County of Greene County
location of courthouse: 519 N. Main St., Carrollton
Location of county: SWestern border; Crossroads of: IL-108 & US-67, IL-267
Created: 1821
Named After: Nathanael Greene
Elevation: 709 feet, 216 meters
Population: 11,843 (2021)
The Person:
"Major-General Nathanael Greene (August 7, 1748 - June 19, 1786) was an American military officer and planter who served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as one of George Washington's most talented and dependable officers, and is known for his successful command in the Southern theater of the conflict.
"Born into a prosperous Quaker family in Warwick, Rhode Island, 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 before being appointed quartermaster general of the Continental Army in 1778.
"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. After taking command, Greene engaged in a successful campaign of guerrilla warfare against a numerically superior British force led by Charles Cornwallis. He 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. After the war, he settled down to a career as a plantation owner in Georgia, but his rice crops were mostly a failure. He died in 1786 at the Mulberry Grove Plantation in Chatham County, Georgia. Numerous locations in the United States are named for him." ~ Wikipedia
The Place:
Greene County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States Census, it has a population of 11,843. Its county seat is Carrollton.
"A notable archaeological area, the Koster Site, has produced evidence of more than 7,000 years of human habitation. Artifacts from the site are displayed at the Center for American Archeology in Kampsville, Illinois." ~ Wikipedia
"The Act of 1821 radically modified Illinois county boundaries. It created Greene county from a southern section of the then vast Madison county. 1821 Greene county territory included the present counties of Jersey, Macoupin, Scott, and Morgan. Morgan county, including present day Scott county, was separated from Greene county in 1823. Macoupin and Jersey both separated in 1829." ~ Greene County, IlGenWeb