Soon afterward, the Army sent Lieutenant Montgomery C. Meigs to Detroit. Meigs bought riverfront farm property three miles below Detroit, in Springwells Township, at the point on the Detroit River closest to Canada. Construction of the fort began in 1842, with Meigs overseeing. The original fortifications were cedar-revetted earthen walls. The fort was completed in 1851 at a cost of $150,000. The Army named the new fort for Revolutionary War hero General "Mad" Anthony Wayne, who had taken possession of Detroit from the British in 1796.