Nathaniel Greene, the son of a preacher of the Society of Friends, was
born on the 27th of May, 1742, in Warwick, Rhode Island.
Nathaniel received the first rudiments of his education among that
peaceful sect; but being of a strong and robust form, he often had to
intersperse his hours of study by a relaxation of labor in the field,
at the mill, or at the anvil. His early years were passed at the home
of his parents, and in the garb of a strict Quaker, till he was twenty
years of age, when he commenced the study of law.
Not long, however, did he continue his studies, for in 1773, when the
states began to organize their militia, his attention turned to the
subject, and he became a member of the “Kentish Guards,” a military
company composed of the most respectable young men in his county. For
this he was dismissed from the Society of Friends; yet he ever after
regarded the sect with great respect.
Greene remained in the ranks of this corps till after the battle
of Lexington; when Rhode Island embodied three regiments of
militia, and placed them under his command with a commission as
brigadier-general. He marched his regiments to Cambridge, where he met
the commander-in-chief, and was the first to express his satisfaction
in his appointment, which was met by the confidence and friendship
of Washington, which he retained through life. He was appointed by
Congress major-general in 1776. He accompanied the army to New York,
and took the command of the troops on Long Island. His absence, caused
by sickness, from the disastrous battle of Flatbush, was severely
regretted; but when the commander-in-chief found it necessary to
retreat across New Jersey, General Greene was his companion. Although
scarcely able, from debility, to sit on his horse, his cheerfulness and
confidence never forsook him, and the spirits of the troops were ever
cheered by his example.
On the night of the 25th of December, 1776, General Greene crossed
the Delaware, and in command of the left wing of the army, surprised
the enemy at Trenton, seized their artillery, and prevented their
retreat to Princeton. He never left the army during the following
winter, but bore his share in its hardships and glories. He commanded
the left wing of the American army at the battle of Germantown. “Such
was the distressed situation of the American army through the winter
of that year, that Washington was doubtful of his ability to take the
field the ensuing season. Every exertion was made to put the army in a
condition for the campaign, and General Greene was urged to accept the
appointment of quarter-master general. The office was accepted with
great reluctance, for his inclination was to serve in the line; and
the charge and disbursing the public money was to him of all things
unpleasant. The necessities of the army, however, and the strong
expression of Washington, that ‘some one must make the sacrifice,’
at last induced him to consent; but not until the condition was
acceded, that he should not lose his right to command in action. Of
this he availed himself at the battles of Monmouth, and on the retreat
from Rhode Island. The duties of his new station were arduous and
embarrassing, but were rendered more so by the unhappy factions which
divided the councils of the country. Notwithstanding the distress and
poverty which threatened ruin to the cause, intrigue and slander were
in active operation, to undermine the reputation and character of the
men who were devoting themselves to accomplish the almost hopeless
work. Washington himself was assailed; and Greene, who was supposed to
have been his favorite officer and confidential adviser, was made an
object of suspicion; but the purity and integrity of General Greene’s
character bore him above the storm.--Congress did him justice, and his
personal friends never faltered in the discharge of their duty towards
him.” In 1780, General Greene was appointed to the command of the
southern department; on his arrival at Charlotte, he found the southern
army destitute of almost everything: no artillery, baggage or stores.
In a letter to Lafayette, he says:--“Were you to arrive now, you would
find a few ragged, half-starved troops in the wilderness, destitute of
everything necessary for the comfort or convenience of soldiers.”
He had arrived in an exhausted country, the inhabitants divided into
hostile parties, and an enemy before him, well provided, and flushed
with the prospect of victory.
His only dependence and hope of success were in a number of spirited
and devoted officers, who gathered around him, and the promise of
reinforcements from the states he had passed through during his route.
General Greene thought it most prudent to remove to a place where
subsistence and the means of transportation could be obtained.
He accordingly marched to the Cheraw hills, on the Pee Dee; and
detached General Morgan to the west of the Catawba, to cut off the left
wing of Cornwallis’ army, and otherwise annoy him as circumstances
might permit. This movement of General Morgan and his army alarmed
the British from their posts. Colonel Tarleton was dispatched with
a force to cut off and destroy him; but in this case the victory
took an opposite direction, and Colonel Tarleton’s troops met their
annihilation at the Cowpens. The news of this victory was a severe blow
to Cornwallis, and he at once determined to cut off Morgan’s retreat
with his prisoners, and prevent his joining the main army. But in this
he was foiled; for, mistaking the route supposed to be taken by his
enemy, Morgan was enabled to reach Greene in safety. Notwithstanding
the victory at the Cowpens, General Greene had to encounter a number
of successive disasters. He was defeated at Guildford, and again at
Camden, but prevented Lord Rawdon from improving his success, and
obliged him to retire beyond the Santee. While in the vicinity of the
Santee, he was under the painful necessity of ordering the sentence
of the law to be put in force on some of his men. From the continual
desertions taking place, he found it necessary to hang eight of
his soldiers in one day. A number of forts and garrisons in South
Carolina now fell into his hands, but the army, at the approach of
Lord Rawdon, was under the necessity of retreating to the extremity
of the state. Discouraging as this was, the firmness and decision of
General Greene sustained him through every trial. Being at this time
advised to abandon South Carolina and retire to Virginia, he replied,
“I will recover the country or perish in the attempt.” Lord Rawdon soon
found that pursuit was hazardous, and retired to Charleston. General
Greene retired to the Santee Hills, to enjoy the breezes during the
debilitating heat of the summer months. An able historian gives the
following account of the battle at Eutaw Springs, which was the last
of General Greene’s battles:--“The battle at the Eutaw Springs, on the
8th of September, was described by the American commander, as the most
obstinate and bloody he had ever seen. The militia, with a firmness
‘which would have graced the veterans of the great King of Prussia,’
advanced with shouts into the hottest of the enemy’s fire; but one
part of the line faltering for a moment, the British, elated at the
prospect, sprang forward to improve that moment, but at the same time
deranged their own line. General Greene, who was watching for such an
incident, ‘ordered the second line to advance and sweep the field with
the bayonets!’
“The order was promptly obeyed, and the enemy were driven from the
ground, through their camp in the rear. But their pursuers were
diverted by the spoils of their tents, and became irretrievably
confused. In the mean time the enemy rallied, and under cover of
the fire from a large party who had taken possession of a brick
house, recovered their camp. Had it not been for the temptation, so
unexpectedly thrown open, the British forces must have surrendered.
As it was, their power in South Carolina was prostrated, for in this
action they lost upwards of one thousand men. The enemy abandoned the
whole of South Carolina, except Charleston, and the American army
retired to their former encampment.”
Except for the purpose of procuring provisions, the enemy lay inactive
in Charleston, for with all their sagacity they had not been able to
retain possession of the country. They therefore prepared to evacuate
the city, having agreed with General Greene to leave it uninjured, and
without interruption from the American army. On the 14th of December,
1782, the delighted citizens of Charleston beheld the British troops
march out of their city, and with joyous congratulations received with
open arms the liberators of their country. This, indeed, was a happy
day; many and sincere were the prayers offered to the ALMIGHTY for
their deliverance; the whole city presented a scene of festivity.
From the governor to the lowly citizen, General Greene was regarded as
the object of every eye, the praise of every tongue. South Carolina
conveyed to him a valuable portion of land; Georgia presented him with
a beautiful and highly improved plantation in the vicinity of Savannah.
When peace was restored, General Greene returned for a time to his
native state, in order to remove his family to his new plantation in
Georgia.
On his arrival at Princeton, New Jersey, where Congress was then in
session, that body unanimously resolved to present him with two pieces
of ordnance, taken from the British army, “as a public testimony of the
wisdom, fortitude and military skill which distinguished his command
in the southern campaign. They had previously voted him a British
standard and a gold medal, an engraving of which is given on Plate III.,
commemorative of the battle of Eutaw.
In 1785 General Greene removed, with his family, to his new residence
in Georgia, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits, and in the
education of his children, but his period of domestic repose was short;
scarcely a year did he enjoy the happiness of his family, for on the
19th of June, 1786, he closed a life of deep, pure, devoted patriotism
to his country, and love and good-will to all mankind.