For the privilege of visiting the birthplace of Nathanael Greene at East Greenwich, Rhode Island, I am ever grateful to its present owner, Thomas Casey Greene, who, as a direct descendant, knows much about the general not to be found in the usual texts.
Over the years I have benefited repeatedly from the friendship and the insights of historians Richard Ketchum, Thomas Fleming, Don Higginbotham, and David Hackett Fischer, each the author of landmark works on the Revolutionary War.
For their interest and a great variety of thoughtful suggestions and favors, I thank William Paul Deary, Philip A. Forbes, Wendell Garrett, Richard Gilder, J. Craig Huff, Jr., Father Michael Greene, Tim Greene, Daniel P. Jordan, Michael Kammen, Ravi Khanna, William Martin, Sally O’Brien, Doug Smith, Matthew Stackpole, Renny A. Stackpole, Clarence Wolf, and John Zentay.
Thomas J. McGuire has read so much about the realities of soldiering in the Revolution that it is almost as though he fought in it himself. He was a great help from the start of my efforts, supplying a wealth of material from his own wide-ranging research and abundant knowledge.
Gayle Mone helped with correspondence, typed the manuscript, and assisted superbly and tirelessly in the work of the Bibliography and Source Notes.
Mike Hill, my research assistant on this and previous books, has been a mainstay. His expertise and enterprise, his amazing stamina and unfailing good cheer, are beyond compare.
Again, I proudly acknowledge the parts played by my editor Michael Korda and my literary agent, Morton L. Janklow. I am ever grateful for their support and counsel, not to say the pleasure of their company. And again I thank my lucky stars for copy editors Gypsy da Silva and Fred Wiemer, for Amy Hill, who designed the book, and Wendell Minor, who designed the jacket. I think it is no exaggeration to say they are the best in the business.
As always, I thank my family, who know how much help and support they have given me and how much I appreciate all they have done.
To my wife Rosalee, to whom the book is dedicated, I owe the most by far. She is editor-in-chief. Her spirit never flags. She holds a steady course in all seasons.
David McCullough
West Tisbury, Massachusetts
November 29, 2004
Source Notes
Abbreviations Used
LOC Library of Congress
MHS Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, Mass.
NYHS New-York Historical Society, New York, N.Y.
PGW The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, Vols. I–VIII, W. W. Abbott, Philander D. Chase, and Dorothy Twohig, eds. (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1985–1998).
PNG The Papers of General Nathanael Greene, Vols. I, II, X, Richard K. Showman and Dennis Conrad, eds. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1976, 1980, 1998).
1. Sovereign Duty
1 60,000 people: London Public Advertiser, October 27, 1775.
2 “mob”: Oliver Andrew, ed., The Journal of Samuel Curwen, Loyalist, I (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1972), 82.
3 “the whitest hand”: Ibid., 42.
4 King’s procession: London Public Advertiser, October 27, 1775.
5 royal coach: Royal Mews in London, England, where actual coach is still housed.
6 “superb”: Fact Sheet, “Gold State Coach,” Golden Jubilee Media Centre, London, Eng.
7 nearly a million souls: Kirstin Olsen, Daily Life in 18th-Century England (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1999), 57.
8 plain food: Christopher Hibbert, George III: A Personal History (New York: Basic Books, 1998), 53.
9 Socially awkward: Ibid., 18–19, 80.
10 farms: Ibid., 197.
11 Handel: Ibid., 75.
12 loved architecture: Ibid., 178.
13 “unaffected good nature”: Ibid., 79.
14 “Sir, they may talk”: Ibid., 61.
15 appears to have been porphyria: Ibid., 267.
16 “George, be a King”: Barbara W. Tuchman, March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam (New York: Ballantine Books, 1984), 138.
17 “I have no doubt”: George III to Lord North, July 5, 1775, in John Fortescue, ed., Correspondence of King George the Third, III (London: Macmillan, 1927–1928), 233.
18 “Suppose the colonies”: Peter Force, American Archives, 4th series, Vol. I (Washington, D.C., 1846), 1682–1683.
19 conciliation with America: Paul Langford, ed. Writings and Speeches of Edmund Burke, III (Oxford, Eng.: Clarendon Press, 1996), 102–169.
20 “I was ordered”: Bellamy Partridge, Sir Billy Howe (London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1932), 7.
21 had taken command: Mark M. Boatner, III, ed., Encyclopedia of the American Revolution (New York: David McKay, 1966), 1167.
22 “rabble”: John Rhodehamel, ed. The American Revolution: Writings from the War of Independence (New York: Library of America, 2001), 123.
23 “We must persist”: George III to Lord North, July 26, 1775, in John Fortescue, ed., Correspondence of King George the Third, III (London: Macmillan, 1927–1928), 235.
24 “foreign war”: Lord North to George III, July 26, 1775, in John Fortescue, ed., Correspondence of King George the Third, III (London: Macmillan, 1927–1928), 234.
25 1,000 casualties: Howard H. Peckham, ed. Toll of Independence (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994), 4.
26 “A few of the men”: New England Essex and Gazette, December 14, 1775.
27 “melancholy, disease, and death”: Margaret Wheeler Willard, ed., Letters on the American Revolution: 1774–1776 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1925), 190.
28 “almost lost for want of fresh provisions”: Ibid., 200.
29 “It is inconceivable”: Henry Pelham to John Singleton Copley, May 15, 1775, Letters and Papers of John Singleton Copley and Henry Pelham, 1739–1776 (Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1914), 324.
30 “the devil’s drawing-room”: Tobias Smollett, Adventures of Roderick Random (London: Hutchinson & Company, 1904), 119.
31 “vicious indulgence”: Sir George Otto Trevelyan, The American Revolution, I (New York: Longmans, Green & Co., 1926), 21, n. 1.
32 “unnatural, unconstitutional”: Solomon Lutnick, The American Revolution and the British Press, 1775–1783 (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1967), 59.
33 “all the gaudy trappings”: The Crisis, 1775, Nos. 4, 6.
34 “What, in God’s name”: Margaret Wheeler Willard, ed., Letters on the American Revolution: 1774–1776 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1925), 205.
35 recalled General Thomas Gage: Allen French, The First Year of the American Revolution (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1934), 319–320.
36 “distressing America”: George III to Lord North, October 15, 1775, in John Fortescue, ed., Correspondence of King George the Third, III (London: Macmillan, 1928), 269.
37 crowds greater: London Gazetteer and News Daily Advertiser, October 27, 1775.
38 “looks spoke peace”: London Public Advertiser, October 27, 1775.
39 “The present situation of America”: William Cobbett, The Parliamentary History of England from the Earliest Period to the Year 1803, XVIII (London: T. C. Hansard, 1813), 695.
40 “anxious to prevent”: Ibid., 696.
41 “When the unhappy and deluded multitude”: Ibid., 696–697.
42 “as peaceably as he went”: London Public Advertiser, October 27, 1775.
43 “We will support”: William Cobbett, The Parliamentary History of England from the Earliest Period to the Year 1803, XVIII (London: T. C. Hansard, 1813), 706.
44 “big with the most portentous”: Ibid., 708–709.
45 “wild and extravagant”: Ibid., 709.
46 “no longer be trusted”: Ibid., 714.
47 “How comes it that the colonies”: Peter Force, American Archives, 4th series (Washington, D.C.: M. St. Clair and Peter Force, 1837–1846), 12.
48 “amicably adjusted”: William Cobbett, The Parliamentary History of England from the Earliest Period to the Yea
r 1803, XVIII (London: T. C. Hansard, 1813), 710.
49 “reducing America to a just obedience”: Ibid., 730.
50 “Let me remind you”: Ibid., 730–731.
51 “We are fighting”: Ibid., 735.
52 “reduce”: Ibid., 739.
53 “Men are to be brought”: Ibid., 734–750.
54 “the glorious spirit of freedom”: Ibid., 752.
55 “Because an inconsiderable party”: October 26, 1775, Peter Force, American Archives, 4th series (Washington, D.C.: M. St. Clair and Peter Force, 1837–1846), 41.
56 blind trumpeter: Peter D. G. Thomas, Lord North (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1976), 1.
57 napping a bit: Peter Force, American Archives, 4th series (Washington, D.C.: M. St. Clair and Peter Force, 1837–1846), 41.
58 “Sons of Liberty”: Mark M. Boatner, III, ed., Encyclopedia of the American Revolution (New York: David McKay, 1966), 1017.
59 “military eye”: William Cobbett, The Parliamentary History of England from the Earliest Period to the Year 1803, XVIII (London: T. C. Hansard, 1813), 767.
60 held the floor for nearly two hours: London Gazetteer and News Daily Advertiser, October 28, 1775; London Chronicle, October 26–28, 1775.
61 “macaroni”: L. G. Mitchell, Charles J. Fox (Oxford, Eng.: Oxford University Press, 1992), 13.
62 “blundering pilot”: William Cobbett, The Parliamentary History of England from the Earliest Period to the Year 1803, XVIII (London: T. C. Hansard, 1813), 769.
63 “I cannot consent”: John Drinkwater, Charles James Fox (New York: Cosmopolitan Book Corp., 1928), 130.
64 no wish to remain: William Cobbett, The Parliamentary History of England from the Earliest Period to the Year 1803, XVIII (London: T. C. Hansard, 1813), 770.
65 “I would abandon the contest”: F. J. Huddleston, Gentleman Johnny Burgoyne (Garden City, N.Y.: Garden City Publishing, 1927), 71.
66 “my sheet anchor”: Peter D. G. Thomas, Lord North (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1976), 89.
67 “offers of mercy”: William Cobbett, The Parliamentary History of England from the Earliest Period to the Year 1803, XVIII (London: T. C. Hansard, 1813), 771.
68 House of Lords: Ibid., 726.
69 House of Commons: Ibid., 772.
70 “some[thing] will be done”: Edward Gibbon to J. B. Holroyd, August 1, 1775, in The Letters of Edward Gibbon, II, J. E. Norton, ed. (New York: Macmillan, 1956), 82.
71 “The conquest of America”: Ibid., 91.
72 “decisive blow”: Piers Mackesy, The War for America: 1775–1783 (London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1964), 46.
2. Rabble in Arms
73 “Here we are at loggerheads”: Nathanael Greene to Samuel Ward, October 23, 1775, in PNG, I, 139–140.
74 asthma: Theodore Thayer, Nathanael Greene: Strategist of the American Revolution (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1960), 26.
75 on a farm: Author’s visit to Nathanael Greene homestead.
76 “constant and profitable operation”: George Washington Greene, Life of Nathanael Greene, I (Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries Press, 1962), 5.
77 “My father was a man”: Nathanael Greene to Samuel Ward, October 9, 1772, in PNG, I, 49.
78 Locke’s Essay: Theodore Thayer, Nathanael Greene (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1960), 21.
79 Euclid: Ibid., 24.
80 “I lament the want”: George Washington Greene, The Life of Nathanael Greene, I (Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries Press, 1962), 47.
81 “cheerful, vigorous, thoughtful”: Ibid., 25.
82 imitations of characters: Theodore Thayer, Nathanael Greene (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1960), 24.
83 “Very true, but you see”: George Washington Greene, The Life of Nathanael Greene, I (Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries Press, 1962), 27.
84 cloudy spot in his right eye: Theodore Thayer, Nathanael Greene (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1960), 26.
85 “The first of all qualities”: Marshal Maurice de Saxe, Reveries on the Art of War, Brig. Gen. Thomas R. Phillips, ed. (Harrisburg, Pa.: The Military Service Publishing Co., 1944), 117.
86 “halting”: Nathanael Greene to James Varnum, October 31, 1774, in PNG, I, 75–76.
87 “watchfulness and industry”: Nathanael Greene to John Adams, July 14, 1776, in PNG, I, 254.
88 “Army of Observation”: George Washington Greene, Life of Nathanael Greene, I (Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries Press, 1952), 79.
89 “when you consider how raw”: Nathanael Greene to Samuel Ward, October 23, 1775, in PNG, I, 140.
90 “the army of the United Colonies”: Congress to George Washington, June 19, 1775, in PGW, I, 7.
91 “the troops under your command”: John Hancock to George Washington, July 5, 1775, in PGW, I, 64.
92 “raw materials”: George Washington to Philip Schuyler, July 28, 1775, in PGW, I, 189.
93 “rabble in arms”: Sir George Otto Trevelyan, The American Revolution, I (New York: Longmans, Green & Co., 1926), 298.
94 1,500 Rhode Islanders: Allen French, The First Year of the American Revolution (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1934), 77.
95 “wet and sloppy”: Journal of Simeon Lyman, Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society, VIII, 131.
96 “through mud and mire”: Lois K. Stabler, ed., Very Poor and of a Lo Make: The Journal of Abner Sanger (Portsmouth N.H.: Historical Society of Cheshire County, 1986) 37.
97 “regularity and discipline”: Massachusetts Provincial Congress to George Washington, July 3, 1775, in PGW, I, 52–53.
98 “possessed of the absolute necessity”: Ibid., 53.
99 own rough map: Washington’s map of the Boston area, in PGW, I, 186–187.
100 “very delightful country”: George Washington to Samuel Washington, July 20, 1775, in PGW, I, 135.
101 “country of the most charming green”: Allen French, The First Year of the American Revolution (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1934), 164.
102 John Trumbull: Theodore Sizer, ed., The Autobiography of Colonel John Trumbull (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1953), 21–22.
103 “the True Situation”: Map drawn by Lieutenant Richard Williams, Boston, October 1775, MHS.
104 “Mount Whoredom”: Walter Muir Whitehill, Boston: A Topographical History (Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press, 1968), 7–8.
105 “There’s perhaps no town”: Journal of Lieutenant Richard Williams, MHS.
106 “Thousands are at work”: Amelia Forbes Emerson, ed., Diaries and Letters of William Emerson, 1743–1776 (Boston: Thomas Todd, 1972), 79.
107 “ ’Tis surprising the work”: Ibid.
108 “Let us stand our ground”: David Hackett Fischer, Paul Revere’s Ride (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), 204.
109 “It seemed to be the principle”: John Rhodehamel, ed., The American Revolution: Writings from the War of Independence (New York: Library of America, 2001), 51.
110 account book was for $333.33: John C. Fitzpatrick, ed., George Washington Accounts of Expenses (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1917), 6.
111 “We scarcely lie down”: Thomas G. Frothingham, History of the Siege of Boston, and of the Battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill (New York: Da Capo Press, 1970), 23.
112 “Some are made of boards”: Amelia Forbes Emerson, ed., Diaries and Letters of William Emerson, 1743–1776 (Boston: Thomas Todd, 1972), 80.
113 “the regular camp of the enemy”: Ibid.
114 “Wickedness prevails very much”: Joseph Hodgkins to Sarah Hodgkins, September 20, 1775, in Herbert T. Wade and Robert A. Lively, eds., This Glorious Cause: The Adventures of Two Company Officers in Washington’s Army (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1958), 174.
115 cobbler by trade: Ibid., 8.
116 “pertickler”: Ibid., 174.
117 “for without New England rum”: Henry Steele Commager and Richard B. Morris, eds., The Spirit of ’Seventy-Six: The Story of the American Revolution as Told by Participants, I (Ind
ianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1958), 152.
118 “Drank some grog”: “Diary of Jabez Fitch, Jr.,” Proceedings of the MHS, 2nd series, IX (1894–1895), 47.
119 “the gin sling”: Ibid., 55.
120 “In the morning I attended”: Ibid., 62.
121 “up into Cambridge town”: Ibid., 76.
122 “dirty as hogs”: Ibid., 52.
123 “has done more to exhilarate”: Ibid., 45.
124 “very good”: Ibid., 57.
125 “a hearty dinner”: Ibid., 59.
126 “Your brother Elihu”: Abigail Adams to John Adams, August 10, 1775, in Adams Family Correspondence, I (Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press, 1963), 272.
127 “Camp fever”: Kenneth F. Kiple, ed., Cambridge World History of Human Disease (Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge University Press, 1992), 1071–1076; Anton Sebastian, Dictionary of the History of Medicine (New York: Parthenon Publishers, 1999), 268.
128 dead body so covered with lice: Journal of Simeon Lyman, Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society, VIII, 123.
129 Danbury, Connecticut: Charles Royster, A Revolutionary People at War: The Continental Army and American Character, 1775–1783 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1979), 132.
130 “Infectious filth”: George H. Guttridge, ed., The Correspondence of Edmund Burke, III (Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge University Press, 1961), 293.
131 “great neglect”: Herbert T. Wade and Robert A. Lively, eds., This Glorious Cause (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1958), 33.
132 “The officers in general”: Theodore Sizer, ed., The Autobiography of Colonel John Trumbull (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1953), 18.
133 “New lords, new laws”: William Emerson to his wife, July 17, 1775, in George F. Scheer and Hugh F. Rankin, eds., Rebels and Redcoats (New York: Da Capo Press, 1957), 83.
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