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(More customer reviews)Why a magazine columnist from New Jersey would choose to write about Rhode Island's unsung Revolutionary War hero is beyond me, but I'm sure glad he did. To me, it's quite clear that Greene was never adequately recognized for his wartime accomplishments because he died unexpectedly in 1786 of a stroke at age 44 and never had the chance to participate and obtain fame in the founding of the new nation.
Who knows where events would have lead had he lived. He clearly had Washington's utmost respect and gratitude, and he demonstrated the highest integrity, leadership, dedication, competency, determination, and ability to get things done during times of great stress and deprivation.
Nathanael Greene's "Southern Campaign" is probably the most under appreciated aspect of the War in the books coming out today. The recent best sellers "1776" by McCullough and Pulitzer Prize-winning "Washington's Crossing" by Fisher seem to imply that after the surprise victories at Trenton and Princeton the war was all over, but this couldn't be further from the truth.
The next several years were dismal (the winter at Valley Forge was 1777-8), and it wasn't until the war later moved into the South and Greene assumed control that the colonialist learned how to defeat the British--inflict punishment, lead the British away from their supplies, and then retreat into the woods. This was Greene's strategy, and he executed it with utmost ability and skill. This is why a battered Cornwallis headed to Yorktown, to get desperately needed supplies. Washington had the personal touch, but Greene got things done, and Washington knew it and appreciated it. Everyone knew that if Washington was injured, Greene would take over.
The book read very quickly, especially the exciting section on the Southern Campaign. It also presented the more human side of Greene very well--his fondness for his very attractive wife Caty, his fierce loyality to Washington, his weakness for needing to receive recognition for his accomplishments from Washington, his determination to derive personal profit from the war, and his strict aesthetic Quaker upbringing against which he rebelled.
Earlier this year I visited the Greene homestead in Coventry, Rhode Island. It's a very simple home, set on roughly ten acres of land that is amazingly just now being cleared of overgrown brush. I'd definitely recommend a visit. The curators mentioned that there were more visitors from the South than the North. I still have a hard time believing it, but at least now I understand this better. Apparently, down south, Greene is getting his due. It's kind of a shame for the Rhode Island home boy.
The Sept 7, 2005 reviewer mentions that the two maps in the front of the book, indicating where battles were fought, could have been better. I'd have to agree.
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Washington's General: Nathanael Greene and the Triumph of the American Revolution
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