Remembering Major General Nathanael Greene

How many Def-Con News readers are aware there was a very successful Revolutionary War general officer and dedicated patriot from whom the compiler of articles for Def-Con News for the past year adopted his pen name? The following in part from Frank Bergman on slaynews.com, and ehistory.osu.edu.

Often considered the right-hand man to George Washington, Nathanael Greene, came from humble beginnings, born in Warwick, Rhode Island. A Quaker with no formal education, Greene gained an interest in military doctrine, and voraciously read the books he was able to obtain.

His interest in military doctrines became so intense that he was called before a Quaker committee for examination on the grounds that he was not embracing the pacifistic nature of the religion. The eventual result: Greene was expelled from the Quaker religion because the committee was unable to turn him from his interest.

Greene began his military service as a private and was refused promotion because of a slight limp, which had troubled him since his birth. He was however, “an incredibly important member of the militia” and his talents were identified, and he was rewarded.

After the events of Lexington and Concord, Rhode Island fielded three regiments to aid the Patriots in Boston. The General Assembly selected Greene for promotion from Private to Brigadier General and he was given command of one of the regiments.

The level of organization within Greene’s regiment so impressed the newly appointed Commander of Continental Forces, General George Washington, that Greene would soon become Washington’s most trusted advisor and good friend.

In August of 1776 Greene was promoted to Major General and was tasked with defending Long Island. This was the site of a “military catastrophe in nearby Manhattan, where his refusal to retreat from Fort Washington caused several cannons and a few thousand Continental soldiers to be captured by British forces.”

This was not the end of Greene’s military career, however. He and his unit went on to serve with distinction by defending the left flank of Continental forces at Trenton. He enforced weak points in the battle lines at Brandywine, actions which almost certainly prevented Washington’s forces from complete destruction. Greene also acted as the rear guard in Germantown.

The Continental army’s supply lines and resources were being poorly mismanaged at Valley Forge in 1778 when General Washington placed his trust in the abilities of Nathanael Greene to effectively correct the discrepancies with supplies. Greene was appointed Quartermaster General in March of that same year and held the position until summer of 1780.

Greene performed his duties as Quartermaster brilliantly, skillfully supplying Continental troops while dealing with logistical and bureaucratic challenges.

At one point, during Washington’s absence to meet with French forces, Greene was the commander of the entire continental army, and successfully defeated British forces in parts of New Jersey during this time. He went on to take command of West Point until the arrival of Washington.

[Next, General Washington selected Greene] as the Commander of the Southern Continental Army on October 14, 1780. As General Gates replacement, Greene inherited an incredibly small and disorganized army. However, being a masterful military tactician, he successfully employed his small forces in woodland hit and run warfare, decimating Redcoat supply routes and communication abilities.

The British forces in the Southern colonies were forced to retreat to their bastion port cities.

As a last effort to expel Greene’s forces from the state of South Carolina, British General Cornwallis ordered a subordinate General Clinton to push Greene’s army to the North. Eventually, General Greene chose the grounds of Gilford Courthouse, North Carolina, to cease his feigned retreat and assault the pursuing British forces. Here Nathanael Greene exhibited the full measure of his military brilliance by establishing three phases to the battle.

First, Greene ordered the newly recruited militiamen of North Carolina to the front lines where they would take position behind a long wooden fence upon which they could lay their muskets and have increased accuracy. In front of them lay a tilled field which would inhibit the speed of the British advance.

When the Redcoats were nearly upon them, they fell back into heavy woodlands where the tight formations of the English forces would be difficult to maintain.

Waiting in the forest were members of the battle-hardened Virginia militia. These men engaged the Redcoats in close quarters combat with blades, bayonets, and tomahawks, before falling back and sniping the British from behind tree cover.

The militia fell back to join the main force of the Continental Army, whom the Englishmen would face after exiting the woods, crossing a creek, and marching up the hill upon where the Patriots were stationed.

Fighting was swaying so badly against the British that, under orders from General Cornwallis, the English cannons fired into masses of men comprised of both Colonists and Redcoats. Greene and his forces eventually withdrew in order to preserve their fighting strength. The forces loyal to the crown of England, however, were badly bloodied.

Greene then surged back into South Carolina, sweeping any English forces he found back to the coast. The war ended soon after his victories, and Greene turned towards civilian pursuits.

He won the famous Battle of Guilford Courthouse and forced British General Charles Cornwallis to surrender at the siege of Yorktown in 1781, ending the fighting on American soil and paving the way for the founding of the United States of America.

Nathanael Greene is hailed for winning the South in the Revolutionary War.

He oversaw the placement of elected governments in the states of Georgia and South Carolina before finally retiring to a plantation named Mulberry Grove, near Savanah, in 1785, which was gifted to him by the state of Georgia for his services in the revolution and afterwards.

Less than two years later, Nathanael Greene passed away (1786) due to sunstroke, leaving behind his two sons, three daughters, and his wife. He was 44 years old.

There are cities called Greensboro in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, all named after the unassuming general whose great achievements are often unrecognized in the history books.

There are Greenvilles in several other states, including South Carolina, perhaps the most well-known city with that name.

There are 18 counties in America named for General Greene.

He did not participate in politics after the war the way many of his counterparts did.