Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Greene
Well, hello there, it is Bill Wadham again from HistoryHighlights.com.
Hope you're having a great day on this August the 7th. Has another week,
the first week of August already gone by? Well, I'll tell you what, to distract ourselves a
little bit from the passage of time, how about going over to the Library of Congress and learning
a little bit about revolutionary war hero Nathaniel Greene. He was born on this day,
August the 7th of 1742 at Pottawommot in Warwick, Rhode Island. Before the Revolution,
Greene managed his father's iron foundries and said to have served in the Rhode Island Colonial
Legislature. Self-trained in military tactics and science, he was instrumental in the formation of
a unit known as the Kentish Guards in October of 1774, serving as a private until his commission
in May of 1775 as a Brigadier General in the Rhode Island Army of Observation. In June of the
same year, he was commissioned with the same rank in the Continental Army with command of troops
during the siege of Boston in 1775 and 1776. After taking command of the troops on Long Island in
1776, he was commissioned by George Washington as Major General in August of 1776, but saw
little action due to a severe illness. For the next four years, General Greene participated in
the battles of Trenton and Princeton, endured the winter of 1777 to 1778 at Valley Forge,
and served as Quartermaster General while continuing to serve in the field. Prior to
taking command of the Southern Campaign of 1780-82, General Greene was Commander of West Point,
replacing the disgraced Benedict Arnold. During this period, he presided over the trial and
execution of British spy John Andre. In January 1781, Greene contributed significantly to the
of British General Lord Cornwallis at Cowpens, South Carolina. Greene forced Cornwallis,
whose army far outnumbered the Americans, to divide his troops and defend his territory on
two fronts. The British subsequently retreated to Charleston, where they remained until Cornwallis
surrendered to Washington at Yorktown, Virginia, on October 19th of 1781. Greene and Washington
remained close friends after the Revolutionary War. As a matter of fact, upon Greene's death in 1786,
Washington expressed his deep admiration and affection for Greene by offering to raise
his son, George Washington Greene. George Washington wrote,
I would fain hope that upon a final settlement of his affairs, there will be a handsome competency
for Mrs. Greene and the children. But should the case be otherwise, and would think proper to
entrust my namesake, G. W. Greene, to my care, I will give him as good an education as this country
will afford. I will bring him up to either of the genteel professions that his friends may choose,
or his own inclination shall lead him to pursue, at my own cost and charge.
After the war, Greene returned to Rhode Island to find his foundry business neglected and his
general financial situation precarious. So when the state of Georgia honored him for his service
to the state with the gift of a plantation called Mulberry Grove, the retired general moved his
family south. He also built a cottage at Cumberland Island in Camden County, Georgia. General Greene
died of a stroke after walking in the hot sun on June the 19th of 1786.
A little bit of history from the early days of America's founding for you today.
Hope you have a wonderful day. I hope you get out there and savor every single moment of it.
Come on over to HistoryHighlights.com and say hello.
Look forward to staying in touch with you and I wish you all the best.