US general, born in Warwick, Rhode Island, USA. In the American Revolution, he fought (17756) at Boston, Trenton, the Brandywine, and Germanton, and in 1780 took command of the Southern army, which had just been defeated by Cornwallis. He was defeated by Cornwallis at Guildford Courthouse (1781), but the victory was so costly that Greene was able to recover South Carolina and Georgia, paving the way to American victory in the South. He was considered second only to Washington as a general.
Nathanael Greene (August 7, 1742 (N.S.) – June 19, 1786), was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. When the war began, Greene was a militia private;
Before the war
The son of a Quaker farmer and smith, he was born at Potowomut in the township of Warwick, Rhode Island, on July 27, 1742 (old style)/August 7, 1742 new style. Greene was the son of Nathanael Greene, Sr. Though his father's sect discouraged "literary accomplishments," Greene educated himself, with a special study of mathematics, history of military tactics and law.
In 1770, Greene moved to Coventry, Rhode Island, to take charge of the family-owned forge (foundry), shortly prior to his father's death. There, he was the first to urge the establishment of a public school and in the same year he was chosen as a member of the Rhode Island General Assembly, to which he was re-elected in 1771, 1772 and 1775. In 1774, he married Catherine Littlefield Greene.
In August 1774, Greene organized a local militia, which was chartered as the Kentish Guards in October.
Early years of the war
In 1775, Greene helped raise a contingent of men to join the American forces around Boston. On May 8, 1775, he was promoted from private to Brigadier General of the Rhode Island Army of Observation formed in response to the siege of Boston. He was appointed a brigadier of the Continental Army by the Continental Congress on June 22, 1775. Washington assigned Greene the command of the city of Boston after it was evacuated by Howe in March 1776.
Greene's letters of October 1775 and January 1776 to Samuel Ward, then a delegate from Rhode Island to the Continental Congress, favored a declaration of independence. On August 9, 1776, he was promoted to be one of the four new major generals and was put in command of the Continental Army troops on Long Island; he chose the place for fortifications, and built the redoubts and entrenchments of Fort Putnam (the site of current day Fort Greene) east of Brooklyn Heights.
Greene was prominent among those who advised a retreat from New York and the burning of the city so that the British might not use it. He was placed in command of Fort Lee on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. On October 25, 1776, he succeeded General Israel Putnam in command of Fort Washington, across the river from Fort Lee. He received orders from Washington to defend Fort Washington to the last extremity, and on October 11, 1776, the Congress passed a resolution to the same effect; Greene ordered Colonel Magaw, who was in immediate command, to defend the place until he should hear from him again, and reinforced it to meet General Howe's attack. Nevertheless, the blame for the losses of Forts Washington and Lee was put upon Greene, but apparently without him losing the confidence of Washington, who himself assumed the responsibility.
At the Battle of Trenton, Greene commanded one of the two American columns. At the Battle of Brandywine, Greene commanded the reserve. At Germantown, Greene's command, having a greater distance to march than the right wing under Sullivan, failed to arrive in good time: a failure which Greene himself thought would cost him Washington's trust. But when they arrived at length, Greene and his troops distinguished themselves.
At the urgent request of Washington on March 2, 1778, at Valley Forge, he accepted the office of Quartermaster general. However, he had become Quartermaster General on the understanding that he should retain the right to command troops in the field. In August, Greene and Lafayette commanded the land forces sent to Rhode Island to co-operate with the French admiral d'Estaing, in an expedition (the Battle of Rhode Island) which proved unsuccessful. In June 1780, Greene was in command at the Battle of Springfield. In August, he resigned the office of Quartermaster general after a long and bitter struggle with Congress over the interference in army administration by the Treasury Board and by commissions appointed by Congress.
Command in the South
The Congress had been unfortunate in the selection of commanders in the South.
When Gate's successor was to be chosen the Congress decided to entrust the choice to Washington. On October 5 it resolved "that the Commander-in-Chief be and is hereby directed to appoint an officer to command the southern army, in the room of Major General Gates." Washington delayed not at all in making his selection. On the day after he received a copy of the resolution, he wrote to Nathanael Greene at West Point, "It is my wish to appoint You." The Congress approved the appointment, gave Greene command over all troops from Delaware to Georgia with extraordinarily full powers, "subject to the control of the Commander-in-Chief". Greene took command at Charlotte, North Carolina on December 2. Isaac Huger of the South Carolina Continentals was appointed his second in command.
The Strategic Retreat
The army was weak and badly equipped and was opposed by a superior force under Cornwallis. Greene decided to divide his own troops, thus forcing the division of the British as well, and creating the possibility of a strategic interplay of forces. This strategy led to General Daniel Morgan's victory of Cowpens on January 17, 1781, where nearly nine-tenths of the entire British force were killed or captured.
With over 800 prisioners Morgan began a strategic retreat, moving north towards Salisbury where he was joined by Greene at Cowan's Ford on the Catwba River. Greene then wrote to Huger to direct his troop movement to Guilford Couthouse. Arriving on February 9 at Guilford, Greene summoned his field officers to a council of war of his chief officers and put forward the question of whether the army should give battle. dangerous situation."
"In all probability you will find me on the North side of Dan River. most spirited exertions."
The Race to the Dan River
Greene at this same time formed a special light corps to be commanded by Col. Edward Carrington joined the command, with the report that boats had been secured, and secreted along the Dan River in Virginia, so as to be collected on a few hours' warning.
By the fourteenth, Greene's army had outrun the British and crossed the Dan River at Irvine's and Boyd's ferries in Halifax County, Virginia. Greene had won the race.
"This American retreat, which extended across the breadth of North Carolina, is considered one of the masterful military achievements of all time." Dennis M. Conrad, Project Director and Editor, The Papers of General Nathanael Greene
In a letter to General John Butler, Greene writes "I have some expectation of collecting a force sufficient in this County to enable me to act offensively and in turn race Lord Cornwallis as he has done me."
Battle of Guilford Courthouse
After only a week's encampment at Halifax Court House, Greene had sufficient promises and reports of help on the way to recross the river. Greene and the main army re-crossed the Dan River into North Carolina on the 22nd. Greene then pursued Cornwallis and gave battle on March 15, 1781, at the Battle of Guilford Court House in North Carolina, on ground he had himself chosen. Greene was defeated, but inflicted a great loss of men to Cornwallis. Greene's generalship and judgment were again conspicuously illustrated in the next few weeks, in which he allowed Cornwallis to march north to Virginia and himself turned swiftly to the reconquest of the inner country of South Carolina.
Greene then gave his forces a six weeks' rest on the High Hills of the Santee River, and on September 8, with 2,600 men, engaged the British under Lieutenant Colonel James Stuart at Eutaw Springs. The battle, although tactically a draw, so weakened the British that they withdrew to Charleston, where Greene penned them during the remaining months of the war. Greene's Southern campaign showed remarkable strategic features.
Post-war activities
South Carolina and Georgia voted Greene liberal grants of lands and money, including an estate, "Boone's Barony," south of Edisto in Bamberg County. After twice refusing the post of Secretary of War, Greene settled in 1785 on his Georgia estate, "Mulberry Grove," 14 miles above Savannah.
Greene was singularly able and, like other prominent generals on the American side, a self-trained soldier. He was second only to Washington among the officers of the American army in military ability, and the only general, other than Washington, to serve the entire eight years of the war.
Quotations
"I am determined to defend my rights and maintain my freedom or sell my life in the attempt." Nathanael Greene to his wife, Catherine Littlefield Greene.Memorials
At least three ships in the United States Navy have been named for Nathanael Greene. The third was the USS Nathanael Greene (SSBN-636), a James Madison-class nuclear submarine.
There is a monument (under which his remains are interred) to Greene in Savannah (1829).
He is also memorialized at the site of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse near what is now Greensboro, North Carolina, the city named after him.
See also:List of places named for Nathanael Greene
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