By the fall of 1780, the American Revolution was in serious trouble in the South. British forces had captured Charleston, South Carolina, and the Continental Army had suffered devastating defeats. General Charles Cornwallis was pushing northward, hoping to bring North Carolina under British control and continue into Virginia.
George Washington needed someone who could rebuild the Southern Army, slow Cornwallis’s advance, and somehow turn the tide.
He chose General Nathanael Greene.
Greene was a military officer and plantation owner who fought in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. President George Washington appointed him as the commander of the Continental Army in the Southern Area. In that capacity, he took part in several battles in the South. Greene was a master strategist who fought against General Cornwallis, the leader of the British Army.
From Brigadier General to Southern Commander
Greene became a commander under Washington and organized against the British rule that the colonists opposed. The American Revolution, which we are celebrating this year for its 250th anniversary, started with the battles of Lexington and Concord. While Washington was named the commander of all the colonial forces, Congress also appointed 16 generals to work under him. Greene was appointed a brigadier general in the Continental Army.
By October of 1780, the Continental Army had suffered several defeats. General Greene, a gifted strategist, slowed the advance of the British troops into North Carolina. In this situation, he worked with Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee, the Marquis de Lafayette, Daniel Morgan, and Francis Marion, the famous “Swamp Fox” from South Carolina.
A Different Kind of Victory
Greene understood that he did not necessarily have to defeat Cornwallis in one great battle. Instead, he could keep his army intact, force the British to pursue him across difficult territory, and gradually wear down Cornwallis’s troops.
That strategy helped lead to one of the most famous battles of the war in North Carolina—the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, fought near present-day Greensboro on March 15, 1781.
Although Greene’s army withdrew from the battlefield and the British claimed victory, Cornwallis paid a terrible price. His army suffered heavy casualties that he could not easily replace.
The costly victory at Guilford Courthouse weakened Cornwallis’s army and helped influence his decision to move into Virginia. Several months later, Cornwallis surrendered his army to American and French forces at Yorktown, Virginia, in October 1781.
Remembering Nathanael Greene
After the war, Greene resigned his commission and relocated to his plantation, “Mulberry Grove,” outside of Savannah, Georgia. In June of 1786, he died after becoming ill following exposure to the intense summer heat. He was only 43 years old.
History regards him as the second-best American general during the Revolution, second only to Washington. This year is a good time to remember those who secured our freedom so long ago.
Many of you had ancestors who fought in the Revolution. It might be fun to research to see who they were. If you are interested, descendants of Revolutionary War patriots may be eligible to apply to join the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) or Sons of the American Revolution (SAR).
And Greene’s story leads naturally to another important figure in the struggle for the South—the British general who pursued him across the Carolinas, Charles Cornwallis.