The American victory at Stony Point was a brief but bright flare that brought renown to Anthony Wayne. From Congress came the gold medal and from Washington unstinted praise. Wayne’s physician and friend, Benjamin Rush, wrote to him that he had established the natural character of our country; you have taught our enemies that bravery, humanity, and magnanimity, are the national virtues of the Americans. Ahead of Wayne lay some dramatic trials, personal failures, and more battlefield victories. Death would find him on December 15, 1796, still in the uniform and in the service of the democratic nation he helped bring to life.

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Wayne attracted a number of nicknames throughout his colorful career. Thanks to his outspoken insistence on demanding a soldierly appearance by his men, some called him Dandy Wayne. Following a successful operation in 1778 when he both collected livestock provender for the army and badly rattled a powerful British detachment sent to snag him, his enemies took to tagging him Drover Wayne. The most lasting was seemingly bestowed on him in 1781 by a private under arrest who was something of a character himself. When his friend, the general, refused to intercede on his behalf, he declared: Anthony is mad! Farewell to you; clear the coast for ‘Mad Anthony’s friend.’ This one stuck and into the history books went the name of Mad Anthony Wayne.

George Washington’s Stony Point reward had come on July 17, when he visited his just captured prize. I recollect how cordially he took me by the hand, remembered Major William Hull, who was part of Wayne’s column, and the satisfaction and joy that glowed in his countenance. In his report to Congress, Washington identified what had been accomplished. First, there was the diminution of the enemy’s forces, which will be felt in their present circumstances. Next were the stores, armaments, and munitions captured. Finally, there was a boost to public morale, and the confidence that the victory instilled in the troops.

After carefully examining the British defenses and then viewing the difficult terrain where the American columns had pierced those lines, Washington expressed his astonishment that we were enabled to surmount the difficulties and attain our object with so inconsiderable a loss, wrote Hull. And here he offered his thanks to Almighty God, that He had been our shield and protector amidst the dangers we had been called to encounter.

Noah Andre Trudeau is a frequent contributor to MHQ. His latest book is Gettysburg: A Testing of Courage (HarperCollins, 2002).

This article was originally published in the Fall 2003 issue of MHQ. For more great articles, subscribe to MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History today!

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