Nathanael greene famous for
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Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene
Major General
United States Army
August 7, 1742 – June 19, 1786
Portrait of General Nathanael Greene by Valentine Green, executed by J. Brown after Charles Willson Peale, 1785. National Archives
Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene rose to become one of the most celebrated American officers in the Revolutionary War. Best known for his clever campaign against the British army in the Southern states, Greene also fought in the battles of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, and Monmouth Courthouse. However, his reputation as one of Washington’s most trusted generals may not seem likely at first glance.
Greene was born in 1742 to a prominent Quaker family in Warwick, Rhode Island. As a boy, he was markedly curious about the world. Despite the Quaker belief against early education, Greene convinced his father to hire a tutor to teach him philosophy, religion, literature, and mathematics. After his father’s death in 1770, young Greene moved to Coventry, Rhode Island, to take charge of the family-owned foundry. There, he purchased land and built a
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Nathanael Greene was born in Rhode Island in 1742 to Quaker parents. His education, though not formal, revealed that he was a good student. He possessed a keen mind, excelled in mathematics and spent many hours reading in Greek and Roman classics. His family business—iron forging for ships—became his trade. After the Gaspee Affair in 1772, in which his family was accused of involvement in burning a British revenue ship, Greene began to take an interest in the growing discontent in the colonies. It was this interest that led him to the military, a choice that was in conflict with his religious upbringing.
At the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775, Greene helped raise a company of militia called the “Kentish Guards.” Greene joined as a private armed with a musket bought from a British deserter. A childhood affliction forced him to limp, a disqualification for a soldier in the ranks, but his abilities as a leader were quickly recognized. In May 1775, Greene was commissioned as a brigadier general of militia commanding the three regiments raised in Rhode Island for service w
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Nathanael Greene
American military officer and planter (1742–1786)
This article is about the American Revolutionary War general. For other people with a similar name, see Nathaniel Greene.
Major-GeneralNathanael Greene (August 7, 1742 – 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 Je
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