Major General Nathanael Greene
Posted by: GeoGordie
N 36° 07.929 W 079° 50.662
17S E 603982 N 3999224
Located in the Historic "Battle of Guilford Courthouse" Battleground Park.
Guilford County .. Greeensboro, NC
Waymark Code: WM91H
Location: North Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 03/15/2006
Views: 98
Nathanael Greene, was an American General in the Revolutionary War who was an aide and confidant of Gen. George Washington. Greene was born in Warwick, R. I., on Aug. 7, 1742, the son of a prosperous Quaker farmer and ironmaster.
His leadership in the later stages of the campaign in the South proved him to be a great general, second in ability only to Washington and in some ways at least his equal.
Greene had little formal schooling, but he was an avid reader, and under the guidance of Ezra Stiles, a clergyman, later president of Yale College, he acquired a good education. In 1770, Greene moved to Coventry, R. I., to manage his father's forge. He served in the Rhode Island Assembly from 1770 to 1772 and again in 1775. He was expelled from the Quaker meeting in 1773 for attending a military parade. In 1776 he participated in the defense of New York City, was promoted to Major General, and, in December, played an important role in Washington's surprise attack on Trenton. During 1777-78 he worked closely with Washington at Morristown, Brandywine, Germantown, Valley Forge, and Monmouth. He was appointed Quartermaster General in 1778 and served in that position until 1780. At the Battle of Guilford Courthouse on March 15, 1781, Greene suffered a defeat, but his troops fell back in good order without serious loss. Cornwallis, who was far from his base, was compelled by lack of supplies to withdraw. Greene had lost the battle but won the campaign. His strategic skill thereafter brought the war in the South to a successful close