Fort Wayne was established in autumn 1839 by Lt. Col. R.B. Mason and the 1st Dragoons, U.S. Army, and was named in honor of Gen. “Mad” Anthony Wayne. It was abandoned on May 15, 1842. Here in July 1861 Col. Stand Watie established a Confederate army post and organized the Cherokee Mounted Rifles. Federal troops captured it on Oct. 22, 1862, in the engagement known as the Battle of Fort Wayne.