Francis Vinton Greene

Great Commanders: General Greene Francis Vinton Greene

General Nathanael Greene commanded the Southern army during the Revolutionary War, and after a series of successful battles, forced the British to retreat. After the Battle of Eutaw Springs, he caused the British evacuation of Charleston. This well-rounded biographical work covers Greene?s antecedents and education to 1770, and his early life in Rhode Island from 1770 to 1775, when he took command of his Rhode Island troops in Boston. In 1776 he was promoted to the rank of major general, where he commanded a division during the disastrous retreat from Long Island, and was with General Washington during the difficult early battles at Fort Washington, the Jerseys, the Brandywine and Germantown. He was appointed Quartermaster General in 1777 and carried out those duties during the events at Valley Forge, Monmouth and Newport. In 1780 he resigned as Quartermaster General and was briefly in command at West Point, when he was appointed commander in chief of the Southern Army. Revolutionary War historians will appreciate the in-depth descriptions of the retreat to the Dan and the battle of Guilford Court House, the battle of Hobkirk?s Hill, the siege of Ninety-Six, the Battle of Eutaw Springs and the close of the southern Campaign. The author was a practical soldier as well as a military critic. Based on a careful study of the printed sources, this book is more moderate in tone than other biographies of Greene. It is well supplied with maps and plans. Maps and illustrations enhance the text.