In December 1780, former Quaker turned general Nathanael Greene took command of the entire Southern Department. He reported only to George Washington himself. Leadership of the southern states to that point in the American Revolution had failed, as the British held all major southern cities, including the important port city of Charleston. Greene faced the British in several key battles in South Carolina in 1781 and ultimately was able to rid the state of the British and free Charleston, but not until 1782, long after the victory at Yorktown. Join author and historian Leigh Moring as she tells the forgotten story of General Nathanael Greene and the liberation of the Lowcountry at the end of the American Revolution.
The intriguing life story of an unsung hero of the American Revolution from award-winning author Gerald M. Carbone. When the Revolutionary War began, Nathanael Greene was a private in the militia, the lowest rank possible, yet he emerged from the war with a reputation as George Washington's most gifted and dependable officer--celebrated as one of three most important generals. Upon taking command of America's Southern Army in 1780, Nathanael Greene was handed troops that consisted of 1,500 starving, nearly naked men. Gerald Carbone explains how within a year, the small worn-out army ran the British troops out of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina and into the final trap at Yorktown. Despite his huge military successes and tactical genius Greene's story has a dark side. Gerald Carbone drew on 25 years of reporting and researching experience to create his chronicle of Greene's unlikely rise to success and his fall into debt and anonymity.
"Offers new perspectives on Greene's leadership of continental troops, his use of the mounted troops of South Carolina partisan leaders Thomas Sumter and Francis Marion, his integration of local militia into his fighting force, and his proposal that slaves be armed and freed in return for their military service"--Dust jacket.
As the newly appointed commander of the Southern Continental Army in December 1780, Nathanael Greene quickly realized victory would not only require defeating the British Army, but also subduing the region's brutal civil war. "The division among the people is much greater than I imagined, and the Whigs and the Tories persecute each other, with little less than savage fury," wrote Greene.Part of Greene's challenge involved managing South Carolina's determined but unreliable Patriot militia, led by Thomas Sumter, the famed "Gamecock." Though Sumter would go on to a long political career, it was as a defiant partisan that he first earned the respect of his fellow backcountry settlers, a command that would compete with Greene for status and stature in the Revolutionary War's "Southern Campaign."Despite these challenges, Greene was undaunted. Born to a devout Quaker family, and influenced by the faith's tenets, Greene instinctively understood the war's Southern theater involved complex political, personal, and socioeconomic challenges, not just military ones. Though never a master of the battlefield, Greene's mindful leadership style established his historic legacy.The Quaker and the Gameccock tells the story of these two wildly divergent leaders against the backdrop of the American Revolution's last gasp, the effort to extricate a British occupation force from the wild and lawless South Carolina frontier. For Greene, the campaign meant a last chance to prove his capabilities as a general, not just a talented administrator. For Sumter, it was a quest of personal revenge that showcased his innate understanding of the backcountry character. Both men needed the other to defeat the British, yet their forceful personalities, divergent leadership styles, and opposing objectives would clash again and again, a fascinating story of our nation's bloody birth that still influences our political culture.
Nathanael Greene was the strategist of the American Revolution. His role in the War for Independence was second only to General George Washington. Born and reared a Quaker, with no military experience, he was promoted from private to brigadier general over night. Greene quickly became Washington's confidant and close friend. He was chosen by the Commander to lead the Continental Army should Washington be killed, injured, or taken captive. Nathanael's vivacious wife Caty, a favorite of the Washingtons, added brightness to the dark, dreary existence of camp life. She proved to be a source of joy and comfort to her husband throughout the war--as well as a heartache and challenge. It was General Nathanael Greene who pulled the Continental Army from the throes of death at Valley Forge. It was General Greene who petitioned Congress for a Declaration of Independence. It was Nathanael Greene who was given the desperate task of commanding the Southern Department of the Continental Army after other commanders had failed. It was Greene who drove British General Cornwallis to surrender at Yorktown. Unable to participate or witness the victorious battle, he was forced to immediately return South with his troops, and subdue the remaining British forces. Greene led his troops in battle and laid siege for a year after the victory at Yorktown. His persistence finally forced the British to evacuate the South. George Washington and Nathanael Greene were the only general officers who served in that position throughout the war. Greene led his men in more battles than any other general officer, including Washington. Moreover, it was Greene who was constantly harassed by Congress, and ultimately forsaken by them. Three years after the official end of the war, Nathanael Greene was dead. His premature death was not only a result of the intense hardships of war, but the hardships and cruelty inflicted on him by the United States Congress. Janet Uhlar was born in Quincy, Massachusetts--the hometown of John Adams, John Quincy Adams, John Hancock, and Josiah Quincy, Jr. Through her works of biographical-fiction, she hopes to present the extraordinary stories of forgotten heroes of the American Revolution. Janet firmly believes that when the private lives and unique personalities of historical figures are presented, and the dynamics between these characters brought out, history becomes much more than cold black print on a stark white page. History takes on a life of its own, with true flesh and blood individuals whose acts of courage, indifference, or cowardice shaped the world we live in today. This living history helps us relate to those who have gone before--offering inspiration, courage, and a sense of determination. Janet is also the author of Liberty's Martyr: The Story of Dr. Joseph Warren. She lives on Cape Cod in Massachusetts.
A brilliant account of the proud and ferocious American fighters who stood up to the British forces in savage battles crucial in deciding both the fate of the Carolina colonies and the outcome of the war. "A tense, exciting historical account of a little known chapter of the Revolution, displaying history writing at its best."--Kirkus Reviews "His compelling narrative brings readers closer than ever before to the reality of Revolutionary warfare in the Carolinas."--Raleigh News & Observer "Buchanan makes the subject come alive like few others I have seen." --Dennis Conrad, Editor, The Nathanael Greene Papers "John Buchanan offers us a lively, accurate account of a critical period in the War of Independence in the South. Based on numerous printed primary and secondary sources, it deserves a large reading audience." --Don Higginbotham, Professor of History, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
An in-depth analysis of one of the War for Independence’s bloodiest and least understood conflicts. The Battle of Eutaw Springs took place on September 8, 1781, and was among the last in the War of Independence. It was brutal in its combat and reprisals, with Continental and Whig militia fighting British regulars and Loyalist regiments. Although its outcome was seemingly inconclusive, the battle, fought near present-day Eutawville, South Carolina, contained all the elements that defined the war in the South. In Eutaw Springs: The Final Battle of the American Revolution’s Southern Campaign, Robert M. Dunkerly and Irene B. Boland tell the story of this lesser known and under-studied battle of the Revolutionary War’s Southern Campaign. Shrouded in myth and misconception, the battle has also been overshadowed by the surrender of Yorktown. Eutaw Springs represented lost opportunities for both armies. The American forces were desperate for a victory in 1781, and Gen. Nathanael Greene finally had the ground of his own choosing. British forces under Col. Alexander Stewart were equally determined to keep a solid grip on the territory they still held in the South Carolina lowcountry. In one of the bloodiest battles of the war, both armies sustained heavy casualties with each side losing nearly twenty percent of its soldiers. Neither side won the hard-fought battle, and controversies plagued both sides in the aftermath. Dunkerly and Boland analyze the engagement and its significance within the context of the war’s closing months, study the area’s geology and setting, and recount the action using primary sources, aided by recent archaeology. “A well put together book that is easy to read, and it makes good use of graphic material. Eutaw Springs is recommended.” —The Journal of America’s Military Past “A long-overdue study of . . . Nathanael Greene’s last main force Southern campaign engagement. Drawing from a wealth of resources including new research, archaeology and pension documents, the authors have created an easy reading account. . . . For students of the Revolutionary War, this is must reading because so much focus has been directed at Yorktown where the British abandoned an army instead of the more mobile war in the South where the war was finally won by wearing down the British.” —Lawrence Babits, George Washington Distinguished Professor of History, East Carolina University “A very good analysis of the political, military, and physical environment, with some profiles of a number of interesting people, most notably Nathanael Greene, after Washington the most important American general of the war, though he never won a battle.” —New York Military Affairs Symposium Review
Argues that, although the British won the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, the losses they sustained were significant enough to force a withdrawal from the state, and were an important factor in their final defeat at Yorktown, which ended the American Revolution.
