- March 6, 1809, 217 years ago — Death of Thomas Heyward Jr..
- March 6, 1724, 302 years ago — Birth of Henry Laurens, President of the Continental Congress.
- March 7, 1707, 319 years ago — Birth of Stephen Hopkins, signer of the Declaration of Independence.
- March 7, 1699, 327 years ago — Birth of Susanna Boylston Adams, mother of John Adams.
Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene
GREENE, Nathanael, soldier, born in Warwick, R.I., 27 May, 1742; died in Mulberry Grove, Ga., 19 June, 1786.
He was educated as a Quaker and became a self-taught student of military science. At the outbreak of the Revolutionary war he was appointed brigadier-general by Congress and commanded troops in the defense of New York and New Jersey.
He served with distinction at Trenton, Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth, and was appointed quartermaster-general in 1778. In 1780 he took command of the southern army and conducted a brilliant campaign against Lord Cornwallis, winning battles at Cowpens and Guilford Court House and forcing the British to retreat.
After the war he settled in Georgia, where he died at his plantation. Greene was one of Washington’s most trusted generals and is remembered for his strategic skill, perseverance, and leadership in the southern theater of the war.
Source:
Wilson, James Grant, and John Fiske, eds. Appleton’s Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1887. Patriot Echoes Archive