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 [decorative delimiter] Class of 1838

Vol. I
p702
954

(Born Ga.)

Henry C. Wayne

(Ap'd Ga.)

14

Henry Constantine Wayne: Born Sep. 8, 1815,​a1 Savannah, GA.

Military History. — Cadet at the Military Academy, July 1, 1834, to July 1, 1838, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to

Second Lieut., 4th Artillery, July 1, 1838.

Transferred to 1st Artillery, July 12, 1838.

Served: on the Northern Frontier, at Plattsburg, N. Y., 1838‑40, during Canada Border Disturbances; on Maine Frontier, at Houlton, 1840‑41, pending "Disputed Territory" controversy; at the Military Academy, 1841‑46, as Asst. Instructor of Artillery and Cavalry, of the

(First Lieut., 1st Artillery, May 16, 1842, to Feb. 22, 1851)

Sword Exercise, and of Infantry Tactics, Dec. 12, 1841, to July 1, 1843, — and Quartermaster, July 1, 1843, to June 11, 1846; and on Quartermaster duty, in the War with Mexico, as Assistant to the Quartermaster-

(Captain, Staff — Asst. Quartermaster, May 11, 1846)

General, in forwarding supplies, 1846‑47, participating in the Battle of Churubusco, Aug. 20, 1847, — in the Quartermaster-General's Office at

(Bvt. Major, Aug. 20, 1847, for Gallant and Meritorious Conduct
in the Battles of Contreras and Churubusco, Mex.)

Washington, D. C., in charge of the Clothing Bureau, 1848‑55, — in procuring Camels in Africa and Asia, 1855‑56, and testing in Texas their adaptability for Army transportation, 1857‑58,​b — and in the Quartermaster-General's Office at Washington, D. C., 1858‑60.

Resigned, Dec. 31, 1860.

Civil History. — Author of a work on "The Sword Exercise, arranged for Military Instruction," 1850. Recipient, 1858, of a First Class Gold Medal from the "Société Impériale Zoölogique d'Acclimatation," of Paris, for the success­ful introduction and acclimation of the Camel in the United States.

Joined in the Rebellion of 1861‑66 against the United States.​c

Civil History. — Engaged in Lumber business, Georgia, 1866‑75.

Died, Mar. 16,​a2 1883, at Savannah, Ga.: Aged 69.

Buried, Laurel Grove Cemetery, Savannah, GA.


Thayer's Notes:

a2 His tombstone (q.v.), though hard to read, gives the date of his birth as Sept. 8, 1815. The transcription of the latter on the Find-a‑Grave page is wrong: note the spacing on that line of the stone, and compare the last digit of the year with that of the year of his resignation. The incorrect year of birth 1810 — which would have made him nearly 24 on entering the Academy — has been widely disseminated online thru the influence of a well-known cult site, but is given correctly in Appleton's Cyclopaedia (Vol. VI, p400) and other print sources.

The date of his death is given as March 15th 1883 on his tombstone. Cullum not infrequently records deaths as occurring one or two days later than the actual date: he seems occasionally to have had to rely on funeral notices in newspapers.

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b Full (and entertaining) details of the camel study and of Wayne's leading part in it are given in "Jefferson Davis's Camel Experiment" (PopSciM 74:141‑152) and "Operation Camel: An Experiment in Animal Transportation in Texas, 1857‑1860" (SWHistQ 17:20‑50), and in at least two other papers linked there in turn.

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c As with other Confederate officers, Cullum's Register omits his war record. It was minimal: according to the Southern Historical Society Papers he declined a Confederate appointment as Brigadier-General in 1861 and became Adjutant-General of the State of Georgia.


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Page updated: 23 Apr 15