Unlikely General: "Mad" Anthony Wayne and the Battle for America

by Mary Stockwell

Overview

Why did the once-ardent hero of the American Revolution become its most scandalous general??

In the spring of 1792, President George Washington chose “Mad” Anthony Wayne to defend America from a potentially devastating threat. Native forces had decimated the standing army and Washington needed a champion to open the country stretching from the Ohio River westward to the headwaters of the Mississippi for settlement.

A spendthrift, womanizer, and heavy drinker who had just been ejected from Congress for voter fraud, Wayne was an unlikely savior. Yet this disreputable man raised a new army and, in 1794, scored a decisive victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, successfully preserving his country and President Washington’s legacy. Drawing from Wayne’s insightful and eloquently written letters, historian Mary Stockwell sheds light on this fascinating and underappreciated figure. Her compelling work pays long-overdue tribute to a man—ravaged physically and emotionally by his years of military service—who fought to defend the nascent American experiment at a critical moment in history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300235104
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	04/24/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	374
Sales rank:	774,644
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Mary Stockwell is the former chair of the history department at Lourdes University in Ohio and the author of The Other Trail of Tears: The Removal of the Ohio Indians.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

1 "I Have Fought and Bled for the Liberties of America" 1

2 "May God Shut the Door of Mercy on Us" 28

3 "Destined to Exist … in a Howling Wilderness" 48

4 "I Have the Confidence of the General" 68

5 "I Have Not Been Pleased with Madame Fortune" 90

6 "An Event of the Utmost Consequence" 113

7 "I Have No Anxiety but for You and Our Children" 134

8 "They Ought to Unite as a Band of Brothers" 156

9 "They Shall Not Be Lost" 174

10 "This Horrid Trade of Blood" 190

11 "Persecution Has Almost Drove Me Mad" 218

12 "A Savage Enemy in Front, Famine in the Rear" 243

13 "Listen to the Voice of Truth and Peace" 270

14 "I Will Write You More from Presque Isle" 286

Epilogue "A.W. 15 Dec. 1796" 298

Notes 303

Bibliography 337

Index 351

Editorial Reviews

[A] fine biography of Wayne.”—The Wall Street Journal

“A compelling read.”—Library Journal

“Stockwell represents Wayne as a quintessential American adventurer who struggled to be a leader, husband, and father in a rapidly changing world.”—Choice

“In Unlikely General, Mary Stockwell has made a strong case that room remains in the crowded genre of American Revolutionary-era biography for a fresh, well-written offering based on sound research. . . . An admirable accomplishment”—Gina M. Martino, Canadian Journal of History

“A compelling, yet somewhat unconventional biography. . . . Those interested in American military history, US–Native American relations, and the early republic will benefit from reading Unlikely General.”—Michael P. Gabriel, Pennsylvania History

“Well-written, with a keen eye for depicting the human side of history. Unlikely General draws the reader into exploring the passions, compulsions, and cultural perceptions of an important and justly-celebrated figure in the founding of the American republic.”—Richard Johnson, University of Washington

"Mary Stockwell has written what portends to be the definitive account of the life and times of Brigadier General "Mad Anthony" Wayne. One of George Washington's most able subordinates, Anthony Wayne's military performance during and after the Revolution is a story that needs to be more widely known. Wayne was indeed an "unlikely general" but one who played a central role in the early military affairs of the United States."— Charles P. Neimeyer, Marine Corps University

“Stockwell has given us an Anthony Wayne unlike any other—a brave and sometimes brilliant soldier, but also a complex, flawed, and emotionally vulnerable man. . . .an important and engaging biography.”—Mark Edward Lender, co-author of A Respectable Army: The Military Origins of the Republic, 1763-1789

From the Publisher

03/01/2018
Stockwell (history, Lourdes Univ.; The Other Trail of Tears) writes the biography of Gen. Anthony Wayne (1745–96), who, according to the author, solidified President George Washington's legacy at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. After a crushing defeat in southern Ohio, where almost 1,000 soldiers under the command of Gen. Arthur St. Clair died at the hands of Native Americans, Washington was forced to replace St. Clair with someone who could keep the army alive while violently clashing with indigenous peoples as they claimed the land for settlement between the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. To the chagrin of Congress, that man was Wayne, an alcoholic who had been thrown out of congressional office for voter fraud. Here, Stockwell amplifies Wayne's voice and accomplishments, exploring his virtually unknown origins to his rise as a figure to study more closely. Because Stockwell tends to make assumptions about his subjects' emotions and feelings, the book reads more like a popular history than an academic treatise. Though engaging, the narrative needs more grounding in historical context. VERDICT Overall, a compelling read. Pair with Colin Calloway's The Indian World of George Washington for a more complete history of early America and the struggles of Native Americans.—Jessica Holland, Univ. of Kentucky, Lexington

Library Journal