General Anthony Wayne was one of the great American heroes of the Revolution. Famed for his aggressive style of fighting, he came to be called "Mad" Anthony. In what probably is the most famous incident of his career, he stormed and overran the British fortifications at Stony Point, New York, personally leading a bayonets-only attack. After the Revolution ended he served his country again during the Northwest Indian War. This conflict pitted the newly independent United States against a confederacy of western Indian tribes determined to defend their homelands. American forces suffered a long series of defeats until General Wayne took command. In 1794 at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, he defeated the confederacy and in 1795 negotiated the Treaty of Greenville in which the Indians ceded most of what is now Ohio to the United States.

Mad Anthony Wayne didn't have long to enjoy his victory. He died in 1796 while traveling back east from the scene of his recent military and diplomatic triumphs. He was buried near Erie, Pennsylvania, a long way from his home in the southeastern part of the state. Some years later his family decided to bring his remains back to Radnor, Pennsylvania, for reburial, a decision that was to have some dramatic and unforeseen consequences.