General Nathanael Greene

By Larry Moore

Greene, Morgan and Putnam County Georgia are all named after Revolutionary War heroes. Greene was Georgia’s eleventh county (1786) and one of its original boundaries covered one hundred miles along the Oconee River. This story of General Nathanael Greene is the second of a three-part series.

Nathanael Greene was born in 1742 to a Quaker minister and his second wife in Rhode Island where he lived until after the Revolutionary War. The war brought Greene to the South where he was largely responsible for the American triumph here and after the war he brought his family to Savannah, GA, to settle down to the life of a Southern planter. His leadership in the Southern campaign proved him to be a great general, second in ability only to George Washington.

Because of the religious beliefs of his family, Greene received a skimpy formal education, but studied vigorously on his own and was mentored by a future president of Yale. He managed his fathers forge, served in the state assembly and was attracted to the military as a young man. He was expelled from the Quaker meeting for attending a military parade. Nevertheless he helped found a local militia in 1774 but his participation was challenged since he had a slight limp; the rebuke troubled him deeply. He never lost interest and less than a year later, to the surprise of many, was commissioned a brigadier general of the Continental Army, never before holding a military commission. He was the youngest general in the army.

The British had undisputed control of Georgia and South Carolina with designs on North Caroline and Virginia before Greene arrived, having fought several battles in the Northeast and attaining the rank of Major General. As Southern Commander he first had to rehabilitate an army that was ill-equipped, outnumbered and demoralized. He avoided major engagements and chose to harass the superior British force then retreat until he had the chance to go on the offensive. Brigadier General Daniel Morgan (Morgan County was named for him) was key to Greene’s strategy as were local patriots Elijah Clarke (Clarke County, Georgia named for him and my ancestors who served under him), Francis Marion and Thomas Sumter. In twenty months Greene’s forces captured all the British posts and completely destroyed their authority in the South. Key subordinates were Light-Horse Harry Lee, the father of Robert E. Lee, and William Washington, cousin of George Washington.

Many Georgians fought with Greene and were impressed with his leadership. After the war the Georgia Legislature offered grants of vast estates to specially designated heroes such as Greene and Elijah Clarke. Abraham Baldwin came to Georgia on the advice of Greene. Baldwin became known as the Father and Founder of the University of Georgia and Baldwin County was named for him.

General Greene died of a stroke at the age of 44. He is buried with his son under a monument in Johnson Square in downtown Savannah. There are monuments to him in several US cities including Washington.

Published U.S. Legacies June 2004