The average American living in Ohio and Pennsylvania may not know exactly who Gen. Anthony Wayne was, what he did, or what became of the man, but they’ve definitely heard his name, because so many streets and buildings are named after him there.
Mad Anthony Wayne Became a Legend Through Combat
But those who drive along U.S. Route 322 through Pennsylvania might even catch a glimpse of him, even though he’s been dead for almost 230 years.
Wayne was a politician, a Founding Father, and a soldier whose exploits and daring in combat earned him the nickname “Mad” Anthony Wayne. As a Revolutionary War commander, he was fearless, ordering his troops to remove their musket flints at the Battle of Stony Point to ensure they would not only be silent but also engage the British in hand-to-hand combat at night. The gamble worked. After 30 minutes, the British were routed and the Americans captured the cliffs. It was also the second time he’d used that tactic.
But his battlefield legend doesn’t end there. During the 1778 Battle of Monmouth, his force was abandoned by Gen. Charles Lee and was pinned down and outnumbered by the British. Through sheer tyranny of will and a lot of swearing, Wayne rallied his men to hold off repeated enemy bayonet charges and hold the field until George Washington could arrive with a relief force.
Mad Anthony Wayne’s Story Didn’t End With Death
That’s pretty much how Wayne’s Revolutionary War battles went, because he didn’t believe in maintaining a line of battle; he believed in outmaneuvering the enemy. He went on to become a U.S. Representative and the commander of the Legion of the United States, which is probably the most badass title the Army ever bestowed on anyone until World War II. “Mad” Anthony Wayne died in 1796, some say by poison and betrayal, but most believe it was complications from gout.
But this is where his afterlife somehow gets even more interesting than his actual life.
Mad Anthony Wayne’s Ghost Roams Route 322
To put it simply: “Mad” Anthony Wayne is buried in two places. He was first interred at Fort Presque Isle in Pennsylvania, but his family wanted his remains moved to the family plot in Radnor, close to Philadelphia. When they dug him up 13 years later, Wayne’s remains still looked remarkably fresh, as if he hadn’t been dead long at all. It was going to be difficult to move.
So to make moving his body easier, Wayne’s family had the body dismembered and boiled so the meat fell off the bones. Wayne’s son was given the bones to move to Radnor, while the rest of the Founding Father was reinterred in Erie. Apparently, however, some of his bones fell out of the cart along the way. Legend has it that the ghost of “Mad” Anthony Wayne can be seen along Route 332 every January 1st, as the general searches for his skeletal remains.
Read About Other Military Myths and Legends
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