S2E8 - Nathanael Greene Saves the Revolution

Hello and welcome to the Story of Rhode Island. The podcast that tells you the story of Rhode Island’s fascinating history. In last week’s episode we watched the American army hold their line at Butt’s Hill and fight valiantly during The Battle of Rhode Island. But since that historic battle, things have taken a turn for the worse and the Americans are now on the verge of losing the revolutionary war. Their woes began the Spring of 1780 when the British unleashed a devastating campaign against the Americans southern army.. British General, Charles Cornwallis, defeated General Benjamin Lincoln at the siege of Charleston in May and then humiliated Lincoln’s predecessor, Haratio Gates, during the Battle of Camden in August. Not only did these losses lead to thousands of American casualties but constant supply issues also left those who did survive without adequate food and clothing along with receiving little, if any, pay. By the time the fall of 1780 arrived, it seemed as though it would only be a matter of time before the American’s southern army would be defeated, an event that would lead to the British retaking the southern colonies and eventually enable them to squash the American’s rebellion entirely. So with the situation growing more dire every day, General George Washington has decided to call on his most trusted General to revive the southern army. As we jump into episode 8, we follow this man as he walks amongst the soldiers he’s been tasked with saving. It’s a December day in 1780 and General Nathanael Greene is shocked to see the current state of the 1,500 desperate individuals he must somehow lead to victory. While approaching one of the regiments, Greene sees a group of men huddled around a poorly lit fire. As one of the soldiers vigorously rubs his hands together in an attempt to get warm, his fragile body shakes from the cold that penetrates the ragged blanket resting on his back. Eventually, the man realizes that the new Commander of their army has approached his camp so he slowly stands to salute the General. While Greene peers deeply into the man’s hollow eyes, eyes that seem to be better fit for somebody that’s about to be lowered into a grave than a man tasked with fighting a war, he knows that this man widely represents the state of the army he’s been tasked to lead. And yet, it will be up to Greene to somehow dig these men out of this dire situation. Greene knows that his mission is nearly impossible but at the same time it’s exactly the mission he’s always hoped for. Because if he’s somehow able to revive the southern army and prevent the British from retaking the southern colonies then he’ll forever be remembered as the General who saved the American Revolution. Over the next several months, Greene will use some extremely daring maneuvers and highly unconventional tactics that often put his men in grave danger but by the time it’s all said and done he will have pulled off what many historians consider to be the most brilliant military performance of the Revolutionary War. The story of how Nathanael Greene saves the American Revolution is what we’ll cover in this week’s episode in The Story of Rhode Island podcast.

Intro Music

It’s a December day in 1780 and sitting comfortably at his headquarters in Winnsboro, South Carolina is Lord Charles Cornwallis, Commander of the British’ southern army and the man largely responsible for wreaking havoc throughout the southern colonies. As the General sits in his camp located 60 miles south of the American army, he daydreams of the day when this war is finally over. The Revolutionary War has been a burden to Cornwallis since it first began and like everyone else fighting in the revolution, he’s ready for this conflict to come to an end. Thankfully, Cornwallis believes he sees a light at the end of the tunnel as the Americans southern army is clearly on the verge of being defeated. Once that happens, Cornwallis will bring the southern colonies back under British control, then head North and meet up with General Henry Clinton so that they can destroy Washington’s army. Even one of the rebel armies most admired Generals, Benedict Arnold, has seen the writing on the wall and decided to turn against his fellow Americans back in September. While this man’s name is probably already familiar to you, you might also remember learning about his ancestors back in Season One of this podcast. It was Benedict Arnold's great-great grandfather, William Arnold, who helped Roger Williams found the town of Providence in 1636. Then, Benedict Arnold’s great-grandfather, a man who shares the same name as the infamous traitr, served multiple terms as the Governor of Rhode Island. Cornwallis believes that Arnold’s betrayal represents just how dire of a situation the Americans find themselves in and unfortunately he’s correct. All Cornwallis needs to do is deliver one final blow to the rebel’s southern army so that he can wrap this thing up and head home. So like a predator stalking its prey, Cornwallis watches his enemy’s every move and there’s nobody he has an eye on more than their newest leader, General Nathanael Greene. In Greene, Cornwallis sees everything he’s not. While Cornwallis’ aristocratic background gave him a clear path to the top of the British military society, Greene comes from a family who had to build their success on the shores of the Potowomut River. Cornwallis also graduated from Cambridge and Eton, some of the finest schools in England, while Greene is largely self-educated through books that his Quaker father typically disapproved of. And to top it off, Cornwallis has been in the military since Greene was just a teenanger, back when Greene’s father was still telling him that war is evil. So as the leader of Britain's southern army sits at his headquarters he does so with a smile on his face, firmly believing that it’ll only be a matter of time before he shows this inexperienced, poorly educated General just how much he knows about war, enabling him to forever be known as the British General who finally crushed the colonists rebellion in North America. But in the midst of dreaming of his future success, Cornwallis hears some shocking news about Greene and his army. He’s informed that Greene has decided to divide his forces. When Cornwallis first hears the news he literally doesn’t believe it. By splitting up his army, Greene has just defied one of the most cardinal principles in military strategy; never divide your army when up against a superior enemy force. And yet, that’s exactly what Greene has done but not only that, he’s also put Cornwallis’ army directly in between his divided forces. He’s done so by taking about 1,100 soldiers southeast to the Pee Dee River while sending a smaller, more agile force of 600 soldiers and 80 dragoons under General Daniel Morgan about 100 miles to the west. At first, the plan seems absurd but as the weeks play out, the brilliance of Greene’s plan becomes clear to all. First, by dividing his army, it makes it easier for Greene to strengthen his forces as resupplying two small armies is a less daunting task than resupplying one large one. This proves to be accurate as Greene is able to resupply his main force at the Pee Dee River. Also, because Greene has chosen to position his armies on opposite sides of Cornwallis it makes it difficult for Cornwallis to choose where he should attack the Americans. If he heads west to attack Morgan then it leaves Charleston vulnerable to Greene’s forces to his east. Conversely, if he attacks Greene to the east, then South Carolina’s interior will be left unprotected against Morgan’s highly mobile army. And so, for the next couple of weeks, Cornwallis is left somewhat frozen in place as he’s not exactly sure what to do. But as he watches Greene’s main army grow stronger while Morgan’s agile force raids loyalist outposts throughout South Carolina he realizes that he has to act. So in early January, Cornwallis sends one of his most gifted Generals, Banastre (banister) Tarelton, to attack General Morgan’s army in Cowpens, South Carolina. If Tarelton’s offensive were to be effective it could bring Greene’s campaign to an abrupt end and add him to the list of American Generals who was out-skilled by Cornwallis. But thankfully that’s not what happens. When the Battle of Cowpens takes place, Morgan ends up defeating Tarelton’s army by leveraging a brilliant battle scheme of his own. The American General instructs his first two lines of militia units to fall back after only firing two rounds, knowing that the always aggressive Tarelton would send his calvary forward into what he thought was a retreating army. Tarelton does in fact take the bait and just as his men get within killing distance, a group of extremely accurate marksmen fire into the enemy’s lines, followed by Washington's calvary swooping in from the side. By the end of the fighting over 800 of Tarelton’s 1,100 troops are killed or captured while Morgan only suffers about 72 casualties of his own. The defeat not only puts a dent in the British southern army that exists for the remainder of the war but it also helps to reignite the Patriots southern rebellion. When Cornwallis learns of the defeat he’s furious and becomes hell bent on destroying Morgan’s army. To help ensure this happens, he reunites his forces and begins chasing Morgan through the countryside. Knowing that he stands no chance of defeating Cornwallis, Morgan retreats north and agrees with Greene that it’s time to reunite their army into a single force. But what Greene wants to do with their newly reunited army shocks Morgan as it is yet another extremely daring plan that could lead to the Americans losing the Revolutionary War. As we watch Greene share his plan with his fellow American officer, we once again learn just how brilliant of a military tactician the General from Rhode Island has become.

General Daniel Morgan, a rugged individual standing over 6-feet tall, can be seen looking at Greene in disbelief. After growing up with quite a rough childhood and then going on to fight in both the French and Indian War and the American Revolution, Morgan is not a man not easily intimidated but what he’s hearing from Greene scares the hell out of him. Instead of moving their reunited army west into the mountains, a location that Morgan knows would keep them safe from the blood thirsty Cornwallis, Greene wants to do quite the opposite. He wants to retreat north so that he can lure Cornwallis into chasing them, knowing that by doing so it will drag the British further away from their supply lines in the south while moving the Americans closer to their supply lines in Virginia. Not only would this make it easier for them to resupply their weakened army but it would wear down the British at the same time. Then, when the British are at their weakest, they can turn their forces around and fight Cornwallis head on. When Greene finishes telling Morgan the plan, he has a glorious look on his face but no such expression can be seen on Morgan’s face. In fact, every single part of his body makes it clear just how much he disapproves of the risky plan. He tells Greene that if Cornwallis were to catch them before they make it to their supply lines in Virginia then they’d be forced to fight the British before they’re ready, an event that would almost certainly destroy their army. Greene responds by letting Morgan know that he’s well aware of the dangers that come with his plan but he's already made it clear that the time for half measures is over. If the war in the south is to be won, risks must be taken. So with that mentality driving his decision making, Greene tells Morgan that they are moving forward with the plan immediately. Morgan obediently accepts the orders of his superior but makes it clear that this decision is Greene’s and Greene’s alone. If anything goes wrong he refuses to be held responsible. Greene, now becoming a bit annoyed, responds by saying “QUOTE “And neither will you. For I shall take the matter upon myself” UNQUOTE. And that’s exactly what he does. In late January, Greene begins moving his army North and the race for Virginia begins. As soon as Cornwallis hears of the Americans retreat he once again becomes hell bent on running them down. As the armies trudge through horrific weather conditions with little sleep, there’s numerous times when it looks as though Cornwallis will catch the American army but Greene manages to avoid being caught each and every time. As the days pass, the British soldiers continue growing weaker but Cornwallis refuses to give up the chase. Then, with the Americans being just miles away from the Dan River, the last remaining obstacle between them and their supply depot in Virginia, the British get dangerously close. Greene knows that if the British beat them to the River then it’ll block their retreat and force them into a battle they are not ready to fight. It’s in this critical moment when Greene pulls off yet another impressive maneuver. It begins when he once again divides his army in the face of a superior force so that he can put a regiment of light infantry in between him and Cornwallis, helping to ensure his main army remains out of harm's way. Then, as both sides aggressively continue to push towards the Dan River, Greene fools Cornwallis by having his light infantry unit head towards Dix’s Ferry, making Cornwallis think that’s where the Americans will be crossing the Dan River. But that’s not the case. In actuality, the Americans will be crossing the Dan about 20 miles to the east of Dix’s Ferry at Irwin’s Ferry. And just as Greene had hoped for, Cornwallis takes the bait, allowing his main army to safely cross the Dan River along with his light infantry following close behind. When the Americans finally make it into Virginia safely, they are able to breathe a sigh of relief for the first time in weeks. Meanwhile, Cornwallis, knowing that his army can’t take much more, decides it’s time to turn his men around and head back south to resupply his men. When the Americans in Virginia hear that Cornwallis has given up the chase, they are thrilled and over the next few days they are resupplied with food, clothing, and additional troops. As they sit around their campfires, with their bellies full and spirits high, the men are overcome with a feeling of ease, a sensation they haven’t felt in a while. But ease isn’t what the highly ambitious General from Rhode Island wants, no Greene wants victory. He wants his name cemented in history and his fellow Americans allowed to live in their own, independent nation. However, he knows that such a valiant outcome will never be gained while sitting comfortably around a campfire. Instead, he must once again choose the more difficult path. He must recross the Dan and fight the man who so badly wants to destroy what the Americans are fighting for. And so, Greene gathers up his men and heads directly towards the enemy forces. Then, just a couple of weeks later, Greene and Cornwallis come toe to toe at a courthouse in North Carolina. And now, these two men from completely different worlds, will finally find out who will get what they’ve been working so hard to achieve.

This is the moment that Nathanael Greene has been waiting for. After somehow finding a way to revive America’s southern army, Greene and his soldiers stationed in Guilford County, North Carolina now have a chance to wrap up their brilliant campaign. And with his forces having just been reinforced with additional troops, his army now stands over 4,400 strong. Standing to the south of Greene, is Cornwallis’ army of professionally trained British and German soldiers who just spent the past couple of weeks chasing Greene through the countryside. As Greene waits for the fighting to begin, he observes the battlefield they’ll be fighting on. Located beside Greene, on top of a hill by the Guilford County Courthouse, is Greene’s 3rd line of defense. Their strategic high ground gives them a strong defensive position for when the fighting inevitably reaches their line. Further in front of Greene are his other two lines stacked in a North-South formation. His second line has been positioned inside of a densely wooded forest located not too far past the hill that Greene stands on. Then, at the front of that forest is his 1st line of defense, a group of men who will bear the brunt of the enemy’s attack. Due to the battlefield’s thickly wooded terrain, Greene will have to rely on his ears to know how the men in his first two lines are fighting. He can only hope that they’ll make him proud. Then, at about 1:00 in the afternoon, the sound of American artillery can be heard coming from the South and Greene knows that The Battle of Guilford’s Courthouse has begun. The sound of cannons being fired continues for another 30-minutes and then it subsides, allowing Cornwallis to unleash his first attack on Greene’s front line. The inexperienced militiamen making up their first line only get off one round before they begin a hasty retreat into the woods behind them. Luckily, Greene’s more experienced flanking regiments remain steady and unleash a deadly array of bullets against the charging enemy. Within moments, British and German soldiers are shot down left and right and many quickly succumb to their wounds. But eventually, the enemy troops regroup and Greene’s flanking lines are forced to retreat as well. As Greene continues to pace back and forth on his horse, he intensely listens to the sounds of battle going on in the dense woods to his south. Beforelong, Greene looks towards the right side of the forest and begins seeing a handful of American troops from his first and second lines in a steady retreat. Over the next few minutes, that handful of soldiers quickly turns into a flood of men desperately trying to escape the enemy. Then, the wave of American soldiers subsides and a series of men dressed in redcoats are seen lining up at the edge of the woods. Within what seems a mere seconds, multiple lines of British soldiers are lined up in front of the right wing of Greene’s 3rd line. Knowing that the British are about to strike any moment now, Greene shouts words of encouragement to his men. He tells them to be brave and remember that this is their country they are fighting for. Then, as a flood of redcoats comes charging up the hill, the Continental soldiers, the most experienced and well trained men in his army, stand there with their weapons calmy pointed towards the enemy. The British continue to rush forward and eventually get to within 100 paces of Continentals. Then, with the British only 30 paces away, one of Greene’s officers yells “FIRE” and a loud bang is heard simultaneously coming from the American guns. Almost instantly, huge groups of British soldiers are seen falling to the ground and men begin screaming while they clutch their wounds in pain. After firing another deadly round at the enemy soldiers, the number of dead bodies in redcoats on the battlefield quickly begins to add up and before long the British are forced to retreat. For a minute, it seems as though Greene might be able to turn the battle into his favor but then the left wing comes under attack as well. The inexperienced militia making up the left side of Greene’s last line of defense only fire one ineffective volley before retreating. As British soldiers advance forward it looks as though the Americans are doomed but in the knick of time Greene’s calvary swoops in and unleashes a catastrophic attack against the infantry soldiers. As Greene watches the attack unfold, he grows excited as it’s beginning to look as though Greene’s left wing will overrun the enemy, just like we saw with his right wing moments earlier. But before they’re able to do so, something completely unexpected happens. Greene begins to see British cannonfire landing in the melee that’s taking place between his calvary and the British infantry. As the cannonballs take out men from both sides, Greene stands there bewildered, trying to understand if Cornwallis knows that he’s firing at his own men. But as he continues to analyze the situation, he realizes that Cornwallis knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s chosen to fire into the melee, knowing that although it’ll inevitably kill some of his own men it’ll also force the American officers to call off their calvary’s attack. Greene is disgusted by the senseless act but at the same time he knows it’ll work. Within minutes, Greene sees his calvary retreating and the melee is broken up. With the fighting now cleared, Cornwallis’ men begin regrouping so that they can launch another assault on Greene’s 3rd line. It’s at this point when Greene has a difficult decision to make. After over 2 hours of intense fighting the Americans have inflicted serious casualties on Cornwallis’ army and Greene knows that he can either continue fighting, a decision that could lead to him winning the day but at the same time could lead to his army being destroyed, or he could retreat while there’s still time. The decision pains Greene as he hoped he would’ve been able to defeat Cornwallis on the battlefield but for the first time in months he decides that this is a risk he’s not willing to take. Therefore, Greene, showing his ability to know when enough is enough, instructs his officers to initiate a retreat. Immediately, the commanders instruct their front lines to hold the ground so that their regiments can begin evacuating the battlefield. The soldiers execute the orders flawlessly and Greene’s army hands over Guilford’s courthouse to Cornwallis. While at first the retreat might make the battle seem like a disappointment, in actuality it’s the complete opposite. It’s exactly the type of engagement Greene needed. Not only did Greene’s men fight extremely well but they also inflicted serious casualties on the enemy. By the time the smoke clears and the bodies are counted, over 25% of Cornwallis’ entire southern army has either been killed or wounded. And It’s here that we are reminded that wars are not only fought on the battlefield but in the minds of the public as well. When news of Cornwallis’ supposed victory makes it back to England the anti war voices in Parliament grow louder than ever before. One leading member of Parliaments states how QUOTE “another such victory would ruin the British Army” UNQUOTE. People in England begin crying out that the war is pointless as the Americans simply won’t give up, a mentality that Greene has personified every day since taking over the southern army months earlier. And as the months pass, things continue to move in favor of the Americans. After the battle of Guilford’s Courthouse, Cornwallis’ army is so depleted that he’s forced to give up his chase of Greene’s southern army and head to Yorktown, Virginia so that he can reunite with Henry Clinton. With Cornwallis no longer in the picture, Greene’s army continues their southern campaign by fighting a few more battles with the British enemy but by September 1781 Greene regains control of the southern interior, forever cementing his place in history as the savior of the south. What Greene has accomplished is nothing short of miraculous. It was just a year earlier, when the American’s southern army was on the verge of being defeated and their ragged force of a measly 1,500 men was just waiting to be defeated by General Cornwallis. But thanks to the General from Rhode Island, that never happened. Instead, Greene defied conventional military wisdom so that he could create a highly mobile army that slowly enabled him to resupply his men while giving his lead General, Daniel Morgan, the opportunities to win a series of key victories. Then, when many would’ve considered that to be enough, Greene decided that instead of running to the hills for safety he would lure the bloodthirsty Cornwallis into a cat and mouse chase. And finally, after weakening the enemy while strengthening his own, he turned and faced Cornwallis head on at a Courthouse in North Carolina, allowing him to unleash such a devastating blow that forced Cornwallis to give up his southern campaign. It’s also important to remember that all of this was accomplished by a man who grew up in a Quaker household that taught him to despise the evils of war. A man who joined the revolution with zero military experience and who’s limp made his very own comrades in the Kentish Guards reluctant to March with him. One can only imagine those mens’ faces when they learned about Greene pulling off one of the most brilliant performances of the entire Revolutionary War. Well, luckily for those men, and the rest of the brave soldiers fighting in this deadly conflict, the fighting will not go on for much longer. By the end of 1781, the opposing forces engage in the final major battle of the American Revolution and the Americans finally win their independence. When that happens, Rhode Island, like the other 12 states, celebrate their success. However, unlike the other 12 states, Rhode Island will go on to reject the newly created government their nation has created. In fact, they will protest that new government so fiercely that it will put them at odds with the rest of their nation and before long the people living around Narragansett Bay will once again be seen as a group of radical outcasts, a group so defiant that many will wonder if they should even be part of the new nation they are building. But that’s a story for next time, on the Season finale of the Story of Rhode Island Podcast.