Six weeks later, Washington and the rest of the Continental Army found Victory at Yorktown and the war was won. Most of the battles were losses, however, Greene forced Cornwallis to take heavy casualties for seemingly minor advantages.Īfter the Battles of Guilford Courthouse and Eutaw Springs, Greene’s Southern Department had Cornwallis cornered in Charleston. When reinforcements arrived, Greene went back across the river and proceeded to engage the British. Retreating may sound synonymous with running away, but as a military tactic it worked well and was actually quite an accomplishment considering the distance covered. Although the British followed, Greene had boats waiting at the Dan River which they used to cross into Virginia. He followed this up with a retreat across North Carolina.

Shortly thereafter, Greene’s men won strategic battles at Kings Mountain and Cowpens. The first thing Greene did was split his Army in half, forcing British General Cornwallis to do the same. In this office, he was second in command of the Continental Army.

Greene took charge of the Southern Department in December of 1780. Although this position typically did not take the field, he accepted on the promise that he could once again lead troops when they left winter quarters. Additionally, he joined the Marquis de Lafayette in the failed Battle of Rhode Island (his hometown).įurthermore, Greene was asked to be Quartermaster General of the Continental Army at Valley Forge. Greene was then given charge of a series of Forts.Īs a Major General, Greene was in command of large numbers of troops in the Battles of Trenton, Brandywine and Germantown. He helped fortify before the Battle of Long Island, though he fell ill and did not participate in the action. He’d served during the Siege of Boston, after which Washington put him in charge of the city. Greene, a former Quaker who’d been expelled for disobeying their pacifist ways, already had a large amount of experience in the war. Washington instantly appointed Nathanael Greene. Early ExperienceĪfter a series of Generals had substantial losses in the South, the Continental Congress left the decision to appoint a new leader to George Washington. However, since almost half the population of colonial America lived in the South the fighting there was just as important.

The Battle of Yorktown, which ended the war, was ‘only’ as far south as Virginia. George Washington spent most of the war fighting in the North Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It is easy to overlook the importance of the Southern Department in the Revolutionary War.

Washington's General by Terry Golway