The "Mad" Knight

Sadly, not many people know much about the American Revelation.  Folks generally know that July 4^th is Independence Day although may don’t know why that day is significant (Insert tourist here:  the civil war ended then…right?).  Additionally, people know the big players such as Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, and John Adams.  But not many people, especially those in my younger generation can tell you why they are important or even more disturbingly, seem to care.  It should not come as a surprise then that when I prompted some work colleges into a discussion on Revolutionary War Generals there was little said about anybody other than George Washington.  Don’t get me wrong, Washington was amazing but there are many others whose combined effort helped win the war (or stifle the war effort as is the case with Benedict Arnold).  Some of the under-appreciated leaders include: Nathanael Green, Henry Knox, Artemas Ward and dare I say it a Frenchman or two.  However, my favorite revolutionary general is “Mad” Anthony Wayne. 

                                         

                                              A dashing fellow that young "Mad" Anthony 

Anthony Wayne was like myself, a Pennsylvania man.  He was born in Chester County PA to a well off family and was raised (ironically) only a few miles from Valley Forge.  As seems customary of many great minds from that day he held multiple professions. In addition to being a Major General in the Continental Army he also dabbled in: surveying, politics, and running a rice plantation.  Wayne was graced by the fact that his family was friends with Benjamin Franklin; who in 1766 asked Wayne to survey land that he owned in Nova Scotia.  Wayne’s relationship with Franklin helped to kick start his political career which was becoming prominent near the onset of the Revolutionary War.  It wasn’t until the beginning of the war that Wayne’s name became a household name.  He began his military career by raising a Pennsylvania Militia which was eventually incorporated into the Continental Army and for this action he was given the rank of Colonel.  He and his men took part in many different engagements throughout the war including the battles of; Trois-Rivieres, Brandywine, and Germantown.  Wayne’s two greatest victories and the ones that earned him his nickname were the battle of Stony Point and Green Springs.  At Stony Point he was assigned to capture a British fort along the Hudson River.  During this battle Anthony and his men preformed a daring night raid moving through a swamp to capture the superior British force.  Anthony was struck in the head with shrapnel creating a severe wound but he continued the attack.  At the battle of Green Springs he was outgunned yet led a successful bayonet charge against superior British Forces, thus securing the nickname “Mad” and earning him a promotion to Major General.  Wayne would go on to sit on the Second United States Congress and on the Pennsylvania Legislature.  He retired on his rice plantation in Georgia but was called back into duty to participate in the Northwest Indian War where he led multiple victories winning the war for the United States.  Wayne would die 2 years later from complications of gout.

Many places and things would go on to be named in honor of Wayne.  The towns of Waynesboro PA and Fort Wayne Indiana, as well as Wayne County PA are examples of this.  There is even an Ohio based brewery (the Mad Anthony Brewing Company) named in his honor whose specialty brew is an Irish Stout proudly named “the Harry Baal’s.” 

                            

                                     I sure do love Harry Baal's when I'm thirsty!!!....Wait...What?

With all the pomp and circumstance surrounding Anthony Wayne it should come as no surprise that he would be incorporated into literature as well.  In 1939 writer Bill Finger penned Detective Comics #27.  It was about a millionaire industrialist who was brutally murdered.  Unable to solve the crime police have to request backup from a private detective.  This private detective goes on to solve the case and throw the murder into a vat of boiling acid.  The detective’s name is Bruce Wayne and his secret identity:  Batman.  As it would turn out in the fictional world of DC Comics Bruce Wayne is a direct decedent of General “Mad” Anthony Wayne himself. 

But wait….It gets better!

Several months ago I received a letter in the mail from my grandmother.  We had been talking in depth about family genealogy and history and I had expressed interest in becoming the honorary family historian.  Included with the letter was a family tree.  As I examined the tree I began by reading the names, there was nothing out of the ordinary.  My attention then turned to the typed notes that appeared off to the side of some names.  My heart stopped.  Then leapt.  Then did a barrel roll.  Typed neatly to the side of Richard Idding’s (my 7 greats grandfather) name was this message: Came to Chester County from Wales about 1700. His first son Richard was grandfather to “Mad” Anthony Wayne.  Stunned for only an instant, I reexamined the chart with a newfound gusto. Take the Noecker side of the family carry the 4 add in a Cornelia Hall multiply by the power of Henry Iddings divide by the year 1700.  It was all there.  The math all added up.  “Mad” Anthony’s Great Grandfather, and my 7 Greats Grandfather were one in the same.  I was related to General “Mad” Anthony Wayne! But more importantly, I realized that I am related to Bruce Wayne….I am related to the coolest fictional superhero ever imagined….I am related to Batman! 

  

                               

He’s the relative that I deserve, but not the one I need right now.  So I’ll forget to invite him to reunions because he can take it.  Because he’s not my brother.  He’s the silent third cousin twice removed, watchful kinsman.  The "Mad" Knight.