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 a number of his men, and forced him to
fall back some distance from the field of action. This mortifying
experience had no effect whatever on Wayne's courage or
self-reliance, but it did give him a valuable lesson in caution.
He showed what he had learned by the skill with which, many years
later, he conducted the famous campaign in which he overthrew the
Northwestern Indians at the Fight of the Fallen Timbers.

Wayne's favorite weapon was the bayonet, and, like Scott he
taught his troops, until they were able in the shock of
hand-to-hand conflict to overthrow the renowned British infantry,
who have always justly prided themselves on their prowess with
cold steel. At the battle of Germantown it was Wayne's troops
who, falling on with the bayonet, drove the Hessians and the
British light infantry, and only retreated under orders when the
attack had failed elsewhere. At Monmouth it was Wayne and his
Continentals who first checked the British advance by repulsing
the bayonet charge of the guards and grenadiers.

Washington, a true leader of men, was prompt to recognize in
Wayne a soldier to whom could be intrusted any especially
difficult enterprise which called for the exercise alike of
intelligence and of cool daring. In the summer of 1780 he was
very anxious to capture the British fort at Stony Point, which
commanded the Hudson. It was impracticable to attack it by