Nathanael Greene

Portrait of Nathanael Greene, by Charles Willson Peale, 1783

Nathanael Greene, Jr. (1742-1786) was a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Although lacking in experience, he became one of George Washington's most trusted aides. He also served as Quartermaster General and as the commander of the southern army.

Early Life

Nathanael Greene was born in Rhode Island into a pacifist Quaker family. Early in his lifetime he developed a limp in his right leg that would be with him for the rest of his life. The Greene family was prosperous, owning a farm, iron forge, and sawmill. Greene received little formal education as a youth outside of learning to read, as his father believed that secular learning would lead to temptation and sin. His reading material was restricted to the Bible and Quaker texts written by George Fox and Richard Barclay. While these provided for Greene's moral beliefs, his thirst for knowledge was not satisfied. When he began to visit Newport on family business, he made it a point to seek out educated men that he could learn from. In this manner he was introduced to Ezra Stiles, the future president of Yale University. Stiles proved to be a powerful influence on Greene's reading habits, exposing him to authors such as John Locke, Sir William Blackstone, and Johnathan Swift.

In November 1770, Greene's father passed away and the family business was split amongst his brothers,with Nathanael running the newly build foundry in Coventry. He began spending more time in Newport experiencing the growing unrest toward British policies toward the colonies. He also developed an interest in military texts such as Instructions to His Generals by Frederick the Great and Mes Reveries by Maurice de Saxe. Greene would also enter the political arena, serving in the Rhode Island General Assembly from 1771-72 and in 1775.

The event that seemingly sparked the formation Greene's revolutionary mindset occurred in 1772 when the Nathanael Greene and Company merchant vessel Fortune was seized by the British. The HMS Gaspee, under the command of William Dudington, boarded the boat while it was anchored in Narragansett Bay. Discovering a large supply of rum and sugar, Dudington declared the ship as a smuggling vessel and had the Fortune towed away to Boston. The Gaspee would continue it's raids off the coast of Rhode Island until it ran ashore pursuing another merchant vessel. A group of Rhode Islanders arrested Dudington and his crew, and burnt the Gaspee. Greene was not a part of this group, however, he had previously filed a lawsuit against Dudington and was able to take him to court after his arrest. The Gaspee incident served to politically awaken Greene to the treatment the colonies were receiving from the British.

In 1774, Greene would marry Catherine "Caty" Littlefield, niece of Catherine Ray Greene who was married to William Greene and longtime friend of Benjamin Franklin. Greene did not settle down and following his love of military history joined a local militia. In October, the militia was incorporated into the Kentish Guard and Greene held the rank of private. He aspired to become an officer, but was told by his fellow militiamen that an officer with a limp would be an embarrassment. Following the battles at Lexington and Concord, however, the Rhode Island legislature decided to form an army they dubbed an "Army of Observation", and on May 8, 1775 they appointed Greene as it's commanding general.

References

• Golway, Terry. Washington's General: Nathanael Greene and the Triumph of the American Revolution (New York:Henry Holt and Company, 2005)
• Mierka, Gregg A. Nathanael Greene: The General Who Saved the Revolution" (Stockton, NJ:OTTN, 2007)

External Links

• The Papers of General Nathanael Greene, Selected Writings (1/19/1781-2/15/1781)
• The Nathanael Greene Papers, at the American Philosophical Society
• General Greene Biography and Resources
• Gen. Nathanael Greene Homestead Museum, at Spell Hall, Coventry, Rhode Island