| Major General of the Continental Army (Nathanael Greene) first met George Washington in Boston. Washington was greatly impressed, even on their first meeting. Within a year, he would consider Greene the best of his generals. He would succeed Washington in case of capture of his death. After the British Army evacuated Boston, Greene took command of the city. Greene took control of Long Island in April of 1776 when the Continental Army moved to defend New York. He was placed in charge of the Brooklyn defenses where the British were expected to attack. After the battle of Harlem Heights (1776) he was again placed in charge, this time of the American forces guarding the shores of New Jersey at Fort Lee. This is where he would make the worst mistake of the entire war. Severely outnumbered, his army of 3000 men fell to the British. In only 20 months, Greene successfully captured all of the British posts, taking 3500 prisioners and splitting the British army in half. He cornered them in Charleston and Wilmington. Greene would then play a major role in the rebuilding of the South. After the war, Greene moved his family to his new estate, Mulberry Grove, just north of Savannah, Georgia. Major General Nathaneal Greene was perhaps one of the greatest leaders of the war, second only to George Washington. |
