Henry C. Wayne

Henry C. Wayne. Fort Wayne. , Fort Wayne is named after Henry Constantine Wayne. Henry Wayne was born in Savannah, Georgia on September 8, 1815. He was the son of James Moore Wayne, an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court., Henry Wayne graduated from the U.S. military academy at West Point in 1838 and during his military career, he served on the northern frontier during the Canada border disturbances and was assistant instructor of artillery and cavalry at the U.S. military academy. He also served in the war with Mexico where he was promoted to the rank of Major in August 1847 for his gallant and meritorious conduct during the battles of Churubusco and Contreras. Wayne also authored, "The Sword Exercise, arranged for Military Instruction.", U.S. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis decided to experiment with camels as a means of transporting military provisions across Texas and the American west. Major Wayne was chosen to lead an expedition to the Middle East to procure camels and bring them back to Texas to determine their adaptability. Ultimately, it was determined that camels were not suited to the American style of combat and the experiment ended with the start of the Civil War., Major Wayne resigned his commission in December 1860 and joined the Confederate States Army as his native state of Georgia's Inspector General. As Inspector General, he organized the state militia and officers into companies, regiments, and brigades. He rose to the rank of Brigadier General in December 1861. In 1862, Wayne was placed in command of the newly formed Georgia State Line Troops to defend the state., After the Great Locomotive Chase in 1862 and the growing danger of Union attacks against the only railroad supply line between Atlanta and Chattanooga, General Wayne ordered a defensive fort built in 1863 in Resaca to guard the Western and Atlantic railroad bridge over the Oostanaula River. Afterwards, the State Line Troops named the fort, Fort Wayne, in honor of their commander., General Wayne resigned his commission in June 1864 and returned to reclaim his inspector general duties. Wayne died on March 15, 1883 in Savannah where he is buried in Laurel Grove Cemetery.