About this item
Why did the onceardent 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 longoverdue 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.
About the Author
Mary Stockwell received her Ph.D. in American history from the University of Toledo. Following her graduation, she worked as a writer in business world before becoming a professor of history and department chair. Most recently she was an Earhart Foundation Fellow at the William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan. She is the author of history books used by young people throughout the United States, including The Ohio Adventure, A Journey through Maine, and Massachusetts, Our Home, the 2005 winner of the Golden Lamp Award from the Association of Educational Publishers for Best Book. Her biography of America's 28th President -- Woodrow Wilson, The Last Romantic -- is part of the First Men: America's Presidents Series. Her latest book -- The Other Trail of Tears: The Removal of the Ohio Indians -- tells the forgotten story of the removal of the Delaware, Seneca, Shawnee, Ottawa, and Wyandot to Kansas and Oklahoma during the 1820s, 1830s, and 1840s. Learn more at www.marystockwell.com.
