For all the exigencies of the service, Wayne was peculiarly fitted. Ardent, yet sufficiently cautious, experienced not only in the general science of war, but particularly so in contests with the wily and savage foe, untiring in his perseverance, hardy and brave as Cxsar, he was, of all the then distin guished officers in the United States, perhaps the most proper for the occasion. We have seen that he accepted the command with a full knowledge of its difficulties and dangers, and with a modest dis trust of his abilities, which only served to render him the more cautious and vigilant.
On the 25th of May 1792, the general was fur nished by the secretary of war with his instruc tions, in which he was emphatically told, what he knew full well beforehand, " that another defeat would be inexpressibly ruinous to the reputation of the government." He repaired to Pittsburgh,' after taking leave of his family and friends, which place had been selected as the rendezvous of the troops. A new army was to be raised and organized; new officers to be obtained; the old force had been completely annihilated; the old officers had been killed or had resigned their commissions. The labours of the commanding general was, of course, proportionably increased. This, however, was a duty which, in the space of his long and faithful services to his country, Wayne had been required frequently to perform. At the breaking out of the revolution it was his duty and his pleasure to convert the raw, undisci plined yeomen into regular troops; and now he resumed the task with the same earnestness and cheerfulness, under the orders of his independent country. Many of the officers, not to mention the soldiers, had yet to learn the rudiments of their profession. Every thing, therefore, devolved upon the general. Military tactics, discipline, the or ganization of the army, all required his constant and persevering personal attention. His efforts were indefatigable, and the obstacles he encountered would have deterred one less determined than him self to redeem his country's reputation.
The country was completely panic-struck; an engagement with the Indians was regarded as identical with defeat. The greatest difficulties, therefore, existed in obtaining recruits. They marched, almost with horror, to the place of rendezvous, and seemed to consider themselves as on the way to instant destruction. When arrived at head-quarters, the greatest trouble and care were necessary to prevent desertion. It was impossible to guard against it completely, and this delayed considerably the formation of the army. Often
the very sentries would desert their posts, and leave the most accessible places unguarded. The gene ral, however, introduced a different scene, as soon as his salutary measures had time to go into opera tion. The troops were constantly exercised in all the usual evolutions, and also in such as were supposed to be most appropriate to the peculiar warfare they were about to undertake. They were taught daily to fire at a mark, and rewards were given to the best marksmen. A generous emula tion was excited between the infantry and the riflemen. The latter were instructed in the impor tance of quickness as well as accuracy, and the former were led to place implicit confidence in the use of the bayonet. Instruction in the broad sword exercise was also imparted to the dragoons; and the artillery were not omitted in the attention which the general bestowed on every department of the service. The troops were taught to charge in open order, each individual relying on himself, and prepared for a personal conflict with the savage foe.
These varied and necessarily tedious prepara tions, together with the extreme slowness and hesitation with which the recruits came in, occupied the entire season; which, however, was not suffered to pass over by the general without obtaining information of the strength and disposi tion of the hostile Indians. Efforts were made to induce them to consent to an honourable peace; but they repelled all advances, and even went so far as to barbarously murder the two officers who were sent to them with a flag of truce.
The army wintered about twenty-two miles be low Pittsburgh, on the Ohio, at a place named Legionville. Being anxious to conciliate the powerful tribe of the Six Nations, Wayne sent for two of their distinguished chiefs, Cornplanter and New Arrow, to pay him a visit. These persons pro fessed to be very friendly towards the United States, and yet gave some evidence of what might be the views of the hostile Indians, when even they insisted upon confining the Americans to the east bank of the Ohio river. " My mind and heart," said Corn planter, " are upon that river; may that water ever continue to run and remain the boundary of lasting peace between the Americans and Indians on its opposite shores." It was evident from these ridi culous and unjust pretensions (unjust because repeated treaties and fair purchase had confirmed to the states much land west of that river), that British emissaries were at work, labouring to plant these notions in the minds of the Indians: subse quent disclosures made the fact perfectly obvious.