, and calmly awaited the result of the negotiations. It is worth while to stop and consider for a moment the special qualities of a military leader which he now displayed. His correspondence at this time was most extensive, and on this point especially it is most instruc- tive. " His letters," as one of his biographers says, " when exposed to the most critical inspection, display extraordinary clearness of mind and felicity of expres- sion, strength and soundness of judgment, admirable knowledge of the duties of his profession, of human 326 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. nature, of the people of the frontiers whom he was to defend, and of the foes whom he was commissioned to subdue." The negotiations with the Indians turned out, as Wayne had expected, to be fruitless, they insisting that the Ohio River should be the boundary. The govern- ment, forced sorely against its will to make another effort to subdue them by force, was to the last de- gree timid in its measures, and it sent Wayne instruc- tions as to his movements which clearly showed how greatly it feared the result. General Knox writes to Wayne in September, 1 793, " Every offer has been made to obtain peace by milder terms than the sword ; the efforts have failed under circumstances which leave nothing for us to expect but war. Let it therefore be again, and for the last time, impressed deeply upon your mind, that as little as possible is to be hazarded, that your force is fully adequate to the object you purpose to effect, and that a defeat at the present time, and under the present circumstances, would be pernicious in the highest degree to the interests of our country." General Wayne's answer to these faint-hearted sug- gestions was very characteristic. As soon as he heard of the rupture of the negotiations he made ready to advance, and on the 5th of October he wrote the follow- ing answer to the letter of the Secretary of War from " Hobson's Choice," his camp near Cincinnati : " I will advance to-morrow with the force I have in order to take up a position in front of Fort Jefferson, so as to keep the enemy in check by exciting a jealousy and apprehension for the safety of their women and children, until some favorable circumstance or opportunity may CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE INDIANS. 327 present to strike with effect. I pray you not to permit present appearances to cause too much anxiety either in the mind of the President or yourself on account of this army. Knowing the critical situation of our infant nation, and feeling for the honor and reputation of the government (which I will support with my latest breath), you may rest assured that I will not commit the Legion unnecessarily. Unless more powerfully supported than I have reason to expect, I will content myself with taking a strong position in advance of Fort Jefferson, and by exerting every power endeavor to protect the frontier and secure the posts and the army during the winter, or until I am favored with your further orders." Such was the magnanimous spirit with which Wayne entered upon the campaign, and it is to be hoped that the expression of his confidence had an inspiring effect upon those officials who had been so utterly cast down by the defeats of Harmar and St. Clair. Wayne's acts were in strict accordance with his promises. On the 7th of October the army began its march, and on the 13th it was encamped at a place which he named, in honor of his old friend and commander, General Greene, Greeneville. This post, which was six miles in advance of Fort Jefferson and eighty miles north of Cincinnati, on a branch of the Miami, he selected for his winter quarters, and strongly fortified. There in the wilder- ness he passed the winter, cut off for many months from any communication with the government at Phila- delphia, and, of course, without orders. He was sur- rounded by hostile Indians. Convoys of provisions for the camp were frequently intercepted and their escort murdered by the savages. To render his troops familiar 328 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. with danger, a large detachment was sent forward to the battle-field where St. Clair was defeated in 1 791, with the double purpose of performing the pious duty of interring the bones of their comrades who had perished there, and of building a fort on that site impregnable to the Indians. This fort he named Fort Recovery. The erection of this fort seemed to bring the Indians for a time to some measure of reason, and they began to hint their willingness to negotiate for peace. Wayne placed no faith in their professions, but still felt it his duty to listen to what they had to say, asking only that they should deliver to him the captives they had made, as a proof of their sincerity. This demand, which was un- answered, closed the negotiation, and nothing more was heard about proposals for peace. Meantime the difficulties in coming to any satisfactory agreement with the Indians were increased and compli- cated by the support which they were evidently receiving in their hostile attitude from the English government. To the impressment of our seamen, and the confisca- tion of the cargoes sent by us to the French West India Islands, was added the support it gave the Indians in their depredations in Ohio. The English still main- tained strong garrisons within our territory, while the savages were openly encouraged by the authorities in Canada. Everything seemed to forebode war at no distant day, not only with the savage tribes, but with the English as well, they holding the position of openly- declared allies on the frontiers. Wayne, while he acted in his movements with extreme caution, made himself ready for any emergency which might arise. The pru- dence of the course he pursued received the unqualified CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE INDIANS. 329 approbation of his government. He was told that his taking post on the battle-field of November, 1791 (St. Clair's), and the manner in which he had treated the overtures of the hostile Indians, were " highly satisfactory and exceedingly proper." x The Secretary goes on in his despatch to say, "It is with great pleasure that I transmit to you the approbation of the President of your conduct generally since you have had the com- mand, and more particularly for the judicious military formation and discipline of your troops ; the precautions you appear to have taken in your advance, in your for- tified camp, and in your arrangements for a full and abundant supply of provisions on hand." This com- mendation is particularly valuable, as it was bestowed upon conduct directly the reverse of that pursued by his two unfortunate predecessors in similar expeditions, Harmar and St. Clair. In order that Wayne might not hesitate in the course he should pursue in an emergency which might arise when it would be impossible to consult the government officers at Philadelphia, he was told by Secretary Knox, " If in the course of your operations against the Indian enemy it should become necessary to dislodge the party (the English garrison at the rapids of the Miami), you are hereby authorized in the name of the President of the United States to do it." Not only, therefore, was the sole conduct of the Indian war confided, with abso- lute powers, to the discretion of Wayne (" Mad An- thony," according to the legend), but he was given authority to take a step which must certainly have in- 1 Moore, 186. 330 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. volved the nation in a war with Great Britain. How he used this discretionary power we shall soon see. On the 30th of June a small body of riflemen and dragoons was attacked near Fort Recovery, and this attack was followed by a general assault upon the fort. The enemy were driven back, but renewed the assault with greater spirit, and were finally repulsed. The In- dians were, no doubt, aided by the English. The Amer- icans lost some valuable officers ; but the lesson taught the Indians by their repulse on the same spot where they had defeated St. Clair was a very important one, for they found that they had a very different man now to deal with. A few days afterwards Wayne was joined by a con- siderable force of Kentucky volunteers under the com- mand of his old friend and comrade of Monmouth, Major- General Scott. Thus reinforced, he advanced about seventy miles northward from Greeneville into the heart of the Indian country. Having disconcerted the savages by this unexpected move, he boldly confronted the Eng- lish garrison established at the rapids of the Miami, and determined to meet the allies where he could strike them with one blow and thus settle the question of the supremacy of either or both of them on the frontier. He built a fort at the junction of the Le Glaize and the Miami, to which he gave a name appropriately de- scribing his intentions and his self-confidence, — that of Fort Defiance. He then sent to the Indians a last overture for peace, and, that being spurned, prepared to fight one of the most memorable Indian battles in our history, if regard be had to the greatness of the stake which he put at issue and to the vast results which followed his success. CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE INDIANS. 331 The following account of the signal defeat of the Indians and their allies is given in his despatch to the government announcing the victory : General Wayne to the Secretary of War. Head Quarters, Grand Glaize 28 August 1794 Sir, — It is with infinite pleasure that I now announce to you the brilliant success of the Federal Army under my command in a gen- eral action with the combined force of the hostile Indians and a considerable number of the volunteers & militia of Detroit (Cana- dians) on the 20th inst on the banks of the Miamis in the Vicinity of the British post and garrison at the foot of the rapids. The Army advanced from this place on the 15th inst and arrived at Roche de-Bout on the 18th. On the 19th we were em- ployed in making a temporary post for the reception of our stores and baggage, and in reconnoitering the position of the enemy, who were encamped behind a thick and bushy wood and the British fort. At 8 o'clock on the morning of the 20th the army again ad- vanced in columns agreeably to the standing order of march : the legion on the right flank covered by the Miamis, one brigade of mounted volunteers on the left under Brigadier General Todd, and the other in the rear under Brigadier General Barber: a select bat- talion of Mounted Volunteers moved in front of the Legion com- manded by Major Price who was directed to keep sufficiently ad- vanced, — so as to give timely notice to form in case of action — it being yet undetermined whether the Indians would decide for peace or for war. After advancing about five miles Major Price's Corps received so severe a fire from the enemy, who were secreted in the woods and in the high grass, as to compel him to retreat. The Legion was immediately formed in two lines principally in a close thick wood which extended for miles on our left and for a very considerable distance in front, the ground being covered with old fallen timber probably occasioned by a tornado which rendered it impracticable for cavalry to act with effect, and afforded the enemy the most favorable covert for their savage mode of warfare. They were formed in three lines within supporting distance of each other and extending nearly two miles at right angles with the river. 332 MAJOR GENERAL WAYNE. I soon discovered from the weight of the fire and the extent of their line that the enemy were in full force in front in possession of their favorite ground, and endeavoring to turn our left flank. I therefore gave orders for the second line to advance to support the first, and directed Major General Scott to gain & turn the right flank of the savages with the whole of the Mounted Volunteers by a circuitous route. At the same time I ordered the front line to ad- vance with trailed arms, and rouse the Indians from their coverts at the point of the bayonet and when up to deliver a close & well directed fire on their backs followed by a brisk charge so as not to give time to load again. I also ordered Captain Miss (sic) Campbell ' who commanded the legionary cavalry, to turn the left flank of the enemy next the river, and which afforded a favorable field for that corps to act in. All these orders were obeyed with spirit and promptitude, but such was the impetuosity of the charge by the first line of infantry that the Indians and Canadian militia and volunteers were driven from all their coverts in so short a time that although every exertion was used by the officers of the second line of the legion, and by Generals Scott, Todd, & Barber of the Mounted Volunteers to gain their proper positions yet but a part of each could get up in season to participate in the action the enemy being driven in the course of an hour more than two miles through the thick woods already men- tioned by less than one half of their numbers. From every account the enemy amounted to 2000 combatants, and the troops actually engaged against them were short of 900. This horde of savages with their allies abandoned themselves to flight, and dispersed with terror and dismay leaving our victorious army in full & quiet possession of the field of battle which termi- nated under the influence of the guns of the British garrison, as you will perceive by the enclosed correspondence between Major Camp- bell, the commandant, & myself upon the occasion. The bravery & conduct of every officer belonging to the army from the Generals down to the Ensigns merit my highest approba- tion. There were however some whose rank & situation placed * The name of this officer is written in the official muster-roll of the Legion "Robert Miss Campbell." CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE INDIANS. 333 their conduct in a very conspicuous point of view, and which I observed with pleasure and the most lively gratitude: among whom I must beg leave to mention Brigadier Gen. Wilkinson and Col. Hamtramck, the commandants of the right & left wings of the Legion, whose brave example inspired the troops. To these I must add the names of my faithful and gallant aids-de-camp, Captains De Butts and T. Lewis, and Lieutenant Harrison, who with Adju- tant General Major Mills rendered me most essential service by communicating my orders in every direction and by their conduct & bravery exciting the troops to press for victory. Lieutenant Cov- ington upon whom the command of the cavalry devolved cut down two savages with his own hand, and Lieutenant Webb one in turning the enemy's left flank. The wounds received by Captains Slough and Prior, and Lieu- tenants Campbell & Smith of the legionary infantry, by Captain Van Renselaer of the dragoons, and Captain Rawlins, Lieutenant McKenney and Ensign Duncan of the Mounted Volunteers bear honorable testimony of their bravery & conduct. Captains H. Lewis and Brock with their companies of light in- fantry had to sustain an unequal fire for some time which they sup- ported with fortitude. In fact every officer & soldier who had an opportunity to come into action displayed that true bravery which will always insure success. And here permit me to declare that I never discovered more true spirit and anxiety for action than appeared to pervade the whole of the Mounted Volunteers, and I am well persuaded that had the enemy maintained their favorite ground for one half hour longer they would have most severely felt the prowess of that corps. But whilst I pay this first tribute to the living I must not forget the gallant dead, among whom we have to lament the early death of those worthy & brave officers, Captain Miss Campbell of the Dra- goons, and Lieutenant Towles of the light infantry of the legion who fell in the first charge. Enclosed is a particular return of the killed and wounded. The loss of the enemy was more than double that of the Federal army. The woods were strewed for a considerable distance with the dead bodies of the Indians & their white auxiliaries, the latter armed with British muskets and bayonets. 334 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. We remained three days and nights on the banks of the Miamis in front of the field of battle during which time all the houses and corn fields were consumed & destroyed for a considerable distance both above and below Fort Miamis, as well as within pistol shot of that garrison, who were compelled to remain tacit spectators of this general devastation and conflagration ; among which were the houses stores and property of Colonel M'Kee, the British Indian Agent, and principal stimulator of the war now existing between the United States and the savages. The Army returned to this place on the 27th by easy marches, laying waste the villages & the corn fields for about fifty miles on each side of the Miamis. There remain yet a number of villages and a great quantity of corn to be consumed or destroyed upon Le Glaize and the Miamis above this place which will be effected in the course of a few days. In the interim we shall improve Fort Defiance, and as soon as the escort returns with the necessary supplies from Greeneville and Fort Recovery the Army will proceed to the Miami villages in order to accomplish the object of the campaign. It is however not improbable that the enemy may make one more desperate effort against the Army, as it is said that a reinforcement was hourly expected at Fort Miamis from Niagara as well as numer- ous tribes of Indians, living on the margin and islands of the Lakes. This is a business rather to be wished for than dreaded, whilst the army remains in force. Their numbers will only tend to confuse the savages, and the victory will only be more complete and decisive, and which eventually may insure a permanent & happy peace. Under these impressions I have the honor to be &c Anth'y Wayne. It is related of General Wayne that at the time the battle began (about ten a.m.) he was suffering to that degree from an attack of the gout that it was necessary to lift him on his horse. His limbs were swathed in flannels, and so intolerable was his agony that it is said it forced tears from his eyes. But by noon, in the excitement of the battle, he became wholly free from CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE INDIANS. 335 pain, and his movements were as active as those of any of his officers. The next day he seems to have recov- ered his strength, for, accompanied by the members of his staff, he reconnoitred the British fort very closely, a proceeding which gave great offence to the commander and led to the following correspondence : Major Campbell to General Wayne. Miami River Aug 21st 1794 Sir, — An Army of the United States of America said to be under your command having taken post on the banks of the Miami for upwards of the last twenty four hours almost within reach of the guns of this fort, being a post belonging to his Majesty the King of Great Britain, occupied by his Majesty's troops, and which I have the honor to command, it becomes my duty to inform myself as speedily as possible in what light I am to view your making such near approaches to this garrison. I have no hesitation, on my part to say that I know of no war existing between Great Britain & America. I have to honor to be &c &c William Campbell Major 24th Regiment commanding the Post. General Wayne to Major Campbell. Camp on the Banks of the Miami Aug 21, 1794 Sir, — I have received your letter of this date, requiring from me the motives which have moved the Army under my command to the position they at present occupy far within the acknowledged juris- diction of the United States. Without questioning the authority or the propriety, Sir, of your interrogatory, I think I may without breach of decorum observe to you that were you entitled to an answer, the most full and satis- factory one was announced to you from the muzzles of my small arms yesterday morning in the action against the hordes of savages in the vicinity of your post which terminated gloriously to the Amer- 336 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. ican arms, but had it continued until the Indians etc were driven under the influence of the post and guns you mention they would not have much impeded the progress of the Victorious Army under my command — as no such post was established at the commencement of the present war between the Indians & the United States I have the honor to be &c Anthony Wayne Major General & Commander-in-Chief. The toils and perplexities of this Indian campaign were not the only ones from which Wayne suffered in his enfeebled condition during the year 1794. The condition of affairs on the Mississippi River became in that year alarming, and had not some military measure been taken to check the excitement, a war with Spain, which then held the military posts on that river from New Madrid to New Orleans, was highly probable. Incensed by the vexatious proceedings of the Spanish authorities at these posts in interfering with what the Western people claimed was their right to the free navigation of the river, large bodies of men were en- listed in Kentucky who threatened to descend the river to the Gulf and destroy all Spanish control of it or of the country on its borders. As general-in-chief of the army, Wayne had military jurisdiction over this region > and he was obliged to send a portion of his already depleted Legion to serve as a garrison at Fort Massac, on the Ohio, with orders to arrest any armed parties descending the river and threatening hostilities with Spain. He could rely upon very little assistance or sympathy from the governor of Kentucky in the per- formance of this duty. He was thus placed in the painfully embarrassing position of being obliged so CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE INDIANS. 337 prudently to manage his small force that while he sub- dued the Indians he might not involve the country in a war with both England and Spain. It is not easy to overrate the importance, from a national point of view, of the victory over the savages at the Falls of the Miami. It was one of the few in our history which we may call decisive. That it dissipated the cherished dream of the Indians that the Ohio River was to be the perpetual boundary between them and the whites was, perhaps, the least important of its results. In opening the magnificent national domain of the West to emigrants, secured in their life, liberty, and property by laws of their own making, it may well be regarded, when we reflect upon the history of that vast region during the last hundred years, as having given birth to a new era in the history of American civilization. The millions of freemen who now occupy the energetic and vigorous commonwealths lying be- tween the Ohio and the Mississippi should cherish the memory of Wayne as that of the man who by his sword made it possible for white men to live in peace and security in that garden spot of the world ; and the nation, proud as it ought to be of Wayne's achieve- ments during the war of the Revolution, should never forget that it was he who by his skill and prowess changed the howling wilderness of the Northwest Ter- ritory, where the highest glory of the savage inhabitant had been the scalping of the whites, into a country where the cultivation of all the arts of peace betokens the highest civilization. The result of the battle of the Miami was, as we have seen, the complete subjugation of the Indians of the 23 338 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. Northwest. Although their real leader, Joseph Brant, and his English allies tried to stimulate the tribesmen to tempt the fortune of war once more, they were too wise to follow such counsel. They were forced in August, 1795, to conclude a treaty with the United States at Greeneville, by which a vast tract of territory west of the Ohio and northwardly to Detroit was ceded to the national government. The lines enclosing the Indian territory were drawn from Lake Erie along the Cuyahoga River to the Portage, thence west to the Maumee, down that river to the lake, and thence to the place of beginning. Within these lines the Indian claim to territory was acknowledged, and without them lay the lands of the whites, where for seventeen years after the conclusion of the treaty there was uninterrupted peace between the Indians and their neighbors. During this period the State of Ohio became rapidly settled by the whites, and at its close they were in no fear of the savages. What the national government gained not only in acquisition of territory and hence in power, but in the vast sums for which their lands in this region were sold, liberated by Wayne's victory from the fear of Indian raids, it is not necessary to recount here. Wayne's victory and the treaty of Greeneville, which was its logical result, form the true " winning of the North- west," the full story of which is that of the most mar- vellous achievement in American history. Nor should we forget the influence of this battle upon our relations with England. When it took place the negotiations which ended in Jay's treaty were in prog- ress. One point which, as we have said, was obstinately CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE INDIANS. 339 disputed between Mr. Jay and the English Ministry was the retention of the posts held by English garrisons within our territory, in violation of the treaty of 1783. When the news of this battle reached London, and it was seen that all hope of further aid from the Indians in supporting their pretensions to our territory must be given up, an agreement was soon reached, and orders for the evacuation of these posts, the chief of which were at Detroit, Oswego, and Niagara, were soon sent out. After the conclusion of the treaty of Greeneville, in August, 1 795, General Wayne, having been absent from home more than three years, spent in the most laborious and useful service, paid a short visit to Pennsylvania. His progress was a triumphal one. " Everywhere," says one of his biographers, " the people turned out en masse to give him welcome ; at the news of his coming all busi- ness was suspended to bestow upon him a greeting as he passed." Reaching Philadelphia, we find the following account of his reception in the newspapers of the day : " On Saturday last (February 6th), about five o'clock in the after- noon, arrived in this city, after an absence of more than three years on an expedition against the Western Indians (in which he proved so happily successful), Major-General Wayne. Four miles from the city he was met by three troops of Philadelphia Light Horse, and escorted by them to town. On his crossing the Schuylkill a salute of fifteen cannon was fired from Center Square by a party of artil- lery. He was ushered into the City by the ringing of bells and other demonstrations of joy, and thousands of citizens crowded to see and welcome the return of their brave general, whom they attended to the City Tavern, where he alighted. In the evening a display of fireworks was exhibited." The President of the United States (General Wash- ington) in a message to Congress referred in fitting 34o MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. terms to the achievements of General Wayne and to the vast consequences likely to follow from his victory. An attempt was made in the House of Representatives to recognize the wise counsels and the intrepid bravery of the man to whom the success of the campaign was chiefly due. Here party malignity interposed with its venomous spirit, and the House, with singular incon- sistency, while refusing to give to the leader his due meed of praise, adopted the following resolution : " Re- solved unanimously, That the thanks of this House be given to the brave officers and soldiers of the Legion under the orders of General Wayne for their prudence, fortitude, and bravery." Had these short-sighted politicians been endowed with a gift of prophecy which would have enabled them to look forward for fifty years into the future of their country, they would doubtless have owned to their own confusion that even such triumphal honors as were awarded to Roman conquerors would have been a fit- ting tribute to Wayne. Pompey the Great when he presented to the Senate and people of Rome the sub- mission of Syria, Phoenicia, and Palestine as the tro- phies of his conquering army, and the illustrious Caesar when he forced Egypt, Africa, and Gaul to bow to the supremacy of the Roman authority, by the voice of public gratitude were made masters of the Republic. What is due to the memory of the man whose prudence and valor gave to the American people the peaceful possession of the magnificent domain of the West? Wayne was permitted on his return home to enjoy but a short holiday. During the winter of 1796 the opposition to the enforcement of Jay's treaty had be- CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE INDIANS. 341 come so violent that it seemed at one time probable that the House would not make the appropriations necessary to carry the provisions of the treaty into effect after its ratification by the Senate. The alterna- tive, of course, was war with Great Britain, and war was clamored for by vast numbers of people, who could not speak of the capture of our vessels and the loss of our commerce, still kept up by the English cruisers, except in terms of violent indignation. If the treaty negotiated by Mr. Jay had not been carried out, then, in addition to other evils, the English posts on our northern frontier would have been retained in the hands of our enemies, and they, held as a vantage-ground within our territory and supported by the alliance of the Indians, would have practically abrogated the treaty of Greeneville and opened anew the country west of the Ohio to all the horrors from which that agreement had delivered it. Hence it may be understood with what anxiety the administration of Washington regarded the opposition and delay of the House in making appro- priations to carry Mr. Jay's treaty into effect, and how momentous was the destiny which hung upon their decision. On the 30th of April the memorable debate on this bill was concluded, and principally through the influence of Fisher Ames the House decided, by a vote of fifty-one to forty-eight, to make appropriations to carry the treaty into effect. This measure happily closed another most critical juncture in the history of the West. When the news of its adoption reached that region, the arrangements which had been begun during the winter for an alli- ance between the English garrisons and the Indians for 342 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. a new campaign in the Northwest Territory suddenly ceased, and the government received the welcome news that the officers in command of those garrisons had at length received orders to surrender them to the Americans in pursuance of the terms of the treaty. In order that there might be no delay or interruption in the proceedings connected with the delivery of these posts, it was necessary that some one should be ap- pointed as the agent of the government who was not only perfectly familiar with its policy, but who also, from his position and character and general acquaintance with the parties to the controversy, could be trusted to carry out that policy. General Wayne was the man appointed by the government to conduct what it was supposed might prove a very difficult and delicate ne- gotiation. His qualifications may be summed up in a very few words : " He knew the English on the border and their allies the Indians, and they knew him. His appointment was a notice to those who had opposed the treaty that there would be no trifling nor delay while the business was in his hands." The treaty stipulated that the English should surren- der into our hands the posts at Niagara, Oswego, the Miami, and Detroit. At the beginning of June Wayne was ordered to visit these posts and take possession of them in behalf of the United States. His commission invested him with the powers of a civil commissioner as well as with those of a military commander. He exe- cuted his task with wonderful tact and discretion. He was received by the English officers commanding the garrisons not only with official courtesy but in a kind and friendly spirit which indicated their readiness to CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE INDIANS. 343 close the dispute. ! He visited the different forts in suc- cession, and in no case was any obstacle interposed to carrying out the formalities of the transfer to the American government. He reached Detroit in Sep- tember, where he found many Indians, his former foes, by whom he was welcomed with many noisy demon- strations of admiration, for with all their defects the In- dians never fail to recognize the truly brave man, even if he is, as he was in this case, their conqueror. He remained at this post for more than two months, his evident sincerity and kindly disposition being a power- ful means of influence in cementing a lasting friendship between the Indians and their former enemies. On the 1 7th of November he sailed from Detroit for Presqu'isle, the site of the present city of Erie, which was the last post he was ordered to visit. Within a day's sail of that place he was suddenly seized with an attack of gout, and he reached Erie in a dying con- dition. He was removed to the quarters of the com- mander of the post or block-house at that place, Captain Russell Bissell, wjiere he seemed for a time to recover his strength. Neither the kindness of the family of Captain Bissell, however, nor the skill and attention of the surgeon of the post, Dr. George Balfour, could relieve him. The disease reached his stomach and gave the general intolerable agony for several weeks, all efforts to revive him or to mitigate his sufferings proving vain. At last, on the 15th of December, he breathed his last in the arms of Dr. Balfour. He was buried, according to his wish, at the foot of the flag-staff on a high hill called " Garrison Hill," north of the present Soldiers' Home. The fort 344 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. or block-house was destroyed by fire about thirty years ago, the parade-ground graded off, and every trace of the hero's grave was lost. Previous to this, however, his son, Colonel Isaac Wayne, in 1809, caused his re- mains to be removed and reinterred in the family burial- ground attached to St. David's Church at Radnor. The very impressive ceremonies which took place on this occasion are fully described by Mr. Lewis in the Supplementary chapter of this book. In 1876 the empty grave was discovered at Erie, and in 1879 the Legislature of this State appropriated one thousand dollars, which was afterwards supplemented by an additional appropriation of five hundred dollars, for the erection of a suitable monument at Erie. With rare good taste the committee charged with the duty adopted as a monument a model of the old block-house in which he died, which is thus described : " A new stone was placed over the grave, and over it was built as a monument to ' Mad Anthony's' memory an exact copy of the old block-house which Wayne himself had first built in 1791. The present one is made of squared oak logs well notched together at the corners. The first story is sixteen feet square and ten feet high, with a door on one side. The upper is octagonal in shape, and made to project several feet over the lower, thus making it difficult of access except through the interior of the lower room. A flight of winding steps permits of ascent to the upper octagonal room from the ground-floor of the blockhouse. The roof is also octago- nal, and finished to a centre pole, which forms the flag-staff. The upper story is the height of a man at the sides, and increases with the rise of the roof to the centre." — The American Architect and Building News, vol. xxi. p. 159. The following is the inscription on the monument erected by the Society of the Cincinnati in St. David's Cemetery : O Q < Cr. X u ct D X U > < Q C/3 CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE INDIANS. 345 [North front.] Major General Anthony Wayne was born at Waynesborough In Chester County State of Pennsylvania AD. 1745. After a life of Honor & Usefulness He died in December 1796, At a military post On the shores 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. 346 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. Thus died In the full maturity of his powers, and with undiminished capacity for further usefulness, Anthony Wayne, true type and exemplar of that lofty virtue, of that unfailing constancy, of that perfect disinterestedness of purpose, and of that knightly valor with which we love to invest the memory of our Revolutionary heroes. His whole active life was given ungrudgingly to the service of his country. From the snowy battle-fields of Canada to the burning sands of Florida, there is no region which is not full of his labors in his country's cause. Amidst all the trials and sufferings and dangers of the Revolution he never faltered. He began his work when the Colonies were feebly struggling against ministerial oppression, and he did not finish it until, twenty years later, he had laid the solid foundations of an empire. As he lay a-dying, and looked back over his chequered career, full of difficulties and dangers through which he had been safely led until that hour, he may well have thought, as he knew his work was done, that the history of his country must ever be resplendent with the glory of his achievements, and that the hour of his death was the hour of his complete and assured triumph. When one reads the story of this hero's life as told in his correspondence, and reflects how little has been done since his death to requite his services or to honor his memory, one is tempted to ask himself, What would have been his fame and reward had he done for our enemies what he did for us ? A contrast with the fate of Wolfe, the greatest soldier ever sent by England to America, and the captor of Quebec, naturally occurs to us. Wolfe's name is consecrated in English song and GENERAL CONCLUSION. 347 story. Had he lived, doubtless a peerage and large money rewards would have been bestowed upon him ; and since his death a most conspicuous position in the Valhalla dedicated to the heroes of the English race has been occupied by him. One act of heroism made his name famous for all time ; and yet Wayne's exploits, each inspired by the same dauntless valor, seem almost forgotten by his countrymen. Wolfe, it is said, gave Canada to England ; but Wayne gave the whole ter- ritory between the Ohio and the Mississippi, comprising four States, to that peaceful immigration which has made that region the home of a noble civilization. But it is more grateful to consider the points of resemblance between these two heroes than to contrast the manner in which their fame has been preserved by their countrymen. They were both misunderstood in their lifetime save by their own soldiers. Wayne, like Sherman, was called "mad," and Pitt hoped that God would forgive him for confiding the interests of England on this continent to so reckless a dare-devil as Wolfe. What is there romantic or daring about the exploit of climbing the Heights of Abraham, and the subsequent capture of Quebec, which is not paralleled by the mid- night assault of Stony Point and the capture of that stronghold ? If Wolfe could exclaim, when told that the French were fleeing, " I die happy !" what must we think of Wayne, who, finding himself, as he supposed, mortally wounded at Stony Point, begged his aide-de- camp to carry him into the interior of the fort, that he might die there ? Even in the tender emotions of these two heroic hearts there is a wonderful likeness. Wolfe, as he was descending the St. Lawrence in his boat, re- 348 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. peated a portion of the famous Elegy of Gray, and said to his companions that he would rather be the author of that poem than gain all the glory the capture of Quebec would give him. Wayne's letter, written but a half-hour before the assault on Stony Point, with the evident ex- pectation that he would not survive it, while it is full of tender care for his wife and children, is also full of pathetic solicitude for the fame and success of his great chief, Washington. There is no adequate reward which a country can bestow for the great deeds of such men. None know better than they that " the paths of glory lead but to the grave." But let us not forget that in all great sol- diers the incentive to great deeds is the hope that their names and their memory shall not be forgotten by their countrymen. SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. [The following chapter was prepared by the late Hon. Joseph J. Lewis, of West Chester, as the concluding one of a memoir of Gen- eral Wayne which he proposed to write, but which, unfortunately, he was unable to finish.] If General Wayne had lived eighteen days longer he would have completed his fifty-second year. He died in the meridian of his life and in the full maturity of his powers. Although he had been accustomed to share with his men the hardships and privations of a soldier's life, his general health had been uniformly good, except a protracted spell of malarial fever con- tracted in the swamps of Georgia and occasional at- tacks of gout. The first of these attacks he experi- enced during the war in that State. Before he was forty years old his constitutional tendency to the gout, which had been hereditary in one branch of his family, became manifest. Having- with several of his officers dined with a planter during his campaign in Georgia, the party returning to head-quarters late in the even- ing were mistaken for Indians and were fired upon by some of his men. A musket-ball struck him on the shoulder and caused a slight wound and the loss of a few ounces of blood. This was immediately followed by an attack of gout in the great toe of one of his feet. The disease, having thus effected a lodgement in his system, advanced in repeated visitations from the extremities towards the vitals, and at length, having 349 35© MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. reached the stomach, put an end to his life. His re- mains in the first instance were interred at Erie. In 1809 the Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati deter- mined to erect a monument to his memory in the ceme- tery of the church of St. David's, in Radnor, Delaware County. In consequence of this resolution, Colonel Isaac Wayne, the general's son, visited Erie in June of that year and caused his father's remains to be exhumed, and they were removed to Waynesborough. The 4th of July was appointed for the reinterment of the remains at St. David's. The funeral was attended by an immense concourse of people from Chester and the adjoining counties, and by the Philadelphia City Troop under the command of the mayor, Robert Whar- ton. The procession was more than a mile in length. An old soldier, Samuel Smiley, who had served in the Pennsylvania line during the war of the Revolution, refusing every means of conveyance offered him, walked the whole distance from Waynesborough to St. David's in front of the hearse. He took this way to show the affection with which he cherished the memory of his beloved commander. The Rev. David Jones delivered the funeral oration. He had been a guest at the gen- eral's table before the war of the Revolution. He had been his chaplain ; he had been with him in camp, in council, and on battle-field ; and no one had a better opportunity of forming a proper estimate of his char- acter as a man and as an officer ; and he was enabled to furnish graphic illustrations of his theme from his own observation. This he did with excellent effect. A high platform was erected close by the open grave to serve as a stand for the speaker, and from this Mr. SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 351 Jones addressed the multitude. Thirty-three years be- fore he had preached within the church building, appeal- ing - to the young men of the period to take up arms in defence of their liberties, and now at the age of seventy- three he came to speak of the merits and services of the hero who may have led some of those same men to victory. The speaker was himself of heroic mould, and his statements of what had passed beneath his eye had the value of history. The curiosity to hear " the old man eloquent" was universal, and the interest was intense. The people in a compact mass crowded around the stand, and many even climbed the surrounding trees and sat among the branches, the better to catch the words of the speaker. He spoke particularly of the night of the battle of Paoli, where he had himself narrowly escaped death, and corrected by his own rec- ollections of the events some erroneous rumors then current. No report of the address, we believe, is now extant, except in some unimportant particulars. The day was extremely hot, but the heat was not permitted to interfere with the proper celebration of the obsequies. It was without doubt the intention of the Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati to dedicate the proposed monument on the day of the reinterment of the gen- eral's remains. The date upon the structure, July 4, 1809, indicates this. Its actual erection did not occur till the 5th of June, 181 1, at which time the members of the Society attended in a body, accompanied by the Philadelphia and Montgomery volunteer cavalry, and there was again on the ground a very large number of citizens. The estate which General Wayne derived from his 352 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. father, according to the standard by which fortunes were measured in the ante-Revolutionary times in Chester County, raised him above those who occupied the middle station of life, and if he had devoted his attention to its improvement he might with little effort have become wealthy. But his thoughts took a direction which gave other objects a preference to pecuniary gain. During the latter part of the year 1774 and the whole of the year 1775 his time was much occupied by duties of an official or semi-official character. This was especially the case while he was acting as a member of the Com- mittee of Safety. After he entered the army he could for a number of years give but little attention to his private affairs. The conveyance from his father in 1774 of the Waynesborough estate made him at the same time the proprietor of an extensive tannery, which had produced for a number of years consider- able profit. He knew nothing of the business of a tanner, and was obliged to trust the management of it to other hands. His agent, a Mr. Shannon, was be- lieved to be capable and trustworthy. Yet under his agency General Wayne ascertained, at the termination of the war of the Revolution, that he had sustained a loss of not less than seven thousand pounds (,£7000). When Wayne in 1777 was appointed brigadier-general, he considered that a due regard to his official position required him to maintain a table to which he could invite his brother officers and such members of the government as might occasionally visit the army. He accordingly acted upon the idea. The expense was considerable, and it has been stated that it sometimes exceeded his pay, received as it was in depreciated SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 353 Continental currency. The excess was necessarily drawn from his private income. The cost he thus en- countered, however, had no effect upon the liberality with which he dispensed his hospitality. His most im- portant pecuniary loss occurred in consequence of an attempt to improve the lands which had been granted to him by the State of Georgia in consideration of his military services. As large sums of money could not be obtained on loan at that time in this country, he made arrangements with an a^ent of certain bankers in Holland to borrow one hundred thousand florins, and gave as security a mortgage on his Chester County property, dated January 9, 1785. He drew bills for that amount on the bankers, which were discounted, and he received the proceeds. The bills, owing to the bad faith of those with whom he dealt, came back protested. This subjected him to great annoyance and embarrassment. He succeeded, however, in overcom- ing his difficulties, and on the 7th day of August, 1787, satisfaction was entered on this mortgage. His im- provement project, on which he had spent considerable sums, was, however, abandoned, and the lands were ultimately disposed of for less than the money he had laid out upon them. The Will of General Wayne was executed at his head-quarters on the Miami July 14, 1794, when he was in daily expectation of a battle with the Indians. It shows on its face the real estate of which he was the owner at the date of the Will, and we believe also at the time of his death. He acquired by purchase a valuable tract which lay adjoining Waynes- borough on the east, and this tract has since been considered as a part of the Waynesborough farm, and 24 354 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. passed with it to the present possessor. Of the other pieces of property mentioned in the Will, the house on Second Street, in Philadelphia, of which he appears to have owned a moiety, was the most valuable. The lands in Nova Scotia, and the several donation tracts granted in consideration of his military services, had more prospective than present value, and constituted no considerable addition to his fortune. The truth seems to be that although General Wayne exhibited his usual energy in whatever effort was necessary to relieve himself from the pressure of any existing need, he felt no such interest in the acquisition of property as was required to sustain any prolonged struggle in that direction. His mind was too much occupied with public affairs during the twenty-two years he survived his father to admit of much attention to his private fortune. He devised to his son Isaac (as stated in his Will) the Waynesborough estate, then increased to five hundred acres, a building-lot in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, fif- teen hundred acres of land granted to the testator by Congress for his military services, and a large tract of rice-land in Georgia. He devised to his son Isaac and his daughter Margaretta (Mrs. Atlee) his large landed estate in Nova Scotia ; to his daughter Margaretta a house and lot on Second Street between Market and Walnut in Philadelphia, Isaac to release to her his in- terest therein, a tract of fifteen hundred acres in the western part of Pennsylvania, a donation by the State in consideration of his military services ; and he made his son and daughter residuary devisees and legatees. This Will was admitted to probate on the 15th of Feb- SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 355 ruary, 1797, by the register of the city and county of Philadelphia, and letters testamentary were issued to Isaac Wayne. The other two executors, Sharp Delany and William Lewis, Esq., an eminent lawyer of the Pennsylvania bar, appear to have declined the trust. Some years after the general's death, Colonel Isaac Wayne, as executor of his father's Will, received a letter from the Treasury Department at Washington, con- taining a statement of an account against the estate of General Wayne, and claiming the payment of a balance of some five thousand dollars to the United States government. Colonel Wayne, knowing his father's habits, was satisfied that he at the time of his death owed nothing to the government, and proceeded to examine his private papers. In them he found evidence of payments made by the general for the use of the government to an amount considerably exceeding the balance claimed in the Treasury statement transmitted to the executor. With his vouchers in hand, he drew up an account and repaired to Washington with a view of obtaining a settlement. The delays usual in such cases on the part of the accounting officers of the government were interposed. At length, wearied with waiting on the slow circumlocutory processes of the department, he petitioned Congress, setting out his claim, and an act was passed January 21, 181 1, by virtue of which, on the 21st of February of the same year, the sum due to the general's estate, five thousand eight hundred and seventy dollars and eighty-four cents ($5870.84), was paid. Although General Wayne's achievements belong to the history of the country, with which every well-informed 356 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. citizen ought to be familiar, his character, in one respect at least, seems to be strangely misunderstood. It is sup- posed by many, perhaps by a majority of readers, that he was a sort of military madcap, a modern knight- errant, by whom considerations of prudence and ex- pediency were disregarded, whose romantic and chiv- alrous courage sought display in rash and perilous adventure, and whose claim to distinction rested solely on his personal prowess and contemptuous disregard of danger. The sobriquet of "Mad Anthony" has been thought to have been justly applied to him as indicating the recklessness with which he rushed to an encounter. One writer of no inconsiderable celebrity speaks of him as a "constitutional fighter, always ready for a fray," without an intimation that he had other qualities which fitted him for command. Mr. Irving, in his " Life of Washington," who rarely mentions the name of Wayne without coupling with it the odious appellation of " Mad Anthony," remarks, "That brave commander had con- ducted the war with a judgment and prudence little compatible with the hare-brained appellation he had acquired by his ?'ash exploits during the Revolution;" thus giving us to understand, without a semblance of authority for the imputation, that his rashness was habitual and his prudence exceptional. When authors of eminence write thus loosely and inconsiderately upon a subject with which they may be reasonably believed to have some acquaintance, .it is not surprising that readers should be misled. It is true that General Wayne was distinguished for his bravery, — he was, indeed, the " bravest of the brave ;" his valor shone conspicuously in every battle in which he was engaged ; SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 357 yet he was none the less a skilful general of singular discretion and sobriety of judgment. He possessed that rare faculty which the French call the coup cCceil, which consists in detecting, by a glance at the battle-field, the purpose of an enemy, or any fault in his arrangements of which advantage maybe taken ; and he also instantly, as if by intuition, decided how to frustrate the enemy's purpose. Thus, at Green Springs, having - been ordered with a detachment of seven hun- dred men to pursue the rear-guard of the enemy, he found himself on emerging from a wood within musket- shot of the whole force under Cornwallis drawn up in battle array. The design was to attack the American army, which was following in a loose and fragmentary way, before it should be concentrated, and to cut it up in detail. Wayne instantly comprehended the purpose of Cornwallis and the whole peril of the situation. He therefore ordered a charge to be sounded, and rushed upon the British line, which he broke and threw into confusion. He then retreated in good order and in such manner as seemed to invite pursuit. The Brit- ish general was utterly disconcerted, and, fearing that Wayne's movement was a stratagem to draw him into an engagement with the whole American army or to lead him into an ambuscade, he hesitated to move till the opportunity to profit by his advantage was past. By this bold stroke the object of Wayne was gained, and the American army was saved from disaster, if not from destruction. The amazing audacity of the charge contributed largely to the successful result. It was in- conceivable to Cornwallis why so small a body should attack ten times its number, unless in pursuance of 358 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. some device by which he should be drawn into a hid- den danger. The hesitation on his part was, there- fore, natural and reasonable, and was just what Wayne anticipated. During his campaign in Georgia, when marching to meet the enemy, he unexpectedly met a large body of British and Indians, superior to his own, on a narrow causeway over a swamp. Both parties were taken by surprise. Wayne, perceiving that the enemy were hesi- tating and apparently uncertain how to meet the emer- gency, gave them not a moment for deliberation, but charged at the head of his column, and, where almost any other commander would have deemed himself for- tunate to escape defeat, gained a complete victory. Other instances occurred in the experience of the gen- eral in which the service profited by his exercise of this faculty, and established his claim to the credit of superior generalship. In the opinion of closet-critics, who know nothing of war but what they read of it in books, such exploits may be considered rash, and they may be sub- ject to the same imputation from duller minds, who regard all enterprise as savoring of temerity. Yet it is by such strokes as these that genius is distinguished from mediocrity, — the chief who is fit to command from one whose only duty it ought to be to obey. The two instances in which the daring of Wayne approached most nearly to the verge of unwarrantable temerity were his assault on Stony Point and his attack upon Cornwallis at Green Springs. Yet the first was origi- nally suggested by Washington, who outlined the plan ; and the second was applauded by both Washington and Greene. In the one, every step, from the capture of SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 359 the sentinels to the surrender of the fort, was carefully- studied, and every probable contingency provided for, and nothing was left to be overcome by force that could be surmounted by strategy. In the other, the apparent rashness was merely a phase of consummate prudence, in which the risk of a bold advance was less than that of a retreat. If the exploits of Wayne were rash, as Irving sug- gests, it is strange that Washington, who was a close observer and an excellent judge of character, failed to discover it during the whole of the seven years that he served under him. Upon no other officer of his rank did the commander-in-chief devolve duties of equal gravity, and in no instance did he find cause to com- plain that his orders had not been faithfully and intelli- gently executed. Before Wayne had been a year in active service he was directed by Washington to lead the advance in an expected collision with Howe in New Jersey. At Brandywine he was stationed at the ford to oppose Knyphausen, supported by the brigade of Grey, while Washington went himself with the bulk of his army to meet Cornwallis on Birmingham Heights, thus committing to the young brigadier the maintenance of a position of the highest importance. At German- town Wayne led the attack, and needed only the proper support, , which the ill-advised delay at Chew's house prevented, to convert the half-won battle into a com- plete and overwhelming victory. At Monmouth he was again at the head of the attacking column, and was so efficient in staying the British advance, after Lee had treacherously ordered a retreat, and in turn- ing the tide of battle in favor of the Americans, as to 360 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. obtain special commendation for gallantry and good conduct in Washington's letter to Congress, while the name of no other officer is particularly mentioned. Washington's project for the assault on Stony Point was communicated to no other officer than Wayne, and he alone was consulted about that most daring and dangerous enterprise. 1 When Arnold's treason had struck the army and the country with consternation, it was to Wayne that the commander-in-chief committed the defence of Stony Point, the most important fortified post on the Hudson, thus affording the highest proof of his confidence. When Georgia was overrun by a large British force aided by several tribes of hostile Indians, to Wayne was assigned the duty of driving out the invaders, and for that purpose he was intrusted with an independent command. After the American army had suffered two disastrous defeats west of the Ohio and had become thoroughly demoralized, to Wayne was committed the duty of restoring its discipline and its confidence in 1 Mr. Irving, in a foot-note on page 503, vol. iii. of his "Life of Washington," says, " It is a popular tradition that when Washington proposed to Wayne the storming of Stony Point the reply was, ' I'll storm hell, \{ you will only plan it,' " and Mr. Lossing, in his "Field- Book of the Revolution," repeats the story. We doubt, neverthe- less, its authenticity. The same thing substantially has been told of others than Washington and Wayne, and we may well believe that it was told of Wayne merely from its supposed fitness to his character. It is probable that we should never have heard the story in connec- tion with his name if he had not been called " Mad Anthony," as he never was chargeable with the rashness imputed to him, and especially as he was not asked by Washington to storm Stony Point, but merely to consider the practicability of that enterprise. SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 361 itself and of protecting a long line of settlements along the Ohio. Either Washington was mistaken in the character of Wayne and committed to a rash, " hare- brained" officer duties requiring the utmost prudence and discretion as well as military skill, or Mr. Irving's estimate of Wayne is absurd and preposterous. When such alternatives are presented, it is not difficult to decide which is the more conformable to truth. If Mr. Irving had made the proper inquiries before he ventured a stab at the military reputation of Wayne, he would have found that the general was as cautious in laying his plans as he was courageous in carrying them into execution ; that, as a rule, in every enterprise in which he acted on his own judgment he was justified by success ; that when intrusted with independent command his vigilance was never relaxed and his fore- cast provided for every emergency, and every step by which he advanced was calculated with mathematical precision. There was, indeed, nothing in his conduct in any instance that justified the imputation of rashness, much less was it warranted as a general characteristic. An anecdote is told of Wayne that gives some sup- port to the proposition that " fighting was constitutional with him." It is said that when summoned to councils of war he usually attended carrying with him a book, — " Tom Jones" or some other interesting novel, — which he would read, sitting apart in a corner of the room, while the anxious company were discussing the meas- ures proper to be pursued. When they had severally given their opinion, the commander-in-chief would in- quire of Wayne, "Well, general, what do you propose to do ?" " Fight, sir," is said to have been the invariable 362 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. answer. It is possible that this anecdote may have a basis of truth so far as relates to a single occasion when the circumstances were peculiar. Wayne knew that, as a rule, councils of war never fight. He was also aware that ordinarily their decision was a foregone conclusion, and that the commander-in-chief, after listen- ing with attention to the reasons which his subordinates had to present, would be guided by the dictates of his own judgment, even if a majority of the council should entertain opinions different from his, and Wayne may have thought it unnecessary to do more than signify his dissent from the opinions of his brother officers. We know that Washington did give battle repeatedly against the advice of his council, and that Wayne agreed with him in the expediency of doing so ; that Washington called a council of war to decide whether he should attack Sir Henry Clinton on his route from Philadelphia to New York in the summer of 1778, and that the council, true to the traditional proclivities of such bodies, decided in the negative, — Wayne and Cadwalader being the only brigadiers that favored the attack out of seventeen who sat in council. Whether Wayne indicated his opinion by the monosyllable " fight" we are not told, nor does it seem probable that such was the case, as the question was one of great impor- tance, and he was deeply interested in the decision, which he foresaw might be attended by momentous consequences. The attack was ordered, and if he had commanded the attacking corps instead of Lee the great probability is that the triumph at Yorktown would have been anticipated at Monmouth, and the in- dependence of the Colonies would have been secured SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 363 without aid from France. In one case only, so far as we know, did Washington and Wayne differ as to the eligibility of striking the enemy, and that was when it was proposed to storm the British fortifications north of Philadelphia. Wayne and Stirling favored the meas- ure, the rest of the council opposed it, and Washington after much hesitation agreed with the majority. Wayne certainly did not give his voice for fighting at all hazards. When first consulted by Washington about assaulting Stony Point, he considered the fortifications too strong to take in that way, and it was not until after careful observation and reflection that he changed his opinion. While it is conceded that there may be some truth in the story of Wayne's behavior in councils of war, so far as regards some particular instance where the cir- cumstances were peculiar, it is much to be doubted whether the whole story is not a fabrication. It is so suitable to the character of a military madcap that it invites the suspicion of its having been fabricated to suit the absurd sobriquet that has been applied to him. Wayne was not a man to treat his brother officers, assembled in council to deliberate on a grave subject, with disrespect, much less was he disposed to behave to his commander-in-chief, whom he revered, in the offensive manner described. Wayne was at heart a gentleman and accustomed to genteel associa- tions. He was the intimate friend of Dr. Benjamin Rush, John Dickinson, Benjamin Franklin, and Robert Morris, and we are not very ready to believe that he had the manners of a boor. The epithet " Mad" in connection with the Christian name of the general is said to have originated with a 364 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. silly camp-follower, who, by reason of his oddities of speech and demeanor, was die butt of the soldiers and somewhat of a privileged person in camp. For some misbehavior he was put under arrest by order of the general. After his release, being rallied on the subject, he averred that he had been arrested not because he had done anything to deserve it, but because Anthony was mad. " He was a ' mad Anthony,' and that was all there was of it." The word "mad," in old English, is a synonyme with "angry," and was doubtless so used here. • This, in substance, the fellow repeated whenever the matter was mentioned, and thus the term " Mad Anthony," dropped casually from the lips of a simple- ton, obtained some sort of circulation, and became used in a jocular way among the rank and file of Wayne's command, but never in a sense intending disparage- ment or disrespect. Wayne was too much admired and beloved by his men to be the proper subject in their eyes of an injurious misnomer, and they would have resented any indignity cast upon his character. 1 As far as the appellation of " Mad Anthony" was used in the army, no reference whatever to him as a com- 1 An enemy of Wayne, some years after his death, standing by his grave, placed his foot upon it, and addressed some visitors to the spot, saying, " Here lies the body of a scoundrel." One of the visitors, afterwards a man prominent in politics in his State, who had served in the Pennsylvania line during the war of the Revolu- tion, instantly, by a blow of his clinched fist, felled the speaker to the ground. This rude demonstration by the assailant of his respect for the memory of his old commander is not to be justified even by his great provocation, and yet it may be said with some confidence that almost any other survivor of the gallant band whom Wayne had led in battle would have acted in the same way. SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 365 mander was intended or understood. It was deemed to have a meaning in no wise derogatory to him per- sonally, but rather as a compliment — rugged and coarse, indeed, but still a compliment — to those qualities which the common soldier most highly appreciates and most truly admires. None of his contemporaries of the Revolutionary era ever charged him with rashness in his exploits or enterprises. The charge originates with writers of books and of magazine articles of a subsequent period, whose opinions on military matters must be taken with many grains of allowance. On such a subject, however, the judgment of Washington may be properly considered as decisive ; and as he, with full knowledge of all that he did and of all that he advised to be done, found nothing in his conduct to disapprove, but much to commend, we may safely conclude that the offensive epithet " mad" had no just application to his character, and that it may be properly relegated to the use of that class to which the camp-followers of armies belong. It has no rightful place in history, for it repre- sents an idea which is false. The love of glory was Wayne's master-passion. This supplied incentives to action to which his high-wrought patriotism gave additional stimulus. He was jealous of his honor, and he preserved it as bright and pure as the empyrean, and whatever faults he had were not those of an ignoble nature. His spoken word was as binding upon him as his written bond. His popularity with the people, which was due mainly to his valor, was enlivened by other qualities which are usually found associated in characters of heroic type. He was generous, frank, con- fiding, warm-hearted, and impulsive. His temper was 366 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. quick, but his anger passed away with the first flash; and though hasty to take offence, he was placable, and his forgiveness was hearty and thorough. Direct and straightforward in his methods, he despised the mean- ness of intrigue and the machinations of secret cabals. He preferred to fail in his purposes rather than to ac- complish them by sinister means. He was habitually outspoken, and was strong and decided in the utterance of his opinions. He was apt to indulge in his criticisms of the conduct of public men with more freedom than discretion. His judgment was nice, accurate, and dis- criminating, and he was not easily deceived in his esti- mate of those who came within the sphere of his ob- servation. His unfavorable estimate of some of his contemporaries while they were in the flush of an un- deserved popularity has been fully ratified by time. Among those whom he denounced early in the war as utterly untrustworthy and corrupt was Benedict Arnold, whose treason, though a surprise to many, appeared to Wayne but the natural and logical termination of a base and profligate career. He long regarded Charles Lee also with distrust, although many believed him ill used and his treachery remained for many years unknown and even unsuspected. Of the fidelity of another gen- eral officer to the cause of American liberty he openly expressed his doubt, and if that doubt has not been confirmed, the grounds of it have not been removed. He had many friends in the army of the highest rank and of the most solid reputation, who were warmly attached to him. Among these were Schuyler, Greene, Lafayette, Stirling, Sullivan, and Knox. If he did not refrain from censure, neither did he withhold his praise, SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 367 and where it was well deserved he was liberal and even lavish of it. Of envy and jealousy he was absolutely free, though frequently the object of both by reason of the conspicuous part he bore in the operations of the army and of the confidence reposed in him by the com- mander-in-chief. His perceptions were quick, and his mind readily took hold of the prominent points of his subject, and when the exigency demanded a prompt decision he decided without hesitation and allowed no doubt to embarrass or delay his action. His self-pos- session was perfect, and in every extremity of danger it was fully maintained, and the severer the pressure upon him the more complete appeared to be his com- mand of his intellectual resources. He had great self- reliance, and to his resolution once taken he adhered with immovable firmness and tenacity. The idea that the freedom with which he exposed himself to the bullets of the enemy was due to his insensibility to danger is a mistaken one. He went into battle fully prepared for whatever might befall him. In two instances, at least, when about to engage in extraordinary hazards, he made his Will and wrote farewell letters to his family, to be forwarded in case of his fall. At other times he re- minded his children of the perils which beset him, and of the probability that by the fortune of war they might at any moment be deprived of his paternal care. Con- siderations of this kind, however, had no effect upon his conduct. When once engaged with the enemy his whole soul was absorbed in the effort to obtain success. It has been said of him that he was imperious, and, with his temperament, habituated to command and ac- customed to rely wholly on himself, it would be surprising 368 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. if it were not so. He had a strong will, which, within the sphere of his authority, governed with absolute sway, bending men and circumstances to his purpose. He was egotistic and somewhat sensitive, and felt more keenly than a wise man should have done any calum- nious statement affectinq- his conductor character. He was not destitute of vanity, and he was too susceptible to flattery. He estimated highly the value of discipline, and was not merciful to those who voluntarily violated its rules. He was well assured that no such soldiers as those who constituted the Pennsylvania line could be made without severe preparatory training, and that such training was one of the necessary means for securing efficiency. His severity in this respect was not in his apprehension a subject of choice, but of duty. He cer- tainly owed to it much of his success. His restless activity and unremitting vigilance in the supervision of every department of the service kept his subordinates constantly on the alert. In his last campaign as well as in his first, his keen observant eye was always open to detect whatever was amiss. During the winter of 1793-94 he slept on the ground and endured the rigors of an Ohio winter with no other accommodations than those of a common soldier, and he rose at four o'clock in the morning to visit the outposts and to see that every sentinel was awake and in his proper place. War with him was serious work, and not a holiday recreation, and his primary concern was that the interests of the country should not suffer in his hands. No thirst for revenge could stifle in his bosom the instincts of hu- manity. Although at Stony Point the cry of " No quarter to the rebels !" raised by Grey's ruffians at SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 369 Paoli, was still ringing in his ears, and the horrors there enacted were still rankling in his bosom, he would suffer no stain of cruelty to rest on the American arms, and no blow was struck after resistance ceased. In deal- ing with the Indians on the Miami, while he carried the sword in one hand he held out the olive-branch in the other, and when he had made himself sure of victory he declined to attack till every offer of peace was re- jected. When compelled at length to strike, the blow was delivered with such effect that it was unneces- sary to repeat it. By his vigor he won the respect of the savage tribes, and by his fairness and magna- nimity their confidence. In the conduct of this war his instructions left him a wide discretion, which if rashly or injudiciously exercised might have involved the country in a war with England. But his every step was marked with the tact and prudence becoming a statesman, and in no act of omission or commission did he fail to realize the just expectation of the country. In fact, in whatever relation he stood to the public ser- vice during the whole period of his connection with it, whether as chief or subordinate, he was distinguished above his peers, and in whatever conflict he was en- gaged he won deserved applause. We do not propose to compare him with Washington. They were different in many points of their respective characters, and in some there were strong contrasts between them. Both were gifts to the nation from that beneficent Power which, from feeble beginnings, led this nation by the hand gradually up to its present pitch of greatness. Though not equally eminent, each was peculiarly fitted for the part he was appointed to act in the drama of the 25 370 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. American Revolution, and we may as soon expect to see another Wayne as another Washington. Isaac Wayne, the only son of the general, was born in East-town, Chester County, in 176S, and died at Waynesborough, the old family seat, on the 25th of October, 1852, at the venerable age of eighty-four. He was educated at Dickinson College, Pennsylvania, and after eraduatingr at that institution he studied law under William Lewis, Esq., in Philadelphia. He was admitted to the Philadelphia bar in the fall of 1 794, and to the Chester County bar August 21, 1795, and im- mediately entered upon the practice of his profession, in which he continued for eighteen months. At the end of that period, at the request of his father, he went to reside at the paternal mansion, in order to at- tend to the management of the Waynesborough estate, which, owing to the long absence of his father in the public service, needed better care than that which was bestowed by his tenants. On the 25th of August, 1802, he married Elizabeth Smith, a young lady of excellent family and of good estate. Five children were the issue of this marriage. Isaac Wayne was a man of very respectable talents. In politics he was a decided Federalist and exceedingly popular with his party. In 1800 and 1801 he was elected a member of the Assembly. In 1S06 he was elected a member of the SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 371 State Senate, and in 18 10 he was re-elected, but served only one year of his term. In 18 14 he was nomi- nated by the Federal party as candidate for the office of governor of Pennsylvania, and also as a candidate for Congress for the district composed of the counties of Chester and Montgomery. Although he ran far ahead of his ticket, the Democratic majorities in the State and the Congressional district were too large to be overcome. In 1822 he was again nominated for Con- gress as one of the representatives of Chester, Lan- caster, and Delaware Counties, with James Buchanan and Samuel Edwards as colleagues, and was elected. He declined a re-election in 1824, and did not again enter political life. Prior to the war of 181 2 he raised a regiment of cavalry, of which he was elected colonel, and, when that war broke out, he offered his services and those of his regiment to the government. He was ordered to Marcus Hook, and spent the summer of 1 814 in Camp Dupont at that place when an attack on Philadelphia was expected. He had much of the martial spirit of his family and many of the traits of character which distinguished his father, but he lacked the opportunity to acquire reputation as a soldier. After the death of his children his affections reverted to his father, whose memory he cherished with a devotion amounting almost to idolatry. In 1829 and 1830 he published in "The Casket" a short memoir of the general, in which he studiously presented the most important of the docu- ments relating to his military career. At that time he destroyed a large number of letters relating to his private and family affairs. This he did, as he declared, 372 MAJOR-GENERAL WAYNE. in obedience to the injunction of his father, although they contained matters of much interest. Before he complied with his father's directions he placed the papers in the hands of the Hon. Charles Miner, his successor in Congress and proprietor of the Village Record 'at West Chester, with the request that he would write the last chapter of the memoir. While the papers were in Mr. Miner's hands, the writer of this paragraph, who was the legal adviser of Colonel Wayne, was per- mitted to examine the papers, and availed himself of the opportunity of doing so, and afterwards suggested to Colonel Wayne that he might reasonably exercise his discretion as to the letters he would destroy, as among them there were those which the public would be glad to see, and which reflected credit upon his father's character. To this suggestion he replied that the request of his father he considered it his duty to obey, and that duty he would perform to the letter. Mr. Miner prepared the final chapter with much care and pains and delivered it to Colonel Wayne. It gave an accurate and singularly graphic account of General Wayne's financial difficulties owing to his efforts to improve his Georgia estate, and set forth in a striking; light his energetic and honorable character, and the masterly manner in which he had managed to fulfil his engagements and to preserve his credit at a time when the industries of the country were in a de- pressed condition and money difficult to be procured. Colonel Wayne gave the MS. a careful perusal, and justly regarded it as an admirable conclusion to the memoir. But he could not endure the thought that his father's pecuniary troubles, though surmounted by SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 373 praiseworthy efforts, should be exposed to the world. He therefore burned what Mr. Miner had written, and finished the memoir in his own way. General Wayne had one daughter, Margaretta, who married William R. Atlee, a lawyer of reputation. Mrs. Atlee had one child, a daughter, Mary. She married Issachar Evans. She left one child, William Evans, to whom Colonel Wayne devised all his real estate and a considerable part of his personal property. William Evans having become the owner of the Waynesbor- ough estate (under the will of his uncle, Colonel Isaac Wayne), upon application to the proper court obtained a decree by which the name of Evans was exchanged for that of Wayne, he being the only lineal descendant of the general in the third generation. APPENDICES. APPENDIX I. GENERAL WAYNE S DIVISION ORDERS, 20TH DECEMBER, 1777. The following promotions of Field Officers in the Penns'a Line has taken place Viz George Nagle Col'l of the 10th Reg't. Henry Bicker Col'l of the 2nd Reg't. Ric'd Butler Col. of the 9th Reg't. Thomas Craig Col. of the 3rd Reg't. Matthew Smith Lieut. Col. of the 9th Reg't. Henry Miller Lieut. Col. of the 2nd Reg't. Josiah Harmar Lieut. Col. of the 6th. Thomas Robinson Lieut. Col. of the 1st. Rudolph Bruner Lieut. Col. of the 3rd. Stephen Bayard Lieut. Col. of the 8th. Caleb North Lieut. Col. of the nth. Francis Nichol Major of the 9th Reg't. Thos. Church Major of the 4th Reg't. John Hulings Major of the 3rd Reg't. James Moore Major of the 1st. Frederick Vernon Major of the 8th. James Taylor Major of the 5 th. Jeremiah Tolbert Major of the 6th & Michael Ryan Major of the 10th Reg't. The Justice done to the merits of these Officers has Open'd the way for the promotion of the Subaltern Officers in the Respective Regiments whose bravery and good Conduct equally Entitle them to it — the pleasure and satisfaction the Gen'l experiences on this Occasion he can much better feel than express — it must Afford the greatest Satisfaction to a grateful mind to see a Corps of Officers 375 376 APPENDICES. Honorably provided for — who has more than shared the Danger and Difficulties of this hard campaign The General's State of Health as well as Other Considerations Require a little Respite — he hopes soon to be able to Rejoin the Army — -in the Interim every exertion of his shall be used to provide not only Comfortable Clothing — but the Neatest Uniform for his Worthy fellow Soldiers whose bravery and Conduct have made them formidable to their foes — and endeared them to their Country and their General — whose greatest Ambition is to deserve their Esteem and Confidence and to share every vicisitude of fortune with them Genl. Wayne most earnestly wishes the Officers in General to exert every power in Covering themselves and men in Speediest and most Comfortable manner possible & to pay every Attention to the Discipline Health and Cleanliness of the Soldiers — Col. Broadhead will take the Command of the Division until the Genl — Returns — APPENDIX II. ARRANGEMENT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA LINE (WAYNE'S DI- VISION, EIGHT REGIMENTS), AS MADE AT WHITE PLAINS IN 1778. First Regiment. Dates of Commission. James Chambers, Colonel 28thSept'r 1776. Thomas Robinson, Lt. Colonel 7th June 1777. James Moore — Major 20th Sept'r " Captains — 1. James Parr 9th March 1776. 2. James Hamilton 10th " " 3. Samuel Craig 1st October " 4. Michael Simpson 1st Dec'r " 5. James Wilson 16th Jan'y 1777. 6. William Wilson 2nd March " Capt. Lieutenant — Thomas Buchannan (Rank as Capt) 1st Oct. 1 777- Lieutenants — 1. John Dougherty " 1 776. 2. David Zeigler 16th Jan'y 1777. 3. Abraham Skinner 13th May " 4. Benjamin Lyon 6th July " PENNSYLVANIA LINE IN 1778. 377 Ensigns — All these rank as 2nd Lieut' ns from the 13th P.R. First Regiment — Continued. Dates of Commission. 5. John McClellan nth Sept'r 1777. 6. Aaron Norcross 14th " " 7. Thomas Boyd 14th Jan'y 1778. 8. John Hughes 20th March " f 1. James McFarland (ranks as Lieut) 13th May 1777. William McDowell (ranks as Lieut) 6th July " Edward Crawford (ranks as Lieut) nth Sept'r " David Hammond (ranks as Lieut) 14th " " Andrew Johnston Q M. (ranks as Lieut) 24th March 1778. 6. Joseph Collin 18th April 1777. 7. Samuel Beard 2nd June 1778. 8. Benjamin Chambers " " 9- Second Regiment. Dates of Commission. Walter Stewart, Colonel 17th June 1777. Henry Miller, Lieut. Colonel 1st March " John Murray, Major 5th Feb'y " Captains — 1. John Marshall 13th June 1776. 2. George Tudor 13th July " 3. Jacob Ashmead 6th Sept'r " 4. John Bankson 25th " " j 5. John Patterson 1st Jan'y 1777. ^ 6. Samuel Tolbert Capt. Lieutenant — Peter Gosner (Ranks as Capt) " 1778. Lieutenants — 1. John Cobea " 1777. 2. John Irvine " " 3. John Stoy " " 4. Jacob Snider 1 8th April " 5. Henry Piercy 12th March " 6. James Morris Jones " " Date not settled ■ 378 APPENDICES. Second Regiment — Continued. Dates of Commission. Lieutenants — 7. William Moore 18th April 1777. 8. James Whitehead 2nd June 1778. 1. Philip Waggoner 12th March 1777. 2. JohnGugg — from13thRegt.1c.th April " 3. James Brickham " " 4. Thomas Norton Q'r M'r.. .24th April " 5. John Striker 1st October " 6. Henry Purcell 4th " " 7. John Park 1st Aug " 8. Patrick Fullerton 13th April " ' 9. Jacob De Hart 2nd June 1778. Surgeon — Benjamin Parry Mate — Robert Harris Ensigns — All here rank as 2nd Lieutenant Third Regiment. Dates of Commission. Thomas Craig, Colonel 1st August 1777. William Williams, Lt. Col 5th June David Lenox— Major 8th " " Captains — 1. Thomas Lloyd Moore 21st May 1776. 2. James Chrystie 9th Aug. " 3. Thomas Butler 4th Oct. " 4. John Reily 20th May 1777. 5. Isaac Budd Dunn 1st June " 6. William Craig 4th July " Capt. Lieutenant — John Henderson 1st October 1776. Lieutenants — 1. James Black 3d " 2. George McCullouch 4th " " 3. James Armstrong 4th " " 4. John Marshall 10th Jan'y 1777. 5. Daniel St. Clair 1st April " 6. Robert King 20th May " 7. John Boyd 8. Persival Butler 1st Sept. " Ensigns — \ 1. Blackall William Ball 17th October 1776. These rank C 2. Andrew Engle nth Jan'y 1777. as 2ndLieuts) 3. John Armstrong nth Sept. " PENNSYLVANIA LINE IN 1778. 379 Third Regiment — Continued. Dates of Commission. 4. John Wigdon, P. M 2nd June 1778. 5. Peter Smith " " 6. Richard Fullerton " " 7. Thomas Hulings " " 8. 9- Surgeon — James Tate Fourth Regiment. Dates of Commission. Captains — 1. Evan Edwards 23rd March 1776. 2. Edward Scull 3rd Jan'y 1777. 3. William Gray " " 4. Benjamin Fishbourne " " 5. John McGowen " " 6. Benjamin Bird " " Capt. Lieutenant — William Henderson " " Lieutenants — 1. John Dover " " 2. David Brown " " 3. William Sprout " " 4. Edward F. Randolph " " 5. Thomas Campbell " " 6. George Blewer " " 7. Arcurius Beatty 2nd June 1778. 8. Peter Summers— Q M " " Ensigns (from Col. Shea's) — 1. Jacob Weaver (ranks as 2nd Lt.) 16th Nov. 1776. 2. George Boss, Adj't 2d June 1778. 3. Gilders Bevans " " 4 5 6 9- Matthew Potar to be an Ensign from 2d June. 380 APPENDICES. Fifth Regiment. Dates of Commission. Francis Johnston, Colonel 27th Sept'r 1776. Persifor Frazer, Lt. Colonel 1st October " Christopher Stuart, Major 28th Feb'y 1777. Captains — 1. Benjamin Bartholomew 2nd October 1776. 2. John Christie 23rd October " 3. Samuel Smith 1st March 1777. 4. William Oldham 24th March " 5. Isaac Seely 20th Sep'r " 6. Thomas Bond 23rd " " Capt. Lieutenant — Michael Ryan (Capt'ns rank) 23rd Jan'y 1778. Lieutenants — 1. Job Vernon 1st Jan'y 1777. 2. John Bartley 3. Levi Griffith 4. Alexander Martin 5. John Harper 6. George North 7. James Forbes 8. James McCullouch ° \ 1. Andrew Lytle 30th Dec'r 1776. Rank as "J 2> David Marshall 2nd Lieut. L 3. Bickham 2nd June 1778. 4. Henry Hankly " " 5- 6. 7- 8. 9- Surgeon — Davidson. Sixth Regiment. Dates of Commission. Robert Magaw, Colonel 3rd Jan'y 1776. Josiah Harmar, Lt. Colonel 6th June 1777. Jeremiah Talbot, Major 25th Sept. " PENNSYLVANIA LINE IN 1778. 381 Sixth Regiment — Continued. Dates of Commission. Captains — 1. John Nice 13th June 1776. 2. John Doyle 1 6th July " 3. Walter Finney August " 4. Jacob Humphries 15th Feb'y 1777. 5. Jacob Bower " " " 6. Robert Wilkin 28th " " Capt. Lieutenant — Thomas Bull (Capt'n Rank)ist Aug't " Lieutenants — 1. William McHalton 17th Octob'r 1776. 2. Richard Collier 16th Feb. 1777. 3. Isaac Vanhorn 17th Feb'y " 4. James Gibbon 1 8th Feb'y " 5. James Glentworth 17th June " 6. Benjamin Lodge nth October 1777. 7. Garret Stediford 12th Oct'r 1777. 8. Stewart Herbert 9th Jan'y 1778. Ensigns — 1. Thomas Doyle (2d Lt. Rank)...ist Jan'y 1777. 2. Farquhar McPherson ( " )... 15th Feb. " 3. Philip Gibbons ( " )... 17th Oct'r " 4. Edward Speer ( " )...7th Feb. 1778. 5. John Mackland 20th Aug. 1777. 6. Charles Macknel 23rd Oct'r " 7. Thomas Dungan 2nd June 1778. 8. James Allen " " " 9- Surgeon — John McDowell. Seventh Regiment. Dates of Commission. William Irvine, Colonel 9th Jan'y 1776. Samuel Hay, Lt. Colonel 2nd Feb'y 1778. Francis Mentges, Major 3rd October 1776. Captains — 1. William Alexander 1st June " 2. William Bratton 12th Jan'y 1777. 3. John Alexander 20th March " 4. Alexander Parker " " " 5. Samuel Montgomery " " " 6. Andrew Irvine 25th Sept'r " 3 82 APPENDICES. Seventh Regiment — Continued. Dates of Commission. Capt. Lieutenant — William Miller (Capt'n Rank) 2nd Feb'y 1778. Lieutenants — 1. William Lusk 20th March 1777. 2. Samuel Kennedy " " " 3. John Bush " " " 4. Samuel Bryson " " " From 13th Reg. — 5. James McMichael 20th June 1777. 6. Thomas McCoy 13th Aug. " 7. Robert McPherson 1st Sep'r " 8. Alexander Russel 25th Sep'r " 1. Joseph Torrence 20th Jan'y " 2. John Blair " " " 3. James Williamson 19th March " 4. Robert Peble 24th April " 5. James Milligan 1st Sep'r " 6. John McCullum 25th Sep'r " 7. John Hughes— Q M " " " 8. Thomas Alexander — B Q M...2nd June 1778. 9- John Ross. Berry. Eighth Regiment. Dates of Commission. Daniel Broadhead, Colonel 29th Sep'r 1776. Stephen Bayard, Lt. Colonel 23rd Sep'r 1777. Frederick Vernon, Major 7th June " Captains (from nth) — 1. Samuel Dawson 16th July 1776. 2. Van Swearingen.9th Aug't " 3. John Finley " " " from 13th Reg't — 4. John Clark 10th April 1777. " 5. James F. Moore " " •« " 6. James Carnagan " •* " Capt. Lieutenant — Samuel Brady 17th July 1776. Lieutenants — 1. Basil Prather 9th Aug't " 2. John Harding 3. Gabriel Patterson Ensigns — All these Rank with 2nd Lieuts. Surgeon- Mate — PENNSYLVANIA LINE IN 1781. 383 Eighth Regiment — Continued. from Iltll Dates of Commission. Reg't. — 4. John Stotesbury 9th April 1777. from 13th. — 5. Joseph Brown Lee 10th April from 2d. — 6. William Honyman 15th Jan'y " — 7. Benjamin Boyer 12th March from nth — 8. Nathanael Martin 30th October Ensigns — 1. William Amberson (rank 2d Lt.)..oth Aug't 2. Graham ( " ).. " " 3. John Crawford, Adj't 2nd June 1778. 4. Reed, late Paymaster " " " 5 6 7 8 9- Surgeon — Abel Morgan. APPENDIX III. ARRANGEMENT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA LINE (SIX REGI- MENTS), JANUARY 17, I 78 I. First Regiment. Commissioned. Colonel Daniel Brodhead Sep'r 29, 1776. L't Colonel Thomas Robinson June 7, 1777. Major James Moore Sep'r 20, " Captains. 1. John Davis (of the 9th) Novem'r 15, 1776. 2. John Clark (of the 8th) February 28, 1777. 3. William Wilson March 2, " 4. Jacob Stake (of the 10th) Novem'r 12, " 5. David Ziigler Decem'r 8, 1778. 6. John Steel (of the 10th) March 23, 1779. 7. Ebenezer Carson (of the 10th) April 1, " 8. John McClellan October 1, " 9. Edward Burke (of the nth) October 2, 1780. 384 APPENDICES. First Regiment — Continued. Subalterns. Commissioned. 1. Lieutenants William Feltman (of the ioth)Novem'r 2, 1777. 2. James McFarland March 21, 1778. 3. William McDowell March 22, " 4. Edward Crawford March 23, " 5. Joseph Banks (of the 10th) ..June 2, " 6. David Hammond Decem'r 8, " 7. Andrew Johnston May 12, 1779. 8. Joseph Collier May 17, " 9. Francis White (of the 10th).. August 2, " 10. Robert Martin April 1, 1780. 11. Michael Everly July, " 12. James Camble July 18, " 13. Ensign Robert Nesbitt (of the 10th) Sep'r 15, " 14. Brooks (of the 10th) Surgeon John Rogers Commiss'd. Surgeon's Mate John Rague (of the 10th) August 19, 1778. Second Regiment. Colonel Walter Stewart June 17, 1777. Lt. Colonel Caleb North (of the 9th) October 23, " Major James Hamilton December 10, 1778. Captains. 1. Joseph McClelland (of the 9th) July 15, 1776. 2. John Bankson Septem'r 25, " 3. Samuel Tolbert ..October 2, " 4. John Patterson January 1, 1777. 5. John Pearson (of the 9th) September 7, " 6. Joseph Finley (of the 8th) October 20, " 7. Andrew Walker (of the nth) January 23, 1778. 8. William Lusk (of the 7th) May 12, 1779. 9. Samuel Kennedy (of the 7th) April 17, 1780. Subalterns. 1. Lieutenants Henry Piercy March 12, 1777. 2. James Whitehead " " " 3. James Morris Jones ** " " PENNSYLVANIA LINE IN 1781. 385 Second Regiment. — Continued. Commissioned. 4. William Moore* April 10, 1777. 5. Enoch Reeves (of the 10th).. .March 1, 1778. 6. John Striker May 1, 1779. 7. Henry D. Pursell Sept. 3, " 8. Ensign William Munen May 19, " 9. John B. Tilden May 28, " 10. Anlavin D. Marcellan Sept. 21, " 11. George Le Roy " " 12. Lts John Ward (8th) April 2, " 13. John Holtsberry (8th) Surgeon, Benjamin Perry July 10, 1777. Surgeon's Mate. Robert Harris August 1, " Third Regiment. Colonel Thomas Craig August 1, 1777. Lt. Colonel Josiah Harmar June 6, " Major William Alexander April 17, 1780. Captains. 1. James Christie August 9, 1776. 2. Isaac B. Dunn October 4, " 3. Lawrence Keene (of the nth) January 13, 1777. 4. George M. Cully October 20, " 5. Abraham G. Claypoole (of the nth) June 10, 1778. 6. William Sproat (of the 4th) 7. John Henderson May 12, 1779. 8. John Marshall August 13, " 9. Samuel Bradey (of the 8th) August 2, " Subalterns. 1. Lieutenants Daniel St. Clair April 1, 1777. 2. Percival Butler Septem'r 1, " 3. Blackall W'm Ball Septem'r 11, 1778. 4. Andrew Engle December 20, " 26 3 86 APPENDICES. Third Regiment. — Continued. Commissioned. 5. Lieutenants James Pettigrew (of the nth) April 13, 1779. 6. John Armstrong May 12, " 7. Richard Fullerton " " " 8. John Wigton August 13, " 9. Peter Smith " " " 10. Jacob Whitzel (of the nth). .March n, 1780. n. Robert Alison (of the nth). .March 16, " 12. Francis Thornberry (of the nth) May 25, " 13. Samuel Read (of the nth) ...October 2, " 14. Ensign Peter Cunningham July 1, 1779. Surgeon. Alexander Stewart October 10, 1779. Surgeon's Mate. Robert Wharry June 20, 1778. Fourth Regiment. Lt. Colonel William Butler January 22, 1779. Major Frederick Vernon (8th) June 7, 1777. Major Evan Edwards (nth) December 16, 1778. Captains. 1. Benjamin Fishbourne January 3, 1777. 2. John Alexander (7th) March 20, 3. Alexander Parker (7th) " 4. Samuel Montgomery (7th) " 5. Andrew Irvine (7th) " 6. James Carnahan (8th) April 18, 7. Henry Becker May 15, 1778. 8. William Henderson May 16, " 9. Thomas Campbell January 1, 1781. Subalterns. 1. Lieutenants Samuel Bryson (7th) March 20, 1777. 2. James McMichael (7th) June 20, " 3. Garret Stedi ford October 12, " PENNSYLVANIA LINE IN 1781. 387 Fourth Regiment. — Continued. Commissioned. 4. George Blewer May 16, 1778. 5. Arcurius Beaty June 2, " 6. Peter Summers " " 7. George Boss June 4, " 8. Robert Peebles (7th) April 15, 1779. 9. James Milligan (7th) April 16, " 10. John McCullam (7th) " " 11. John Hughes (7th) April 25, " 12. Wilder Bevans May 11, " 13. John Pratt 14. Henry Henley 15. Ensign Andrew Henderson July 4, 1779. 16. John Rose (7th) 17. James Gamble (7th) 18. Ebenezer Denny (7th) Surgeon William Magaw June 15, 1775. Surgeon's Mate John Wilkin Fifth Regiment. Colonel Richard Butler (9th) ...June 7, 1777. Lt. Colonel Francis Mentges October 9, 1778. Major Thomas H. Moore (9th) May 12, 1779. Captains. 1. Thomas B. Bowen (9th) September 2, 1776. 2. Benjamin Bartholomew October 2, " 3. John Christie October 23, " 4. Samuel Smith March 1, 1777. 5. Isaac Seely Sept'r 20, " 6. Thomas Boude Sept'r 23, " 7. John Finley (8th) October 22, " 8. Job Vernon June 13, 1779. 9. William Vanleer (9th) October 10, " Subalterns. 1. Lieutenants Levi Griffith January 1, 1777. 2. John Harper " " 3. George North " " 388 APPENDICES. Fifth Regiment. — Continued. Commissioned. 4. Lieutenants James McCullough January 1, 1777. 5. Andrew Lytle ..January 20, " 6. John McKinney (9th) March 18, 1778. 7. David Marshall Novem'r 5, " 8. Ephraim Douglass (9th) January 20, 1779. 9. Edward Butler (9th) January 28, " 10. John Bispham February 1, " 11. Abner M. Dunn (9th) May 31, " 12. Benjamin Marshall June 13, " 13. Llewellyn Davis (9th) August 10, " 14. Nathaniel Smith (9th) 15. David McKnight (9th) 16. Ensign James Gilchrist July 1, " 17. Joseph Irwin (9th) July 20, 1780. 18. Joseph Reed (9th) " " Surgeon. James Davidson April 5, 1777. Surgeon's Mate. Richard Alison March 16, 1778. Sixth Regiment. Colonel Richard Humpton (10th) October 1st, 1776. Lt. Colonel Stephen Bayard (8th) Sept'r 23, 1777. Major James Greer (10th) October 23, " Captains. 1. John Doyle July 16, 1776. 2. Walter Finney August 10, " 3. Robert Wilkin October 10, " 4. George Bush (nth) January 13, 1777. 5. Jacob Humphrey February 15, " 6. Jacob Bower " " 7. John Crawford (8th) August 10, 1779. 8. Robert Patton (10th) March 1, 1780. 9. Jeremiah Jackson (nth) March 16, " LEGION OF THE UNITED STATES, 1793. 389 Sixth Regiment. — Continued. Subalterns. „ ... Commissioned. i. Lieutenants Edward Hovenden February 15, 1777. 2. James Gibbon (Brevet Capt.). " " 3. James Glentworth " " 4. Benjamin Lodge October 11, " 5. Stewart Herbert January 9, 1778. 6. John McMahon (nth) June 1, " 7. James F. McPherson January 15, 1779. 8. Samuel Morrison (nth) February 13, " 9. Thomas Doyle March 15, " 10. John Markham July 1 * " 11. William Huston (nth) Feb'y 24, 1780. 12. Second Lt. Edward Spear Feb'y 7, 1778. 13. Ensign Thomas Dungan June 2, " 14. Sanky Dixon Aug't 25, 1779. 15. John Humphrey " " 16. John Vankoort (10th) Sept'r 15, 1780. Surgeon. John McDowell February 5, 1778. Surgeon's Mate. Ezekiel Downey Sept. 11, 1780. APPENDIX IV. MUSTER ROLL OF THE OFFICERS IN THE LEGION OF THE UNITED STATES, I 793. Commissioned. Anthony Wayne Major General. James Wilkinson Brigadier General. Thomas Posey " " Michael Rudolph Adjutant & Inspector. James O'Hara Quarter Master. John Belli Deputy Quarter Master. Caleb Swan Paymaster. Richard Allison Surgeon. John Hunt Chaplain. 39° APPENDICES. Cavalry. Commissioned. Michael Rudolph Henry William Winston Robert Miss Campbell. William Aylet Lee .Major 5th March 1792. .Captain " "resign'd. " 8th May. " 7th October. " 25th " Tarleton Fleming Lieutenant 8th May. Solomon Van Rensalaer " James Taylor " Leonard Covington " John Webb Cornet. George H. Dunn " .. Abraham Jones " Dan'l Torrey " .. .18th September. .7th October. .25th " .8th May. 18th September. .7th October. .25th " Artillery. Henry Burbeck Major 4th November 1791. Mahlon Ford Captain 4th March John Pierce " 15th October Moses Porter " 4th November Daniel McLane " " Abimael Youngs Nicoll Lieutenant 4th March George Ingersoll " " Staats Morris George Dembar.... Piercy Pope Joseph Elliot Ebenezer Massey... Peter L. Van Alen. .26th July .5th March 1792. .6th September 1792. First Sub Legion. John F. Hamtramck Lieut. Col. Com- mand't 1 8th Feb. 1793. Thomas Doyle Major 28th Sept'r 1792. Thomas Hughes " 27th Nov'r " LEGION OF THE UNITED STATES, 1793. 391 First Sub Legion- John Pratt Captain. William Hersey William Peters Jacob Kingsbery Thomas Martin Thomas Pasteur Cornelius R. Swan John Jeffers Abner Prior Asa Hartshorne Jacob Melcher -Continued. Rank in the Legion. Commissioned. .. 3 4 March I79 1 - ... 4 4 June " ... 5 4 November " ,.. 8 28 December " ... 9 5th March 1792. ...10 ...n 23d April ,..12 15th May ..•13 2 J une ..15 1 September ...16 28th September . . . Vacancy to be filled by Ensign Morgan if acquited. James Clay 1 Lieutenant 28th December 1791. Daniel Britt 2 Hamilton Armstrong 3 Bartholomew Shomberg 5 Bernard Gaines 4 John Wade 6 Ross Bird 7 Hastings Marks 8 William H. Harrison 9 Robert Hunter 10 Lewis Bond 11 John Whistler 12 .29th " .10 January 1792. .5 March. .23 April 1792. .15 th May .2 June 1 Sept .28 Sept'r .27 Nov'r John Morgan. .Ensign May 1790. Daniel Bissell 3 John Michael 5 Jacob Krumer 2 Henry Montford 1 Charles Hyde 4 .5 March 1792. Second Sub Legion. David Strong Lieut Col. Com- mand't 19th February 1793. Thomas Hunt Major 18th Feb'y " 392 APPENDICES. Second Sub Legion — Continued. Commissioned. John Mills Major 19th Feb'y 1793. John H. Buell " 20th " " Rich'd Brooke Roberts Captain promoted. 4 March 1791. Thomas H. Cushing " " " " Joseph Shaylor " Jonathan Haskell " Bezaleel Howe " Daniel Bradley " Cornelius Lyman " Rank in the Legion. No. 1... 4 November. 14 3 oth J ul y !79 2 - Richard Trucombe Howe. .. " X 27th Nov. " dec'd << <( 19th " 20th " H tt Edward Miller tt 2TSt " »« {promoted 4 Nov'r 1791. tt No. j it tt Samuel Andrews tt promoter! ** John Bird tt tt tt a tt No . 2. ..5th March 1792. Edward Turner tt 3. ..13th July " tt 4.. .30th " John Sullivan tt 5. ..27th November " 6...i8th Feb'y 1793. tt William Marts tt 7. ..19th " tt 8. ..20th " " tt 9...2ISt " " 11. ..5 March 1792. it «i a tt 12... " " Isaac Younghusband tt 10... " " Henry Gaither Third Sub Legion. Lieut. Col. Com- mands Major 5 March 1792. LEGION OF THE UNITED STATES, 1793. 393 Third Sub Legion — Continued. Commissioned. George M. Bedinger Major 3 March 1792 resig'd. Jonathan Cass " 21st Feb'y 1793. Isaac Guion Captain 5 March 1792. Zebulon Pike " " Richard Sparks " " " Uriah Springer " " " Nicholas Hannah " " " John Heth " " Joseph Kerr " " " William Faulkner " " " Thomas Lewis " " " William Lewis " " " Howell Lewis " " " John Cummins " 30th June. John Reed Lieutenant 5 March 1792. William McRea " " Robert Craig " " " Nathaniel Huston " " " John Boyer " " " Samuel Vance " " " William Smith " " " Samuel Finley " " " William Richard " " Aaron Gregg " 30th June " John Pothimers " 25th Sept. " John Steele " 21st Feb'y 1793. Reason Beall Ensign 5 March 1792. PeterMarks " " " Samuel Davidson " " " Charles Wright " " " Nanning I Nischer " " " David Hall X " " " Archibald Gray " " " Houtman Lightner " " " Andrew Shanklan " " " 394 APPENDICES. Fourth Sub Legion. Commissioned. John Clark Lieut Col. Com- mand't 21 February 1793. Thomas Butler Major 5 March 1792. William McMahan " " " * Ballard Smith " ,2nd June " * To be filled by Captain Ballard Smith who was suspended for six months by the sentence of a General Court Martial. Edward Butler Captain 5 March 1792. Henry Carbery X William Buchanan X " " "resigned. Jacob Slough Joseph Brock.. William Eaton John Crawford John Cooke , William Preston , Alexander Gibson Benjamin Price " 9 June " Henry De Butts " 28 Decern " Robert Thompson Lieutenant 5 March " Henry B. Towles Maxwell Bines Daniel T Jenifer James Glen William Clarke James Underhill William Stedman " " "resigned. Benjamin Lockwood..... Benjamin Strother William Dwen Peter Grayson Robert Purdy Hugh Brady " " " William Pitt Gassaway " " "deceased. Campbell Smith " " " Robert Lee " " " 9 June " 28 Decern " Ensign 5 March " LEGION OF THE UNITED STATES, i/pj. 395 Fourth Sub Legion — Continued. Commissioned. Stephen Trigge Ensign 5 March 1792. Patrick Sharkey X " " "resigned. Jonathan Taylor " " " Surgeons. John Elliot. John Scott. John F. Carmichael. Nathan Hayward. Elijah Tisdale. Charles Brown. Joseph Philips. William McCrosky. Frederick Dalcho. William A. McCrea. Thomas Hutchins. John Sillman. George Balfour. Surgeon's Mates. James L. Clayton. Thomas Farley. Joseph Strong. Joseph Andrews. John C. Wallace. John Hammill. Charles Watrous. Samuel Boyd. Elihu Lyman. Provisional Ensigns to be called into service at the Discretion of the President of the United States. Levi Hause. John Lamson. Nathan Woodward. Aaron Catlin. Francis Johnston present. Garret Voorhis. John Wallington. George Baynton. Jesse Lukens. Charles Lewis present. Levi McLane " Richard Butler present. William Davidson. Ferdinand Leigh Claiborne. Charles Turner. Charles Harrison. George Lee Davidson. Howell Cobb. Edmund Taylor present. John Bradshaw. Elijah Strong present. John Brick " 396 APPENDICES. APPENDIX V. STONY POINT DOCUMENTS. Fort Montgomery 5 July 1779 To Col'l Richard Butler. Sir, — You will proceed with your detachment as near the enemy this evening as you think proper; your own judgement will best govern you in what mode, or manner to reconnoitre their situation, so as to remain undiscovered — You will fix on the most proper ground for the troops to take post who are destined for the charge, as also the point from which the feint is to be made. Could you take a prisoner, or any person well acquainted with the Sally port, or ports, & the Saliant angles of the works it may have a happy effect — I shall expect to hear from you at Storms ; should you make any important discovery, you will communicate it the soonest pos- sible — I wish you every happiness, & am Sincerely yours Signed by order for Gen'l Wayne J. Archer. General Wayne to General Washington. Fort Montgomery 10th July 1779 Dear Sir, — Your Excellency must have Observed how wretchedly your Officers were armed — many of them without any — of Conse- quence should they ever come to a charge, in place of producing an example of Fortitude to their men, they must Inevitably be the first to give way — an example much easier adopted by the Human mind than the former — especially by the private Soldier who can't con- ceive his Honor or duty Concerned further than his Officers & will be governed by his example as well in a Retrograde Manoeuvre as in a pursuit — I have no reason to doubt the bravery of any Officer belonging to the Corps — & will be answerable for their Conduct in every Vicissi- tude of fortune let them but be properly Armed — which I believe is in our power to — to effect as a considerable Number of Espontoons were sent forward to Camp before I left Phila. which must have Arrived — Will your Excellency be so obliging as to Order about fifty of the neatest & best to this place with all possible dispatch — STONY POINT DOCUMENTS. 397 I mean to practice with them in the Course of two or three days, of which you shall hear further, I shall also expect your Excellency's Advice and Instructions on the Occasion which shall be faithfully executed — Adieu & believe me yours most Sincerely Ant'y Wayne — General Washington to General Wayne. New Windsor 10th July 1779 D'r Sir, — Immediately upon receipt of your letter of this date I ordered the Q. M. Gen'l to furnish the Espontoons you wrote for, and presume you will get them in a day or two. My ideas of the enterprise in contemplation are these — That it should be attempted by the light Infantry only, which should march under cover of night and with the utmost secrecy to the enemy's lines, securing every person they find to prevent discovery. — Between one and two hun- dred chosen men and officers I conceive fully sufficient for the sur- prise, and apprehend the approach should be along the water on the South Side crossing the Beach & entering the abbatis. — This party is to be preceded by a van-guard of prudent and de- termined men, well commanded who are to remove obstructions — secure the sentries & drive in the guard — They are to advance (the whole of them) with fixed Bayonets and muskets unloaded. — The officers commanding them are to know precisely what batteries or particular parts of the line they are respectively to possess, that confusion and the consequences of indecision may be avoided. — These parties should be followed by the main body at a small dis- tance for the purpose of support and making good the advantages which may be gained — or to bring them off in case of repulse & dis- appointment—other parties may advance to the works (but not so as to be discovered till the conflict is begun) by the way of the cause- way & River on the north if practicable, as well for the purpose of distracting the enemy in their defence as to cut off their retreat. — These parties may be small unless the access and approaches should be very easy and safe. — The three approaches here mentioned should be well reconnoitred before hand & by persons of observation. 398 APPENDICES. Single men in the night will be more likely to ascertain facts than the best glasses in the day. A white feather or cockade or some other visible badge of distinc- tion for the night should be worn by our troops, and a watch-word agreed on to distinguish friends from foes. — If success should attend the enterprise, measures should be instantly taken to prevent if prac- ticable the retreat of the garrison by water or to annoy them as much as possible if they attempt it — and the guns should be immediately turned against the shipping & Verplanks point and covered if pos- sible from the enemy's fire — Secrecy is so much more essential to these kind of enterprises than numbers, that I should not think it advisable to employ any other than the light troops — If a surprise takes place they are fully competent to the business — if it does not numbers will avail little — As it is in the power of a single deserter to betray the design — defeat the project — & involve the party in difficulties & danger, too much caution cannot be used to conceal the intended enterprise to the latest hour from all but the principal officers of your Corps and from the men till the moment of execution — Knowledge of your intention, ten minutes previously obtained, blasts all your hopes; for which reason a small detachment composed of men whose fidelity you can rely on under the care of a judicious officer should guard every avenue through the marsh to the enemy's works by which our deserters or their spies can pass, and prevent all intercourse. — The usual time for exploits of this kind is a little before day for which reason a vigilant officer is then more on the watch, I therefore recommend a midnight hour — I had in view to attempt Verplanks point at the same instant that your operations should commence at Stoney Point, but the uncertainty of co operating, in point of time and the hazard thereby run of de- feating the attempt on Stoney point, which is infinitely most impor- tant — the other being dependent — has induced me to suspend that operation. These are my general ideas of the plan for a surprise, but you are at liberty to depart from them in every instance where you think they may be improved or changed for the better — a dark night and even a rainy one if you can find the way will contribute to your STONY POINT DOCUMENTS. 399 success — The officers in these night marches should be extremely attentive to keep their men together as well for the purpose of guard- ing against desertion to the enemy as to prevent skulking. As it is a part of the plan, if the surprise should succeed to make use of the enemy's cannon against their shipping & their post on the other side, it will be well to have a small detachment of artillery with you to serve them — I have sent an order to the Park for this purpose and to cover the design have ordered down a couple of light field pieces — when you march you can leave the pieces behind — So soon as you have fixed your plan and the time of execution I shall be obliged to you to give me notice. I shall immediately order you a reinforcement of light infantry — & more Espontoons — I am with great regard D'r Sir Y'r most obe't servant G'o Washington. Brig'r Gen'l Wayne — General Wayne to General Washington. Fort Montgomery 15th July 1779. 1 1 OClock A.M. Dear General, — On the nth Colo's Butler & Febiger and myself Reconnoitred the Enemies works at Stony point in the most Satisfactory manner possible — and are decidedly of Opinion that two real attacks and one feint ought to be made agreeable to the Enclosed plan & Disposition which I now do myself the Honor to transmit — by the Unanimous Voice of the field Officers present as well as your Excellencies permission I have ventured to add the Second Attack which is the Only alteration from yours of the tenth — I perfectly agree with your Excellency that an Enterprize of this Nature don't so much depend upon Numbers as on Secrecy & prowess — yet the Mass of our Soldiery will derive Confidence from the Reputation of Numbers — from this Conviction I have taken the Liberty to Order Colo' Ball's Regiment Stationed at Rose's farm to follow in my rear & shall give out that the Whole Virginia Line are to Support us — it can have no bad Effect — but it may have a very happy one. 400 APPENDICES. I have taken every possible precaution to secure the passes Leading to Stoney point — for which purpose I have detached three small parties of picked men under prudent & Vigilant Officers with direc- tion to Approach near the Revene little before night so as to Recon- noitre & fix on the proper places to plant their Sentries as soon as it's dark also to secure Certain persons to serve as Guides I shall meet Majr Lee at Clement's or between that & Storm's. I am pleased at the prospect of the day & have the most happy presages of the fortune of the night adieu my Dear General & believe me with every Sentiment of Esteem Your Most Ob't & Affectionat Hum'l Servt. Ant'y Wayne. General Washington to General Wayne. Head Quarters New Windsor July 14th 1779 Dear Sir, — I have reflected on the advantages and disadvan- tages of delaying the proposed attempt, and I do not know but the latter preponderate. You will therefore carry it into execution to- morrow night as you desire, unless some new motive or better infor- mation should induce you to think it best to defer it. You are at liberty to choose between the different plans on which we have con- versed. But as it is important to have every information we can procure, if you could manage in the mean time to see Major Lee, it might be useful. He has been so long near the spot and has taken so much pains to inform himself critically concerning the post, that I imagine he may be able to make you acquainted with some further details. Your interview must be managed with caution or it may possibly raise suspicion — I am D'r Sir Your most Obed't Serv't G'o Washington Brigadier General Wayne. STONY POINT DOCUMENTS. 401 Order of Battle, July 13, 1779. The troops will march at OClock and move by the Right making a short halt at the Creek or run next on this side Clement's — every Officer & non Commissioned Officer will remain with & be answerable for every man in their platoons, no Soldier to be per- mitted to quit his ranks on any pretext whatever until a general Halt is made & then to be attended by one of the Officers of the platoon. When the Head of the Troops arrive in the rear of the Hill Col Febiger will form his Regiment into a solid Column of a half Platoon in front as fast as they come up — Col'l Meigs will form next in Febigers rear & Major Hull in the rear of Meigs which will form the right Column Col'l Butler will form a Column on the left of Febiger — & Major Murfree in his rear every Officer and Soldier is then to fix a Piece of White paper in the most Conspicuous part of his Hat or Cap as an Insignia to be distinguished from the Enemy — ""At the Word March Col'l Fleury will take charge of One Hun- dred & fifty determined & picked men properly Officered with their arms unloaded & placing their whole dependance on the Bayn't, who will move about twenty paces in front of the Right Column, by the Route 1 & enter the sally port — he is to detach an Officer & twenty men a little in front whose business will be to secure the Sentries & Remove the Abbatis & Obstruction for the Column to pass through the Column will follow close in the Rear with shoulder'd muskets Led by Col'l Febiger & Gen'l Wayne in person — When the Works are forced — & not before the Victorious troops as they enter will give the Watch Word "The fort is ours" with Re- peated and loud voice & drive the Enemy from their Works and Guns which will favor the pass of the Whole Troops — I Should the Enemy Refuse to Surrender — or attempt to make their Escape by Water or Otherwise, effectual means must be used to Effect the former & to prevent the Latter. Col'l Butler will move by the Route 2, preceded by One Hundred men with fixed Bayonets properly Officered & unloaded — at the Distance of about 20 yards in front of the Column which will follow under Col'l Butler with shouldered muskets and Enter the Sallyport " C" or " D." These Hundred will also detach a proper Officer & 27 4 o2 APPENDICES. twenty men a little in front to Remove the Obstructions : as soon as they gain the Works they are also to give & Continue the Watch Word — which will prevent Confusion and mistake Major Murfree will follow Col'l Butler to the first figure 3 when he will divide a little to the Right & left & wait the Attack on the Right — which will be his signal to begin & keep up a per- petual and Galling fire & endeavor to enter between & possess the works a. a. if any Soldier presumes to take his musket from his shoulder or attempt to fire or begin the battle until ordered by his proper Officer he shall be Instantly put to death by the Officer next him, for the Misconduct of one man is not to put the whole Troops in danger or disorder — & be suffered to pass with life : — after the troops begin to advance to the works the strictest silence must be Observed and the closest attention paid to the Commands of the Officers — The General has the fullest Confidence in the bravery & fortitude of the Corps that he has the happiness to Command — the distin- guished Honor confered on every Officer & soldier who has been drafted into this corps by His Excellency Gen'l Washington — the Credit of the States they Respectively belong to, & their own Repu- tation will be such powerful motives for each man to distinguish himself that the General can not have the least doubt of a Glorious Victory — & he hereby most Solemnly Engages to Reward the first man who enters the works with five Hundred Dollars & Immediate Promotion ; to the second 400 to the third 300 to the fourth 200 & to the fifth 100 Dollars and will Represent the Conduct of every Officer & Soldier who distinguishes himself on this Occasion, in the most favorable point of View to His Excellency whose Greatest pleasure is in Rewarding merit — But shou'd there be any Soldier so lost to every feeling of Honor, as to attempt to Retreat one single foot or skulk in the face of danger, the Officer next to him is Immediately to put him to death — that he may no longer disgrace the name of a Soldier, or the Corps or State he belongs to — As General Wayne is determined to share the danger of the night — so he wishes to participate of the Glory of the day in common with his fellow Soldiers — STONY POINT DOCUMENTS. 403 Colonel Flenry to General Wayne. " EXTRACT OF BRIGADE LIGHT INFANTIRY ORDERS. " 15 JULY, I779. " The general Solemnly engages to Reward the 1st man who enters the work, with five hundred Dollars, and immediate promotion, to the Second 400D; to the third 300D; to the 4th 200D; to the 5th 100D; & will Represent the Conduct of every officer, and Soldier, who Distinguishes himself on this occasion, in the most favourable point of view, to his excellency who allwais Receives the greatest pleasure in Rewarding merit." The following is an extract from Col. Fleury's report : " It is unanymously acknowledged that the 1st man on the Rampart has been 1st Lt. Colo. Fleury. 2D Lt Knox pensjlvania Line. 3 Serj Baker Virginia 4 wounds. 4 Serjeant... Spencer Virginia 2 wounds. 5 Serjeant... Donlop pensylvania....2 wounds. " Dr. General " I beg — the money to which I am entitled to be Delivered to my men 2d. Lt. Knox begs the same. " for my promotion, If I am obliged afterwards to Leave my com- mand in the L. infantery I Decline it. but I would be very glad to Receive from his excellency, or from Congres some public mark of their satisfaction. My military fortune at home Depends on it." Wayne' s Supplementary Report to the President of Congress. [From The Pennsylvania Packet, or The General Advertiser (Dunlap's), Phila- delphia, Thursday, August 26, 1779.] West-Point, August 10, 1779. Sir, — Your very polite favor of the 17th ult. with the extract of an act of Congress, I have just now received. The honorable manner in which that respectable Body have been pleased to express their approbation of my conduct in the enterprize on Stony-Point, must be very flattering to a young soldier; but whilst I experience 4Q4 APPENDICES. every sensation arising from a consciousness of having used my best endeavours to carry the orders of my General into execution, I feel much hurt that I did not in my letter to him of the 17th of July, mention (among other brave and worthy officers) the names of Lieut. Col. Sherman, Majors Hull, Murphy and Posey, whose good con- duct and intrepidity justly entitled them to that attention. Permit me, therefore, thro' your Excellency, to do them that justice now which the state of my wound diverted me from in the first instance: And whilst I pay this tribute to real merit, I must not omit Major Noirmont De Laneuville, a French gentleman, who (in the character of a volunteer) stept amongst the first for glory. I will only beg to add, that every officer and soldier, belonging to the light corps, discovered a zeal and intrepidity that did and ever will secure success. I am, With every sentiment of esteem, Your Excellency's most obedient humble servant Ant'y Wayne. His Excellency John Jay, Esq; President of Congress. Published by Order of Congress, Charles Thomson, Secretary. Washington' s Official Report to Congress. [From The New "Jersey Gazette, vol. ii. No. 84, Trenton, Wednesday, August 4, 1779-3 Head-quarters, New Windsor, July 21 1779 Sir, — On the 16th instant I had the honour to inform Congress of a successful attack upon the enemy's post at Stony-Point, on the preceding night, by Brigadier-General Wayne, and the corps of light infantry under his command. The ulterior operations in which we have been engaged, have hitherto put it out of my power to transmit the particulars of this interesting event. They will now be found in the inclosed report, which I have received from General Wayne. To the encomiums he has deservedly bestowed on the STONY POINT DOCUMENTS. 405 officers and men under his command, it gives me pleasure to add, that his own conduct throughout the whole of this arduous enter- prize, merits the warmest approbation of Congress. He improved upon the plan recommended by me, and executed it in a manner that does signal honour to his judgment and to his bravery. In a critical moment of the assault, he received a flesh wound in the head with a musket ball, but continued leading on his men with unshaken firmness. I now beg leave, for the private satisfaction of Congress, to explain the motives which induced me to direct the attempt. — It has been the unanimous sentiment to evacuate the captured post at Stony-Point, remove the cannon and stores, and destroy the works, which was accomplished on the night of the 18th, one piece of heavy cannon only excepted. For want of proper tackling within reach to transport the cannon by land, we were obliged to send them to the fort by water. The movements of the enemy's vessels created some uneasiness on their account, and induced me to keep one of the pieces for their protection, which finally could not be brought off, without risking more for its preservation than it was worth. We also lost a galley which was ordered down to cover the boats. She got under way, on her return the afternoon of the 1 8th. The enemy began a severe and continued cannonade upon her, from which having received some injury, which disabled her from proceeding, she was run ashore. Not being able to get her afloat till late in the flood tide, and one or two of the enemy's ves- sels under favour of the night, having passed above her, she was set on fire and blown up. It is probable Congress will be pleased to bestow some marks of consideration upon those officers who distinguished themselves upon this occasion. Every officer and man of the corps deserves great credit, but there were particular ones whose situation placed them foremost in danger, and made their conduct most conspicuous. Lieut. Colonel Fleury and Major Steward commanded the two attacks. Lieutenants Gibbons and Knox commanded the advance parties or forlorn hopes, and all acquitted themselves as well as it was possible. These officers have a claim to be more particularly noticed. Mr. Archer, who will have the honour of delivering these de- 4 o6 APPENDICES. spatches, is a volunteer Aid to General Wayne, and a gentleman of merit. His zeal, activity, and spirit, are conspicuous upon every occasion. I have the honour to be, With the greatest respect and esteem, Your Excellency's Most obedient humble servant G. Washington. I forgot to mention, that two flags and two standards were taken, the former belonging to the garrison, and the latter to the 17th regt. These shall be sent to Congress by the first convenient opportunity. General Wayne to President Reed. New Windsor 26th July 1779 Dear Sir, — Your very polite favor of the 20th I had the pleasure of Rec'g last evening — and am much honored by the manner in which you are pleased to express your approbation of the Enterprize against Stoney Point — the particulars of which you undoubtedly have seen before this time I think it my duty to Inform your Excellency of the good Con- duct of the two young Gent'n who led the Van of each column & who are Entitled to some marks of Distinction for an Intrepidity & Address that would have done honor to the oldest Soldiers Mr. Gibbons of the 6th & Mr. Knox of the 9th Penns'a Regiments I have not put pen to paper on the Occasion except to His Ex- cellency Gen'l Washington — Indeed my head has been too much disordered to attempt it — You will therefore have the goodness to excuse a seeming neglect & do me justice by attributing it to the cause I have mentioned which will also apologize for the shortness of this My best wishes to Mrs Reed & believe me with every Sentiment of Esteem Your Excellencies most Ob't & very Hum Serv't Ant'y Wayne. His Excellenxy Gov'r Reed. STONY POINT DOCUMENTS. 407 Colonel Meigs to General Wayne. [From the original manuscript.] Light Infantry Camp, 22d Aug. 1779. Sir, — I think it my duty to inform your honor, that the account contain'd in your honors letter to his Excellency of the Reduction of Stony Point, is exceptionable to many Officers in the Brigade — It is thought that as the Acco't now Stands, the Public must be in- duced to believe, that L't Col'o Fleury, Major Stewart, Lieu'ts Gibbons & Knox, forced their way into the Works, which made the advancing of the Columns comparatively easy — While the fact is that the volunteers of the Right Column did not Suffer more in proportion than the Columns in General — the Gentlemen don't object to the encomiums given in your honors letter of any one of the Officers there mention'd, who upon ev'ry principle ought to be distinguishingly noticed But think that there is the appearance of partiallity, in not mentioning any wounded Officer except L't Colo- nel Hay, whose wounds are equally honorable & no more so than the Others — the Officer who voluntarily took charge of the Petti- augre on board of which were a considerable part of the Stores, & under a Severe cannonade rowed her off, it is thought deserves some notice I would not think that your honor would deliberately shew a partiallity to any particular Corps or State. On the Contrary I am convinced that you are actuated by Sentiments as great as the magnitude of the cause in which we are mutually combin'd. The multiplicity of matters which crowded upon your honor at the time you wrote his Excellency, exclusive of the attention neces- sary to your own wound, made it impossible for you to take up ev'ry circumstance of the attack — I beg leave to submit it to your honor Whether the names of the other wounded Officers ; & two or three others who enter'd the Fort nearly at the same instant with Col'o Fleury; ought not to be mention'd in a subjoin'd account. I know they claim it as due to them Since others are mention'd — Our feelings in these matters are exquisite, & are absolutely neces- sary to us as Soldiers — The honorable mention made of my name with the other Colonels is to the utmost of my wishes — As Major Hull Commanded a Reg't in the Attack, I could have wish'd that his name had been mentioned with the Colonels — A Sincere wish 4o8 APPENDICES. that the most cordial harmony may ever Subsist thro : the States & Army — and more particularly in the Light Corps at this time, has induced me to write — I have the honor to be with great esteem & respect your honors Obed't Serv't R. I. Meigs, Colonel Lieutenant- Colonel Sherman to General Wayne. [From the original manuscript.] Light Infantry Camp 22d Aug. 1779 Sir, — Can it be supposed that the officers of the New England line are totally void of sentiment, that those fine and delicate feel- ings which ever distinguish the generous and manly soul are inca- pable of making any impression on them. Honor and glory are, together with a desire of rendering our country great, happy, and respectable the grand incentives to our continuing in the army. And what can be more agreeable to the man of feeling, or what can be a greater inducement to urge him on to the performance of actions great and hazardous, as well as glorious, but the happiness of his country, a desire of the grateful applause of his fellow citi- zens, and of transmitting his name in an amiable point of view to the world. These are the united motives that have inspired you to tread the scenes of carnage ; for no one will believe the welfare of your country separate from every other consideration, was the only incentive. The glory you have acquired by the last daring and well conducted enterprise, has gained you a name which will be coeval with the annals of american history; which, perhaps, time herself will be unable to efface. Similar motives you must think warm our bosoms, and stimulate us to similar actions. When first appointed to the Light Infantry was happy to hear the command was given to you. Your brave and spirited behaviour in the action of Monmouth endeared you to your brethren in the field, and merited the highest applause; but 'your letter to gen'l Wash- ington on the reduction of Stony Point, in the minds of many judicious persons, has in some measure tarnished the lustre of your character, and rendered your command less agreeable. However, STONY POINT DOCUMENTS. 409 we wish to believe it was owing to the variety of business that de- manded your attention at that time, rather than any other cause — that your only view was to give an impartial history, to state facts as they really were, without any design of partiality — I wish not to depreciate the merit of any officer, neither would I presume to do it, as it is descriptive of a base degenerate mind ; but I wish, if any discrimination was necessary to be made, that every officer might be noticed according to his merit in the action, and if any were deficient in duty, they may be particularly pointed out. — There appears in the account you have given evident marks of a State partiality ;)all distinctions of which kind I detest, and ardently wish they may be for ever banished from the mind of every friend to his country; they have a tendency to lay a foundation for future broils: for when once a man is sensibly injured, if he is possessed of the least feeling he doth not soon forget it. Why cannot we con- sider ourselves as one and walk hand in hand like brethren ? ,■' Are we not embarked in the same cause, and does not our independance rest on our united efforts? But rather than be injured, rather than be trampled upon and considered as insignificant beings in the scale — my blood boils at the thought. Nature recoils, and points out a mode, the only one of redress — I am not anxious to have my name transmitted to publick view, neither do I think any thing can be said of me more than barely attending to duty — I am not writing for myself, but I feel for those officers under my command as well as others who merit as much as those most distinguished by you. Duty, separate from the ties of friendship is sufficient, to induce me to acquaint you with the sentiments and uneasiness of many officers under your command, which, perhaps, is more extensive than you may imagine. It is still in your power to place things in their proper channel, to gain our affection, and confidence, and then, when called into the field, inspired by your example, animated with a desire of crowning you with fresh laurels, every thing will conspire to induce us to play the man. However conspicuous you may appear in the eyes of the world, you cannot imagin your reputation is so firmly established as never to be sullied, and that the affections and confidence of your officers is unworthy your consideration. You have not arrived beyond the 4i o APPENDICES. regions of censure, and our feelings as well as interest require that there should be a more full and impartial representation of facts than you have made. — The integrity of my intentions I hope, will apologize for my troubling you on this subject. I have the honor to be, with the greatest respect, your most Obed't Serv't Isaac Sherman L't Col Gen'l Wayne Genera/ Wayne's Reply to Colonel Meigs. Fort Montgomery 23rd Aug't 1779 Sir, — I was presented with yours of yesterday on my way to Head Quarters — & as I sincerely believe your Inducement for writing that Letter proceeded from the motive you mention — I shall therefore answer it with that Candor, which I hope will always govern my Actions whilst honored with the Command I now hold If I know my own heart, — I am as clear of Local prejudices as any Gentleman on this ground — perhaps full as much so, as those who effect to suspect me of it, — & who/ 39- Ticonderoga, 33 ; unhealthiness of, 34 ; Wayne at, 35 ; affairs at, in 1776, 35, 3^> 37> 38, 41,42; low temperature at, in December, 1776, 45 ; affairs at, in 1777, 49, 52, 55; commanded by St. Clair, 61 ; evacuated, 72. Todd, Brigadier-General, 331, 332. Tolbert, Samuel, 102 ; mortally wounded, 242. Towles, Lieutenant Henry B., death of, 333- Treaty of Greeneville, 338. Trumbull, Colonel John, 70, 72. U. Uniform, Wayne on the importance of, 24. Uniforms, Pennsylvania troops in need of, 64. V. Valley Forge, Wayne at, 114; sufferings at, caused by incapacity, 115 ; suffer- ing at, 130, 138. Van Berkle, P. I., Wayne applies to, for a loan, 309. Van Renselaer, Solomon, 333. Varnum, General James M., 133. Vernon, Major Frederick, 102, 159. Vernon, Job, 18. Verplanck's Point occupied by the British, 182; works at, 186. Virginia, campaign in, 263. Vose, Colonel, 273. 43 6 INDEX. W. Wallace, John, 44. Warner, Colonel, 48. Warren Tavern, 82. Washington, Wayne's desire to join, 36 ; condition of his army in spring, 1777, 62 ; at Middlebrook, 63 ; strength of his position at Middlebrook, 7 1 ; orders Wayne to Chester County, 73 ; letter to, from Wayne, advising an attack on the British in Delaware, 75 ; letter of Wayne to, regarding attack at Paoli, 83 ; recrosses the Schuylkill after the battle of Brandy wine, 81 ; prepares to attack Howe near theWar- ren Tavern, 81 ; letters of Wayne to, on Paoli affair, 84 ; letter of, to Wayne from Potts Grove, September 23, 1777, 91 ; to Congress, regarding Fort Mifflin, 104; letters of Wayne to, on proposed attack on Philadelphia, 109, no, III; letter of, to Wayne on a winter campaign, ill; reply to, 1 1 1 ; letter of Wayne to, on collecting forage in New Jersey, 131 ; letter of Wayne to, urges an attack on New York, 134; does not approve of an attack on Philadelphia, 136; crosses the Delaware in pursuit of Clinton, 141 ; determines to attack Clinton, 142; letter of Wayne to, regarding attacking Clinton before the battle of Monmouth, 143 ; mentions Wayne's conduct at Monmouth to Congress, 149 ; letter of, quoted, on society in Philadelphia, 160; grants Wayne leave of absence, 169; anxiety of, to have Stony Point attacked, 183 ; letter to, from Wayne, on Stony Point, 186; to Wayne, on same, 187; Wayne to, on capture of Stony Point, 196; con- gratulates the army on capture of Stony Point, 198; official report of Wayne to, on capture of Stony Point, 208; wishes Wayne to resume his command in Pennsylvania line, 215; to Hon. Joseph Jones on sacrifices of the officers of the army, 217; letter of Wayne to, opposing a Canadian campaign and favoring an attack on New York, 224; letter from Wayne and Irvine to, concerning the appoint- ment of Macpherson, 230, 231 ; letter of Wayne to, concerning the move to West Point, 235 ; letter from Wayne to, regarding the mutiny among his soldiers, 242; letter to Wayne con- cerning the mutiny in the Pennsyl- vania line, 252 ; letter from Wayne to, on reorganization of Pennsylvania line, 260; letter from, to Wayne re- garding the mutiny, 261 , 262 ; crosses the Hudson on his march to York- town, 277; success of his plans at Yorktown, 278; reaches Williams- burg, 281 ; letter of Wayne to, on arming his officers, 396 ; on attacking Stony Point, 399 ; letters of, to Wayne on attack of Stony Point, 397,400; official report of, on Stony Point, 404. Wayne, Major - General Anthony, the memory of, cherished as of a popular idol, I ; the sobriquet of " Mad Anthony" ill applied, I ; gen- eral impression regarding, 2 ; trusted by Washington, 3 ; of English origin, 4; immediate ancestors came from Ireland, 4, — not Scotch-Irish, 5 ; his grandfather settles in Chester County, Pennsylvania, 5 ; his father, Isaac Wayne, 5 ; birth of, 6 ; taught by his uncle Gilbert, 6; fondness for play- ing soldier, 6 ; sent to the Academy of Philadelphia, 7 ; becomes a sur- veyor, 7; sent to Nova Scotia by Franklin and others, 8 ; interested in lands there, 9; returns to Pennsylva- nia and marries, 10; chosen to fill INDEX. 437 county offices, lo ; death of his father, II; organizes a regiment, II ; a leader in public affairs in Chester County at the beginning of the Rev- olution, 14; member of numerous committees and conventions, 14 ; re- cruits a regiment for Continental ser- vice, 15; characteristics of, 15; van- ity of, 16; many of his early officers rise to distinction, 18; as chairman of the committee of Chester County he asserts that independence is not the object of the war, 21 ; " Mad Anthony" a law-abiding citizen, 22 ; he prepares his regiment for active service, 22; a strict disciplinarian, 23; studies Marshal Saxe and Caesar's Commentaries, 23 ; in favor of an elegant uniform, 24; takes part in the Canadian campaign, 25 ; his regiment arrives at the Sorel, 28; fights the battle of Three Rivers, 29- 31 ; coolness of, 32; is placed in command of Ticonderoga, ^; letters from that post in 1776-77, 35-55; thinks his regiment the finest in the service, 35 ; expects to be ordered to join Washington, 36; in possession of Montcalm's lines, 37 ; postal com- munication established by Massachu- setts with Ticonderoga, 38; on polit- ical condition of Pennsylvania in 1776, 41 ; urges a closer attention to military affairs, 41 ; on cold weather at Ticonderoga, 45 ; wishes for news about fall of Fort Washington, 45 ; on affairs in New Jersey, 46; on condition at Ticonderoga, 47-49; is appointed brigadier-general, 50; to George Clymer on sickness at Ticon- deroga, 52; suppresses a mutiny at Ticonderoga, 55; ordered to join Washington at Morristown, 60; mag- nanimity of, about rank, 61 ; com- mands the Pennsylvania line, 62 ; outgenerals Grant near Brunswick, 64, 65; described by Graydon, 66; receives letters on politics in Penn- sylvania, 68, 69; his reply to Rush urging attention to military affairs, 7 1 ; ordered to Chester County to arrange the militia, 73; rejoins the army, 74 ; takes post near Wilming- ton, 74; advises Washington to at- tack the British while in Delaware, 75 ; takes part in battle of Brandy- wine, 77 ; attacked at Paoli, 82 ; his letter to Washington on that subject, 83 ; demands a court of inquiry, 84; his defence, 85; acquitted, 88; his house surrounded by the British, 92 ; favors an attack at Germantown, 93 ; takes part in the battle of German- town, 95 ; forbids his servant's being sent to market, 97 ; recapitulation of his services at Brandywine, Paoli, and Germantown, 98; his officers, 100; urges an attack on Province Island to relieve Fort Mifflin, 103, 105 ; his opinion of a council of war, 106; endeavors to bring about an active campaign, 107; urges that an at- tempt be made to draw the British out of Philadelphia, 1 10 ; not in favor of a winter campaign, 112; his voice still for war, 113; shocked at the intrigues of the Conway Cabal, 1 14 ; at Valley Forge, 1 14 ; his letters re- garding clothing for his troops, 116, 117,118, 120,121, 127; wishes bayo- nets for his men, 1 18; his high opinion of that weapon, 118; on recruiting, 124, 125; difficulty of keeping offi- cers from resigning, 128; his claim for teaching the use of the bayonet, 1 30; his zeal in foraging gains him the sobriquet of " Drover Wayne," 130 ; is sent to New Jersey to collect 43« INDEX. stores, 130; letter to Washington re- garding the expedition, 131 ; in favor of making Sunbury a depSt of sup- plies and attacking New York, 134; not in favor of attacking the enemy in Philadelphia, 136; wishes to at- tack them if they march through New Jersey, 137; on the French al- liance, 137; regrets that so many officers are resigning, 138, 140 ; on the sufferings of the army, 138; on the affair at Barren Hill, 139; thinks Clinton will offer battle before quit- ting Pennsylvania, 139; while at Hopewell urges that Clinton be at- tacked, 142, 143 ; at the battle of Monmouth, 144; regrets Major Lee was not present, 145 ; repulses Col- onel Monckton, 147 ; his conduct at Monmouth mentioned by Washing- ton, 149; his example, 150; chal- lenges General Lee, 151 ; his letter to his wife describing the battle, 152 ; his message to the ladies of the Meschianza, 154; once more appeals for clothing, 1 56; on the number of Pennsylvania troops in the field, 157 ; sends two of his officers to appeal to the Pennsylvania Assembly, 160; letter to Reed on need of clothing for officers, 162 ; turns to Robert Morris, 164; wishes to quit the army, 164; urged to visit Pennsylvania, 166; his officers threaten to resign on account of rank, 166; on St. Clair, 168; asks to command a Light In- fantry Corps, 169; surrenders com- mand of Pennsylvania line to St. Clair, 170; sympathizes with his col- onels, 170; orders officers under ar- rest for exceeding military authority, 171; tries to settle difficulty caused by Macpherson's appointment, 174; addressed by officers of Pennsylvania line, 178; commands Light Infantry Corps, 180; his officers in that corps, 180; address to his men on assault on Stony Point, 181 ; reprimands the commissary department, 184; recon- noitres Stony Point, 185 ; report on reconnoissance, 186; receives Wash- ington's plan for attack, 187; im- proves the same, 189; prepares to attack Stony Point, 191 ; letter to Delany to be delivered in case of his death, 192; attacks the fort, 194 ; is wounded, 195 ; carries the fort, 195; despatch to Washington, 196; congratulations received by, 197 ; the value of the exploit, 201 ; its place in history, 2C2 ; how he gained the sobriquet of " Mad Anthony," 207 ; report of, to Washington on capture of Stony Point, 208 ; on the neglect of the Light Infantry Corps, 212 ; addresses to, from officers of Light Infantry Corps on its disband- ment, 213, 214; his reply, 215; re- sumes command in Pennsylvania line, 216; proposes that specie be bor- rowed from France to pay the troops, 217 ; makes an attack on a block- house at Bergen, 218; his letter to Reed regarding, 219; Reed's reply, 220 ; proposes surprising New York, 223 ; opposed to a Canadian cam- paign, 224; letter to Reed on mili- tary affairs, 227 ; endeavors to allay discontent among his officers regard- ing Macpherson, 229 ; his prompt movement on learning of Arnold's treason, 233; on Arnold, 236; fears trouble on the expiration of three-year enlistments, 240; endeavors to keep the men under control, 241 ; his troops mutiny, 242 ; his efforts to suppress the same, 242 ; his corre- spondence and that of others on the INDEX. 439 subject, 242-262 ; numbers of his men re-enlist under him, 264 ; or- dered to command a detachment of the Pennsylvania line, 264 ; report on condition of affairs at York, Penn- sylvania, 265 ; suppresses a mutiny at York, 265 ; ordered to reinforce La Fayette in Virginia, 266; is di- rected by La Fayette to move to Green Spring, 269 ; engagement at, 270; receives the approval of Wash- ington and Greene for his conduct at, 271 ; engages the British at Green Spring, Virginia, near Ambler's plan- tation, 273 ; complimented by La Fayette, 274; care of his wounded officers, 275 ; ordered to cross the James at Westover, 276; fears the French will not co-operate with the Americans at Yorktown, 279; wounded by a sentry, 280 ; welcomes the French officers under M. de Saint-Mame, 281 ; takes part in the siege of Yorktown, 282; fears that the victory at Yorktown will not be sufficiently improved, 283; letter to, from Colonel Stewart on surrender of Cornwallis, 284; letter to, from Rev. David Jones, 285; ordered to Georgia, 286 ; joins General Greene, 286; receives a plantation from the State of Georgia, 287 ; issues procla- mation to citizens of Georgia, 287 ; his force in that State, 287 ; separated from the Pennsylvania line, 288 ; asks that one battalion of same be sent to him, 288; proceeds against Savannah, 288; attempt to surprise his camp by Creek Indians, 290 ; re- sult of his campaign in Georgia, 291 ; Georgia shows her gratitude to, 292; sent to aid in the reduction of Charleston, 292 ; General Greene congratulates, 293; letter to, from General Greene, 293; is stricken with fever, 293 ; negotiates treaty with the Creek and Cherokee Indians, 294 ; is made major-general by brevet, 294; makes no complaint of want of proper recognition of his services, 295 ; letter to, from General Irvine on the jealousy of the Cincinnati, 296 ; his reply to same, 296 ; is elected president of Georgia Society of the Cincinnati, 297 ; a portion of his command offer their services to quell a riot in 1783, 298; on the dis- bandment of the army, 299; in civil life, 300 ; too ill to be present at Washington's farewell to the army, 300 ; receives letter from Dr. Rush urging his return to Pennsylvania, 300 ; replies to same, 301 ; report that he is to settle in Georgia, 301 ; elected a member of the Council of Censors, 302 ; elected to the Assem- bly, 303 ; advocates the repeal of all test-laws, 304 ; member of Constitu- tional Convention of 1787,308; cul- tivates his estates in Pennsylvania and Georgia, 309; borrows money for the purchase of slaves, 309 ; in financial difficulties, 311 ; returned a member of Congress from Geor- gia, 313; his election set aside, 314; appointed by Washington com- mander-in-chief of the army, 315; commands an expedition against the Western Indians, 321 ; his plan for securing the settlements on the Ohio, 324; organizes the Legion, 324; asks for flags for the Legion, 324 ; moves his camp to Fort Washington, 325 ; orders to, from Secretary of War, 325 ; sends to Kentucky for mounted volunteers, 325 ; disregards the suggestions of the Secretary of War and marches against the Indians, 44Q INDEX. 326, 327 ; arrives at Greeneville, 327 ; his soldiers inter the bones of those who fell under St. Clair, 328 ; erects Fort Recovery, 328 ; his con- duct approved by Washington, 329 ; sole conduct of the war confided to him, 329; repulses the Indians at Fort Recovery, 330; is joined by Kentucky volunteers under Scott, 330; builds Fort Defiance, 330; sends last overtures of peace to the Indians, 330 ; his account of the vic- tory over the Indians on the Miami, 331 ; suffering from the gout at the time of the battle, 334; correspond- ence with the English commander, Major Campbell, 335; sends a portion of his troops to Fort Massac, 336; prevents threatened hostilities with Spain, 336 ; estimate of the value of his victory over the Miamies, 337 ; he opens the West to emigration, 337 ; influence of his victory on our relations with England, 339 ; his tri- umphal return to Pennsylvania, 339 ; the House of Representatives refuse to recognize his services, but thank his soldiers, 340; is again sent West, to receive the surrender of the British posts, 342 ; is received with courtesy by the British commanders, 342 ; at Detroit, 343 ; leaves Detroit for Presqu'isle, 343; is taken ill, 343; death of, 343 ; his remains are brought to Chester County, Pennsylvania, by his son, 344; is buried at St. David's Church, Radnor, Pennsylvania, 344 ; inscription on his monument, 345 ; estimate of his character and achieve- ments, 346-348; a sufferer from the gout, 349; supplementary chapter, with general view of his life, by Hon. Joseph J. Lewis, 339; an ac- count of the erection of a monument over his remains, 350; inherits a property from his father, 352; loses money as a tanner, 352 ; borrows money for his Georgia estate, 353; executes his will, 353 ; disregards the acquisition of property, 354; claim against, by the government, 355; a counter-claim established and paid, 355 ; sobriquet of " Mad Anthony" applied to, 356, 360, 363, 364; at Green Springs, 357 ; his conduct in Georgia, 358; conduct at Stony Point, 359; Washington Irving on, 356, 359, 361 ; estimate of his ser- vices in the Revolution, 359 ; anec- dote regarding his willingness to fight, 361 ; in favor of attacking Clinton at Monmouth, 362; favors attacking the British in Philadelphia, 363 ; an insult to his memory re- sented, 364 ; general characteristics of, 365, 366 ; his opinion of Arnold and of Lee, 366 ; sketch of his son Isaac, 370 ; descendants of, 373 ; di- vision orders of December 20, 1777, 374; correspondence of, regarding Stony Point, 395 ; on arming the officers of the Light Infantry Corps, 395 ; supplementary report of, to Con- gress on Stony Point, 402 ; description of medal presented to, 415. Wayne, Gilbert, 6. Wayne, Isaac, father of General Wayne, 5,6; removes the remains of General Wayne to Chester County, 344, 354 ; recovers claim against the govern- ment, 355 ; sketch of, 370; children of, 373- Wayne, Margaretta, 354. Wayne, Mary, letters of General Wayne to, from Ticonderoga, 35 ; letter to, from General Wayne, June 7, 1777, 66; letter to, from General Wayne asking her to visit camp, 74 ; letters INDEX. 441 to, from General Wayne on British possession of Philadelphia, 93 ; on battle of Germantown, 95 ; letter to, from General Wayne on battle of Monmouth, 152. Waynesborougk, Chester County, Pa., home of the Waynes, 5. Webb, Lieutenant John, 333. Weedon, General George, at Brandy- wine, 78. Werts, Major, 121. Westover, Virginia, Wayne at, 276. Wharton, Robert, 350. Wharton, Thomas, president of Penn- sylvania, letters of Wayne to, on clothing, etc., 120; letter of Wayne to, on recruiting and clothing, 125; letter of, to Wayne on recruiting, 126. Whitcomb, Colonel John, 47. White, Lieutenant, mortally wounded, 242. Wilcocks, , 310. Wilkinson, General James, 31, 333. Will of General Wayne, 354. Williams, Major, wounded and taken prisoner, 100. Williams, Lieutenant-Colonel William, 159, 179. Williamsburg evacuated by the British, 273- Willis, Major, 269, 274. Wilson, James, 166. Winter campaign, Wayne opposed to one in 1777-78, in. Wolfe, General James, and capture of Quebec compared to Wayne and Stony Point, 202 ; the treatment his memory has received compared with Wayne's, 346. Wood, Colonel Joseph, 39. Wright, Major, 172. Wright, Sir James, rice-plantation of, presented to General Wayne, 287, 310. Y. Yorktown, Virginia, Cornwallis takes position at, 277 ; French forces arrive at, 278. Young, Dr., 68. THE END. LRBMyVb W 65 i X V^V %/^V V^\«* %-t.-. O^, ^ < • o ' . V^^ # \^ V^^% o ° V % ^ # \^ V' V^v %/^^ - \^ ^v*^^V %.*^ ^ A J* ».: j