Ohio’s Wayne National Forest was given its name in 1951 to honor a Revolutionary War hero, Gen. “Mad” Anthony Wayne, who in addition to being a war hero also led a brutal military campaign against the Indigenous peoples of Ohio.
The USDA Forest Service is citing what it calls Wayne’s “complicated legacy” in a proposal to remove Wayne’s name from the national forest.
Ahem, this same “Mad” Anthony Wayne is the Wayne in our Waynesboro.
“Our intention is to listen to Tribal Nations and community members, and take the actions needed to better serve them,” Forest Supervisor Lee Stewart said in a statement in a USDA Forest Service news release.
The agency wants to change the name of the forest to Buckeye National Forest, which makes local sense – the buckeye is the state tree of Ohio, and the word is a common nickname for the state.
And then there’s the “complicated legacy” thing. Wayne, a slaveholder, was tapped by President Washington to lead U.S. forces in military actions in what would become Ohio aimed at protecting American settlements in the region from attacks by joint Native and British forces.
The treaty negotiated by Wayne ending the Northwest Indian War is recognized as the basis of what would later become known as manifest destiny, the 19th century notion that white American settlers were destined to expand across the expanse of the North American continent, at the expense of the destinies of Natives and Blacks.
So, yeah, “complicated legacy.”
Waynesboro, Va., got its name after locals decided to honor Wayne following his victory in the 1794 Battle of Fallen Timbers, a pivotal moment in the course of the Northwest Indian War.
Not saying here that we need to change the name.
Just that, other people are.
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Chris Graham
