Nathanael Greene facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nathanael Greene
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1792 portrait of Greene by John Trumbull
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| Nickname(s) | "The Savior of the South" "The Fighting Quaker" |
| Born | August 7 [O.S. July 27] 1742 Warwick, Rhode Island |
| Died | June 19, 1786 (aged 43) Mulberry Grove, Georgia |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service/ |
Continental Army |
| Years of service | 1775–1783 |
| Rank | Major-General |
| Unit | Kentish Guards |
| Battles/wars | American Revolutionary War
See battles
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| Spouse(s) | |
| Signature |  |
Nathanael Greene (August 7 [O.S. July 27] 1742 – June 19, 1786) was an American major-general known for his successful command in the American Revolutionary War. He was one of George Washington's most talented and dependable officers.
Contents
Early life and education
Greene was born on August 7, 1742 O.S., on Forge Farm at Potowomut in the township of Warwick, Rhode Island. He was the second son of Mary Mott and Nathanael Greene Sr. His father was a prosperous Quaker merchant and farmer. Greene had two older half-brothers from his father's first marriage, and was one of six children born to Nathanael and Mary.
In 1770, Greene moved to Coventry, Rhode Island, to take charge of the family-owned foundry, where he built a house called Spell Hall. After their father's death, Greene and his brothers inherited the family business. Greene began to assemble a large library that included military histories by authors like Caesar, Frederick the Great, and Maurice de Saxe.
American Revolutionary War
Greene became active in the colonial opposition to British revenue policies in the early 1770s and helped establish the Kentish Guards, a state militia unit. After the April 1775 Battles of Lexington and Concord, the legislature of Rhode Island established an army and appointed Greene to command it. Later in the year, Greene became a general in the newly established Continental Army. Greene served under George Washington in the Boston campaign, the New York and New Jersey campaign, and the Philadelphia campaign.
After the Battle of Harlem Heights, Washington placed Greene in command of both Fort Constitution (later known as Fort Lee), which was on New Jersey side of the Hudson River, and Fort Washington, which was across the river from Fort Constitution. While in command of Fort Lee, Greene established supply depots in New Jersey along a potential line of retreat; these would later prove to be valuable resources for the Continental Army. Washington suggested to Greene that he remove the garrison from Fort Washington due to its vulnerability to a British attack, but he ultimately deferred to Greene's decision to continue to station soldiers there. In the subsequent Battle of Fort Washington, fought in November 1776, the British captured the Fort Washington and its 3,000-man garrison. Greene was subjected to heavy criticism in the aftermath of the battle, but Washington declined to relieve Greene from command. Shortly after the Battle of Fort Washington, a British force under General Cornwallis captured Fort Lee, and the Continental Army began a retreat across New Jersey and into Pennsylvania. Greene commanded part of Washington's army in the December 1776 Battle of Trenton and the January 1777 Battle of Princeton, both of which were victories for the Continental Army.
At the Battle of the Brandywine, Greene commanded a division at the center of the American line, but the British launched a flanking maneuver. Greene's division helped prevent the envelopment of American forces and allowed for a safe retreat. The British captured Philadelphia shortly after the Battle of the Brandywine, but Washington launched a surprise attack on a British force at the October 1777 Battle of Germantown. Greene's detachment arrived late to the battle, which ended in another American defeat. In December, Greene joined with the rest of Washington's army in establishing a camp at Valley Forge, located twenty-five miles northwest of Philadelphia.
In March 1778, Greene reluctantly accepted the position of quartermaster general, making him responsible for procuring supplies for the Continental Army.
He commanded a division in the subsequent Battle of Monmouth, which, after hours of fighting, ended indecisively.
In October 1780, Washington appointed Greene as the commander of the Continental Army in the southern theater, where he was involved in several engagements, primarily in Virginia, Georgia, and South Carolina. By the time he took command, the British were in control of key portions of Georgia and South Carolina, and the governments of the Southern states were unable to provide much support to the Continental Army. Greene would face a 6,000-man British army led by General Cornwallis and cavalry commander Banastre Tarleton. Outnumbered and under-supplied, Greene settled on a strategy of guerrilla warfare rather than pitched battles in order to prevent the advance of the British into North Carolina and Virginia. His strategy would heavily depend on riverboats and cavalry to outmaneuver and harass British forces.
Greene gained several strategic victories at Guilford Court House, Hobkirk's Hill, and Eutaw Springs, eroding British control over the American South.
Major fighting on land came to an end following the surrender of Cornwallis at the siege of Yorktown in October 1781, but Greene continued to serve in the Continental Army until late 1783.
Later life and death
After the war, Greene settled down to a career as a plantation owner in Georgia, but his rice crops were mostly a failure.
Greene fell ill on June 12, 1786, and he died at Mulberry Grove on June 19, 1786, at the age of 43. The official cause of death was sunstroke. For over a century, his remains were interred at the Graham Vault in Colonial Park Cemetery in Savannah, alongside John Maitland, his arch-rival in the conflict. On November 14, 1902, through the efforts of Rhode Island Society of the Cincinnati President Asa Bird Gardiner, his remains were moved to a monument in Johnson Square in Savannah. Greene Square, about a third of a mile southeast of Johnson Square, was named for him upon its platting in 1799.
Legacy
Washington, D.C., hosts a bronze equestrian statue of Greene in Stanton Park. A large oil portrait of Nathanael Greene hangs in the State Room in the Rhode Island State House, and a statue stands outside the building's south facade. A cenotaph to him stands in the Old Forge Burial Ground in Warwick. Greene is also memorialized by statues in or near Philadelphia, Valley Forge National Historical Park, Greensboro, North Carolina, Greensburg, Pennsylvania, and Greenville, South Carolina. The Nathanael Greene Monument in Savannah, Georgia, serves as his burial place.
Numerous places and things have been named after Greene across in the United States. Other things named for Greene include the Green River in Kentucky, Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn, and several schools. Several ships have been named for Greene, including the USRC General Green, the USS General Greene, the USS Nathanael Greene, and the USAV MGen Nathanael Greene.
Personal life
Greene was married to Catharine Littlefield. Greene and Catherine's first child was born in 1776, and they had six more children between 1777 and 1786.
Interesting facts about Nathanael Greene
- Due to religious beliefs, Greene's father discouraged book learning, as well as dancing and other activities.
- As a teenager, Greene convinced his father to hire a tutor, and he studied mathematics, the classics, law, and various works of the Age of Enlightenment.
- In his childhood, Greene gained a slight limp that would remain with him for the rest of his life.
- His statue represents the state of Rhode Island in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol.
Images for kids
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Coat of Arms of Nathanael Greene
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Commemorative stamp of George Washington and Nathanael Greene, Issue of 1937
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Painting by Charles Willson Peale
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Monument to Greene at the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park in Greensboro, NC
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Daniel Morgan, one of Greene's top commanders, led the Continental Army to victory at the Battle of Cowpens.
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Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee commanded the Continental cavalry under Greene.
See also
In Spanish: Nathanael Greene para niños
- Quakers in the American Revolution
- List of places named for Nathanael Greene
