Anthony Wayne
Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
A restored blockhouse marking the site of American Fort Presque Isle and the original burial place of General Wayne stands on the Soldiers and Sailors Home grounds near the foot of this street. Wayne died there Dec. 15, 1796.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
"Mad" Anthony Wayne was one of the boldest field commanders of the Revolution, remembered for his daring bayonet assault at Stony Point. After the war he led the young United States Army to a decisive victory over a Native confederation at Fallen Timbers in 1794. Returning east from that western command, he fell ill and died at the lonely lakeside garrison of Fort Presque Isle in December 1796, and was first buried beside the blockhouse there.
Why it matters
Wayne bridged the Revolution and the early republic's struggle for the Ohio country, and his frontier grave marks the reach of the new nation to the shores of Lake Erie.
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