mmer, grummer, grummer, rolled the roll of the drummer,
Through the morn!

Then with eyes to the front all,
And with guns horizontal,
Stood our sires;
And the balls whistled deadly,
And in streams flashing redly
Blazed the fires;
As the roar
On the shore
Swept the strong battle-breakers o'er the green-sodded acres
Of the plain;
And louder, louder, louder cracked the black gunpowder,
Cracked amain!
--Guy Humphrey McMaster.

One of the heroic figures of the Revolution was Anthony Wayne,
Major-General of the Continental line. With the exception of Washington,
and perhaps Greene, he was the best general the Americans developed in
the contest; and without exception he showed himself to be the hardest
fighter produced on either side. He belongs, as regards this latter
characteristic, with the men like Winfield Scott, Phil Kearney, Hancock,
and Forrest, who reveled in the danger and the actual shock of arms.
Indeed, his eager love of battle, and splendid disregard of peril,
have made many writers forget his really great qualities as a general.
Soldiers are always prompt to recognize the prime virtue of physical
courage, and Wayne's followers christened their daring commander "Mad
Anthony," in loving allusion to his reckless bravery. It is perfectly
true that Wayne had this courage, and that he was a born fighter;
otherwise, he never would have been a great commander. A man who lacks
the fondness for fighting, the eager desire to punish his adversary,
and the willingness to suffer punishment in return, may be a great
organizer, like McClellan, but can never become a great general or win
great victories. There are, however, plenty of men who, though they
possess these fine manly traits, yet lack the head to command an army;
but Wayne had not only the heart and the hand but the head likewise.
No man could dare as greatly as he did without incurring the risk of an
occasional check; but he was an able and bold tactician, a vigilant
and cautious leader, well fitted to bear the terrible burden of
responsibility which rests upon a commander-in-chief.

Of course, at times he had some rather severe lessons. Quite early in
his career, just after the battle of the Brandywine, when he was set to
watch the enemy, he was surprised at night by the British general Grey,
a redoubtable fighter, who attacked him with the bayonet, killed