The Early Life of Nathanael Greene

American Revolution
Written By Tom Hand

Nathanael Greene was one of America’s greatest generals in the Revolutionary War, perhaps second only to George Washington. He was born on August 7, 1742, in Warwick, Rhode Island into a prosperous Quaker family. When his father died in 1770, Nathanael, despite having several older brothers, took over the family business. As relations with England worsened, Greene became more involved in colonial resistance to British authority.

Tom Hand, creator and publisher of Americana Corner, explores the early life of Nathanael Greene, and why it still matters today.

Images courtesy of National Portrait Gallery - Smithsonian Institution, Mount Vernon, Library of Congress, The New York Public Library, Yale University Art Gallery, Wikipedia.

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By the late summer of 1781, the American Revolution in the south was drawing to a close. Hoping to inflict more damage to the British, Major General Nathanael Greene, the commander of the southern Continental Army, planned a strike at the one remaining British army in South Carolina.

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In the spring of 1781, American forces under General Nathanael Greene rolled up the British garrisons in the interior of the Carolinas one by one. The last British holdout was the fortified town of Ninety Six, in the foothills of western South Carolina. Greene arrived on the scene with 1,000 men and commenced the siege of Ninety Six on May 22.

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When General Nathanael Greene crossed the Dan River and escaped to Virginia on February 14, 1781, Lord Charles Cornwallis’s British army controlled all of North Carolina, and most of South Carolina and Georgia. Within the short span of seven weeks, all that would change.

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Following the successful conclusion of the Race to the Dan, General Nathanael Greene and his southern army was safe for the moment from the British troops under Lord Charles Cornwallis just across the river. Due to a lack of supplies in the area, Cornwallis retreated to Hillsboro, about sixty miles southeast, to get refitted. By late February, Greene had received reinforcements, recrossed the Dan, and had the American army back in North Carolina.

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Nathanael Greene was one of the greatest American generals to emerge from the American Revolution. Without any formal military training or any experience, Greene developed into a leader feared and respected by his British counterparts.

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This Continental Army General’s family arrived in America in the mid-1600s and soon became prominent and prosperous in their region. As a youth, he had little formal education but managed to find time to study great military leaders of the past. During our War for Independence, he lost most of the battles he fought but managed to hold his thread-bare regiments together.

Tom Hand
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Nathanael Greene Joins the Cause
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American Victory at King’s Mountain