Nathanael Greene was recorded to have two dates of birth; one date was by an old calendar and one date in the contemporary calendar (Hayball, 2006). The reason was because the Gregorian calendar (contemporary calendar) was not adapted in England or the colonies, until 10 years after Greene’s birth (Greene, 1893, p.4). By the old calendar Greene’s birth date was July, 27, 1742, which was the date obtained from his father’s journal (Hayball, 2006). Greene’s birth date by the contemporary calendar was August 7, 1742 (“The Patriot Resource: Nathaniel Greene”, 2010). Greene’s was born in a town named Potowomut, which is now called Warwick, Rhode Island (“The Patriot Resource: Nathaniel Greene”, 2010).
Nathanael Greene came from a historically influential family. Greene’s Great Grandfather was follower of Roger Williams, who came to Rhode Island from Massachusetts in 1620 to form a new colony, which would practice religious freedom (Carbone, 2008, p. 5). The house Nathanael Greene grew up in was an old farmhouse built by Greene’s Great-grandfather in 1684 (Buchanon, 1998, p. 260). Greene was named after his father Nathanael Greene, and was born to his father’s second wife, whose name was Mary Motte (“The Patriot Resource: Nathanael Greene”, 2010). Greene was the fifth child of nine siblings. (Greene, 1893. p. 4). Greene was the fifth generation of his family to be born in the American Colonies.
Greene grew up in a male dominated household. When Greene was eleven years old his mother died, which left Greene and his five surviving brothers in the care of his stern, but caring father. His father later remarried, but Greene recorded his relationship with his stepmother to be more formal than loving (Carborne, 2008, p. 6). Greene’s father was a prosperous and respected minister in the Society of Friends (Quakers) (Hayball, 2006). Nathanael Greene described his father as a man who was understanding, and kind to those he preached; however, he was also a superstitious man, who was against books (Greene, 1893, p. 4). Therefore, Greene loved his father, but he hated his superstitions, and anti-education beliefs.
The Greene family owned a variety of properties, including a farm, grist mill, sawmill, forge, and anchor works (“The Patriot Resource: Nathanael Greene,” 2010). The river around the family’s farmhouse helped to turn the mill and forge (Carborne, 2008, p. 5). Nathanael Greene grew up as someone, who was accustomed to hard work. Greene worked in all of the family businesses. Greene’s average days were stocking the furnaces of the forge, plowing the fields, and grinding grist in the family mill (Carborne, 2008, p. 6). In 1770, when Greene was 27 years old his father had given him control of a mill in which the family owned in Coventry, Rhode Island (Greene, 1893, p. 10). Coventry was a sea level village, where the Greene family would blacksmith anchors, an important commodity in seaside Rhode Island. Greene’s father had built a 14 room draft house in the Coventry forge, so Greene could move in, and oversee the works (Carborne, 2008, p. 6). Greene managed to make a comfortable room, where he put in books in which he would collect through the years (Greene, 1893, p. 10& Carborne, 2008, p. 6-7).
Nathanael Greene as a child and young adult was known to have a strong positive attitude, and a well- built body (Greene, 1893. p. 6). George F. Scheer and Hugh F. Rankin in their book Red Coats and Rebels: The American Revolution of Those Who Fought and Lived It described Greene physical description as “moderately tall, a rugged face, bright blue eyes, and a chiseled nose” (Sheer &Rankin, 1957 p. 4). Greene did come from a wealthy family, but his appearance resembled more of a country laborer than a rich man. According Gerald M. Carborne’s biography about Nathanael Greene, “Greene’s torso and shoulders were thick from hard work; and his clothes tended to have the scent of forge smoke” (Carborne, 2008, p. 10). Greene had a limp in his leg, which was speculated to come from the foot bellows in the forge, where he worked. Therefore, Greene’s work at the forge kept him from having the image of a polished gentleman (Carborne, 2008, p. 10). Scheer and Rankin described Greene’s personality as “candid, and pleasant” (Sheer & Rankin, 1957 p. 4). Greene had an active mind in which desired for knowledge, which contributed to Greene’s hobby of reading. Greene loved athletics, and enjoyed to take part in sport competitions. One of Greene’s favorite sports was dancing in which got Greene in trouble with the Quakers, for they considered dancing to be a sin (Greene, 1893, p. 6). Greene enjoyed many activities in which were considered to be sinful in the Quaker religion, and one important belief was his desire for a higher education.
Greene’s family wealth could have provided Greene the opportunity to go to an established college such as Harvard or Yale; however, Greene’s father considered the path of higher education to be a sin (Greene, 1893, p. 6). Therefore, Greene was only taught reading, writing, and business math, for they were the only acceptable subjects for a Quaker to learn (“The Patriot Resource: Nathanael Greene,” 2010). Greene disliked having a limited formal education; as he quotes: “when I should have been in the pursuit of knowledge I was digging into the Bowels of the Earth after Wealth” (Buchanon, 1997, p.260). Greene did not let his feeling of emptiness stop him from pursuing his education. When Greene was 14 years old he met a college student, whose name was Giles at a nearby village; he and Giles bonded over books, and college. Greene was so inspired by his discussion with Giles, he convinced his father to get him a tutor in Latin and Mathematics. Greene’s tutor was a local school teacher named Maxwell (Greene, 1893, p. 7). Greene’s passion for reading increased, as he got older. Greene’s brother said Greene often went to a little room over the kitchen, where he read quietly; and, Greene tended to get so lost in a book, sometimes he neglected his chores (Buchanan, 1997, p. 260). Greene also made tiny toys to sell in order to buy books (Logan, 2009). Greene was very determined to support his reading habit. Greene met two people, who encouraged his passion for reading. One was Ezra Stiles a pastor, who later became president of Yale. Stiles gave Greene advice on book choices, and introduced Greene to different philosophers, such as Locke. The second person who encouraged Greene was future Grammarian Lindley Murray, who even though was younger than Greene enjoyed discussing educational subject matters with him (Greene, 1893, p.7-8). At age 19, Greene’s mind obtained more knowledge through a family lawsuit. Greene’s father instructed him to gather evidence, and to correspond with the lawyers. The lawsuit led Greene to purchase many different law books to study (Greene, 1893, p. 8). Greene’s love of reading and knowledge led him to create a library, when he built his own house in Coventry (Greene, 1893, p. 8). Greene’s library had 200 books on various subjects in which he kept on adding through the years (Buchanan, 1997, p. 260). In despite of Greene’s education and high knowledge he did move up in his profession, and remained a forge master (Buchanan, 1997, p. 260). However, a fascinating aspect about Greene was the mere fact that he educated him .
After Greene’s father died in 1770, Greene started to turn away from his religion. Greene missed many Quaker meetings after his father’s death, and in 1774 he and his cousin Griffin Greene were suspended from the Society of Friends for visiting a “place of pleasure.” The place was speculated to either be a brothel or a tavern (“The Patriot Resource: Nathanael Greene,” 2010). The suspension had little effect on him, but religious members of his family were scandalized. In Greene’s letters there was evidence Greene did not share Quaker beliefs, and he did not care for the Quakers as people. An example, in a letter to his brother Jacob Nathanael Greene stated: “The Quakers are poisoning everybody: foolish people…” (Buchanan, 1997, p. 262-263). Greene later involvement in the American Revolution was another sin viewed by the Quakers, who were to be pacifists (Sheer& Rankin, 1957, p. 4). Therefore, by the time Greene was an adult he had turned his back on the religion of his ancestors (Buchanan, 1997, p. 262-263).
Prior to 1772, Greene did not appear to be interested in the issues in which were forming between Britain, and the American colonies. In 1772, an event happened in which inspired Greene to be involved in the conflict. On February 17th 1772, British naval officer Lieutenant William Dudington seized a ship named Fortune. Fortune, a ship commanded by Greene’s cousin Rufus Greene smuggled rum, brown sugar, and Jamaican spirits (Buchanon, 1997, p. 263). The goods were considered to be contraband, because they were not inspected by a customs house in Newport, Rhode Island. However, in 1772 Rhode Island had grown accustomed to rebelling against British customs laws, so Greene’s cousin was not doing anything unusual (Carborne, 2008, p. 3). Rufus Greene was insulted, threatened, and physically attacked by Lieutenant Dudington’s officers (Buchanan, 1997, p. 263). The Greene family and all of Rhode Island were outraged. People in the colony of Rhode Island felt what happened to one merchant could happen to others, and the people had a right to smuggle instead of paying duties to parliament in England (Buchanan, 1997, p. 263). In retaliation a mob went to Lieutenant Dudington’s ship, and shot him in the arm, and there was evidence of Rufus Greene was part of the mob. The act of the defiance was the most celebrated event in Rhode Island until the first battle of the American Revolution (Buchanan, 1997, p. 263). In Nathanael Greene, who was thirty years old in 1772 was furious for he found the attack to be personal (Carbone, 2008, p. 4). The event caused Greene to want to be involved in the issues between the colonists and the British, for he felt the colonists were having their liberties trampled on by England (Buchanan, 1997, p. 263).
In August of 1774 East Greenwich County, Island formed a militia called the Kentish Guards. Greene was one of the Guards principal founders, and with his upper middle class background Greene expected to be given a lieutenant position (Buchanan, 1997, p. 264). However, Greene was denied a lieutenant position due to his leg limp. The officials of the guards were worried Greene’s handicap in his leg would make the guards appear weak (Hayball, 2006). Greene felt more mortification than anger at the rejection. Greene thought about resigning from the guards, but decided to stay on as a private (Buchanan, 1997, p. 264).
