Gregg A. Mierka FORGOTTEN HEROES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

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2 FORGOTTEN HEROES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION Nathanael Greene: The General Who Saved the Revolution Henry Knox: Washington s Artilleryman Francis Marion: Swamp Fox of South Carolina Daniel Morgan: Fighting Frontiersman John Stark: Live Free or Die Gregg A. Mierka

3 DEDICATION: This book is dedicated to veterans of all of America s wars and conflicts throughout history. Frontispiece: A sword owned by Nathanael Greene, one of the greatest generals of the American Revolution. OTTN Publishing 16 Risler Street Stockton, NJ Copyright 2007 by OTTN Publishing. All rights reserved. Printed and bound in the United States of America. First printing Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mierka, Gregg A. Nathanael Greene : the general who saved the Revolution / Gregg A. Mierka. p. cm. (Forgotten heroes of the American Revolution) Summary: "A biography of the general whose successful campaign in the South, in what seemed an impossible situation, turned the tide of the American Revolution and led to a Patriot victory" Provided by publisher. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: (hc) ISBN-10: (hc) ISBN-13: (pb) ISBN-10: (pb) 1. Greene, Nathanael, Juvenile literature. 2. Generals United States Biography Juvenile literature. 3. United States. Continental Army Biography Juvenile literature. 4. Quakers United States Biography Juvenile literature. 5. United States History Revolution, Juvenile literature. I. Title. E207.G9M '3092 dc22 [B] TABLE OF CONTENTS Why Nathanael Greene Should Be Remembered A Great & Good Man Indeed Emergence of a Patriot The Fighting Quaker A Trail of Blood The Quartermaster General We Fight, Get Beat, Rise and Fight Again A Life Cut Short...74 Chronology...79 Glossary...82 Further Reading...83 Internet Resources...84 Index Publisher s Note: All quotations in this book come from original sources, and contain the spelling and grammatical inconsistencies of the original text. 5

4 Why Nathanael Greene Should Be Remembered Greene is as dangerous as Washington. I never feel secure when I am encamped in his neighborhood. He is vigilant, enterprising, and full of resources. General Charles Cornwallis, 1781 It is with a pleasure, which friendship only is susceptible of, that I congratulate you on the glorious end you have put to hostilities in the Southern States; the honour and advantage of it, I hope, and trust, you will live long to enjoy. George Washington, letter to Nathanael Greene, February 6, 1783 What was to be hoped from a general without troops, without magazines, without money? A man of less depth of penetration or force of soul than Greene, would have recoiled at the prospect [of assuming command of the Southern Department of the Continental Army]; but he, far from desponding, undertook the arduous task with firmness.... He knew how much was to be expected from the efforts of men contending for the rights of man. He knew how much was to be performed by capacity, courage, and perseverance. Alexander Hamilton, eulogy to Nathanael Greene, delivered before the Society of the Cincinnati, July 4, 1789 But Greene was second to no one in enterprise, in resource, in sound judgment, promptitude of decision, and every other military talent. Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Johnson, October 27, 1822 Greene literally appeared out of nowhere to become in the words of one soldier the greatest military genius of the war for independence. Theodore Thayer, in George Washington s Generals and Opponents: Their Exploits and Leadership, edited by George Athan Billias (1994) Nathanael Greene has long been regarded by students of the War of the Revolution as second only to Washington, and the great Virginian considered him his successor if he should be struck down.... He was a superb field commander, saw much action, and often risked his life in battle.... He made his mark as a brilliant strategist.... He was also a military craftsman whose mastery of geography, supply, and transport was unmatched by his contemporaries. John Buchanan, in The Road to Guilford Courthouse: The American Revolution in the Carolinas (1999) In becoming one of the Continental army s greatest soldiers, Nathanael Greene personified the power and potential of the new American idea especially its rejection of the Old World s aristocratic governments and equally aristocratic military commanders, and its embrace of merit and virtue as society s ultimate arbiters. Terry Golway, in Washington s General (2005) Greene was no ordinary man. He had a quick, inquiring mind and uncommon resolve. He was extremely hardworking, forthright, good-natured, and a born leader. His commitment to the Glorious Cause of America, as it was called, was total.... Washington had quickly judged Nathanael Greene to be an object of confidence. David McCullough, in 1776 (2005) The great and good man to whose memory we are paying a tribute of respect, affection, and regret, has acted in our revolutionary contest a part so glorious and so important that in the very name of Greene are remembered all the virtues and talents which can illustrate the patriot, the statesman, and the military leader.... Marquis de Lafayette, remarks at the dedication of a monument to Greene in Savannah, Georgia, March 21,

5 This monument to Nathanael Greene stands at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park in North Carolina. Although Greene never won a clear victory in battle against the British, his strategy in the South enabled the Americans to win the Revolution. 1 A GRE AT & GOOD MAN INDEED It is said that, after the Revolutionary War, a distraught King George III wished to study the faces of the Americans who had defeated him. His advisers brought portraits of only two men: George Washington and Nathanael Greene. More than 220 years have passed since the United States won its independence from Great Britain, and the name of Nathanael Greene has largely been forgotten. Yet this Rhode Islander s contributions to the success of the American cause rank with those of the 9

6 10 Nathanael Greene: The General Who Saved the Revolution best-remembered heroes of the Revolution: Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin. During his time, Patriots readily acknowledged the extraordinary debt their country owed to Nathanael Greene. And they felt keenly the nation s loss when, just three years after the end of the Revolutionary War, Greene died at the age of 44. He was great as a soldier, greater as a citizen, immaculate as a friend, noted General Anthony Wayne, who had served under Greene s command. The honors, the greatest honors of war, are due to his memory. How hard is the fate of the United States to lose such a man in the middle of life! lamented Lieutenant Colonel Henry Light Horse Harry Lee, Greene s cavalry commander, in a letter to George Washington. But perhaps it was Washington himself who best summed up the life of his friend, adviser, and most trusted general. Of the late Nathanael Greene, the future first president of the United States said simply, He was a great & good man indeed.

7 Index Adams, John, 10 American Revolution end of the, start of the, See also Continental Army; individual battle names Army of Observation, Arnold, Benedict, 57, 61 Battle of Brandywine, 4 1, 42 Battle of Bunker Hill, Battle of Camden, Battle of Germantown, Battle of Guilford Courthouse, Battle of Harlem Heights, 33 Battle of Long Island, Battle of Monmouth, Boston Massacre, 15, 1 6 Boston Tea Party, 19 Buchanan, John, 7 Burgoyne, John ( Gentleman Johnny ), 40 41, 44 Carleton, Guy, 74 Chew, Benjamin, 4 3 Clinton, Henry, 41, 51, 5 5, 56 57, 74 Continental Army and the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, and the Battle of Long Island, creation of the, 27 at Morristown, N.J., 38 40, 55 retreat of, into Pennsylvania, and the siege of Boston, 28 supplies for the, 45 50, 54 55, 62 at Trenton and Princeton, at Valley Forge, von Steuben s training of, Continental Congress, 20 21, 30 Cornwallis, Charles, 6, 37 38, 42, 51 52, 57 59, 62 67, 6 8, 69 71, 73, 7 5 Coventry, R.I., 16 17, 1 8 Dudingston, William, Ferguson, Patrick ( Bull Dog ), 61 Fighting Quaker of Rhode Island. See Greene, Nathanael Fort Lee, 33 34, 35 Fort Washington, Fortune (American merchant vessel), France, 14, 51, 53, 73 Franklin, Benjamin, 10 French and Indian War, 14 Gaspee (British ship), 17 19, 20 Gates, Horatio, 44, 57 59, 60 George III (King), 9, 14 Georgia, 21, 5 5, 56, Gibbons, William, 77 Golway, Terry, 7 Great Britain army of, in New York, and the Battle of Bunker Hill, and battles in the South, 5 5, and the Boston Tea Party, 19 and the Fort Washington battle, 34 and the Intolerable Acts, occupation of Philadelphia by, 42 44, 51 taxes and import duties of, withdrawal of, 74 Greene, Benjamin (stepbrother), 11 Greene, Catharine (Mrs. Nathanael Greene), 21, 40, 53, 74, 77 Greene, Christopher (brother), 11 Greene, Elihue (brother), 11 Greene, George Washington (son), 40 Greene, Jacob (brother), 11, 17 18, 32, 76 Greene, Martha Washington (daughter), 40 Greene, Mary Mott (mother), 11 Greene, Nathanael, 9 10, 30, 36, 3 7 at the Battle of Brandywine, 41, 42 at the Battle of Germantown, at the Battle of Monmouth, birth of, 11 childhood and early life, as commander in the South, death of, 10, family life and marriage, 21, 40, 53, and the Fort Washington battle, is commissioned a brigadier general, 27 letters of, 13, 15, 19, 26, 32, 38, 40, 49, 59 60, 70 in New York City, nickname of, 27 political opinions of, 15 19, 21 as quartermaster general, return of, to Rhode Island, as Rhode Island brigade commanding general, 2 3, 24 25, and the Rhode Island militia (Kentish Guard), 21, 24 in Rhode Island s colonial legislature, 17 Numbers in bold italics refer to captions. 85

8 Index strategy of, 26 27, at Valley Forge, Greene, Nathanael, Sr. (father), 11, 12 Greene, Perry (brother), 11 Greene, Thomas (stepbrother), 11 Guilford Courthouse, 9, Hamilton, Alexander, 6 Hannah (American merchant vessel), 19 Hessians, 30, 31, 36 37, 41, 5 2 Howe, William, 28, 30, 32, 37, Intolerable Acts, See also Great Britain Jefferson, Thomas, 6, 10 Kentish Guard (Rhode Island militia), 21, Knox, Henry, 28, 2 9, 36 Lafayette, Marquis de, 6 Lee, Henry ( Light Horse Harry ), 10, 65, 72 Lexington and Concord (battles at), Lincoln, Benjamin, Littlefield, Catharine (Mrs. Nathanael Greene), 21, 40, 53, 74, 77 Loyalists, 51, 56, 61 maps, 39, 72 Marion, Francis, 61, 66 67, 72 McCullough, David, 7 McDougall, Alexander, 49 Mercer, Hugh, 34 Monmouth Court House, Morgan, Daniel, Morristown, N.J., 38 40, 55 New York, New York City, N.Y., 29 32, 3 3, 54 Old Forge Homestead, 1 3 Pickens, Andrew, 61 Putnam, Israel, 31, 34 Quakers, Reed, Joseph, 49 Rhode Island brigade, 2 3, 24 25, Rhode Island Colony, 13 14, 23, Rhode Island militia (Kentish Guard), 21, Rochambeau, comte de (Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur), 73 South Carolina, 56 59, 62 65, Spell Hall, 17, 1 8, 21, 53, 76 Stamp Act of 1765, 14 Sugar Act of 1764, 14 Sullivan, John, Sumter, Thomas, 61 Tarleton, Banastre, 57, taxes, Tea Act, 19 Thayer, Theodore, 7 Townshend Acts, 14 Valley Forge, Vimeur, Jean Baptiste Donatien de. See Rochambeau, comte de von Steuben, Friedrich Wilhelm, Wanton, Joseph, War of the Posts, Ward, Samuel, Jr., 13, 15 Washington, George, 9 10, 29 30, 42, 4 9, 52, 59, 70 71, 75, chosen as leader of Continental Army, and the Fort Washington battle, 34 at Trenton and Princeton, at Valley Forge, Washington, William, 69 Wayne, Anthony, 10, 48 Webster, James, 69 Williams, Otho, 66 86