Nathanael Greene Biography Essay

General Cornwallis chose Yorktown as his base in case he and his troops needed to escape by sea. But unfortunately for Cornwallis the United States formed an alliance with France after America's previous victory at Saratoga. Where the United States hidden in the forest while England were moving to their next location.

During the American Revolution, the Americans and French (Franco-American coalition) fought the British at the Battle of Yorktown also known as “The Siege of Yorktown”. The Americans and the French fielded a combined force of roughly 16,000 soldiers to defeat the British force estimated at 7,000 soldiers. American General George Washington and French Lieutenant General de Rochambeau led the American and French soldiers. The British commanding officer was Major General Lord Cornwallis. The battle occurred from September 28 thru October 19, 1781. Cornwallis lost his dominance in the Carolinas and decided to march his army north to Virginia and seize Yorktown and Gloucester along the York River.

General Washington and the Continental Army had been routed in the Battle of Long Island and withdrew to the defenses of Brooklyn Heights, which left them confined between Hessian and British troops and the East River. General Washington was able to keep the revolution alive by maintaining the Continental Army in the field.

In August 1781, General George Washington, who was camped in New York, learned that Lieutenant General Lord Charles Cornwallis' army of nearly 9,000 soldiers was encamped near Yorktown, VA (Lengel,

Major General Nathanael Greene and Major General John Sullivan were two men serving under General Washington. They were both marching with Washington on December 26, 1776. Washington's plan of attack was to split his army into two groups in order to surround the Hessians. He and Major General Nathanael Greene would enter from the north, while Major General John Sullivan would enter Trenton from the south. Greene and Sullivan followed the plan, and the Hessians were completely taken by surprise. Both Generals moved into a position to surround the Hessians. Many soldiers started to abandon their artillery, so the Americans captured the abandoned artillery and used it to their advantage.

Washington took away that fear when he launched the attack on Hessian troops. He followed up this victory by a win at Princeton. Next, he was forced to fight a battle that he knew he would lose. The British navy took over Philadelphia at the battle of Brandywine Creek. Washington’s militia was strengthened in October, when General Gates won at Saratoga, New York. In the spring of 1778, good news arrived when the French decided to send money, troops, and a fleet to help the colonies. When the British heard the news they decided to consolidate their position to New York and New Jersey. In the time period between 1778 and 1781 Washington kept the British army concealed to New York City. At the time he faced a variety of disappointments by losing the battles of Brooklyn Heights, Kip’s Bay, Harlem Heights, and White Plains.

The Battle of Trenton persuaded men to reenlist so Washington would still have an army in the new year. Washington planned on surprising the British in Princeton, but decided to wait considering Ewing and Caldwalader never made it across the river. A week later, on January 3, 1777 Washington recrossed the Delaware River with his troop into Princeton. The battle lasted less than an hour, but around one hundred British men were killed or wounded and they captured two hundred. The Americans only suffered forty casualties (Dupuy 83-84). These two wins boosted the patriot’s morale and helped Washington rise back to the top as a military commander (Murphy). These two victories also convinced America that the war was not over yet, there was still hope. Overall winning these battles created a spark of hope and a wave of electricity. There were many battles Washington led, but

That morning the light frost was just beginning to melt, but the air was still cold. The battle began at about noon that day and lasted for approximately two hours before it came to an end. Nathanael Greene’s tactic to win the battle was to line his men up in three parallel rows. The battle started with the cannons being fired rapidly at their enemy. Greene’s men began to panic and then began to scatter in every direction. The troops heavily fought on both sides, but in the end, Nathanael Greene and his troops decided to retreat. The British may have won the battle, but they ended up suffering tremendous losses. After this battle, Cornwallis decided to forget campaigning and instead decided to take his army to Virginia, where in October of that very same year, he surrendered to General George Washington. After the battle, Greene returned south and again took control over most of the Carolina's and Georgia. The Battle of Guilford Courthouse was the second to last major battle of the American Revolution.

As a result, he now had the ample means to buy whatever books he needed and he turned his mind to the military arts. Greene then became one of the most educated military leaders of the Revolution. While having no actual military experience at all, Greene was the youngest general officer in the army after quickly elevated to the level of Brigadier General at the age of thirty-three years. When he entered the fray in Boston it was only to find things in disarray. “Washington arriving in the first week of July, was told he had 20,000 men, but no one knew for certain.” As exact figures turn out, Washington only had about 16,000 and of that only 14,000 were actually fit for duty.

The days before the battle helped the Americans capture a victory at Yorktown. At first, the war was between the Colonies and the British; however, the French came into the war to help aid the Colonists and win the war over Great Britain. Before the battle of Yorktown, General George Washington was stationed in New York with his army. “In the spring of 1781, Washington traveled to Rhode Island to meet with Comte de Rochambeau and plan to attack on Clinton” (“History of the Siege”). Lieutenant General Henry Clinton is a British general who marches through the northern and middle colonies in an attempt to gain control in those areas. The French were a big advantage to the Colonists because of their naval fleet. George Washington was expecting the French fleet to arrive in New York and help aid in the attack on Clinton, however, he “learned that the French fleet was sailing to the lower Chesapeake Bay”

Leading up the battle of Yorktown, in February, 1781, Major General Marquis de Lafayette was ordered to take his Continental troops to Virginia. About a month later General Cornwallis and his army had entered Virginia believing that if the American forces had resistance, he would have victory against the Americans and the French. Later that year in August on 1-2, 1781 Cornwallis and his army set up at Gloucester point, hoping to use it as a base for supply and weapons. Couple of weeks later, Washington heard about the base and sent a large army to destroy Cornwallis base. A month later on September 14, 1781, French General Rochambeau and General Washington arrived, and sent 400 French soldiers and 400 American soldiers to storm the British redoubt. On October 19, 1781, being taken under heavy from the Americans and the French, Major General Cornwallis realized that he was short of troops and decided to escape Yorktown before surrendering. Making the move to escape, a sudden storm from the Americans and French ruined his evacuation plan and Cornwallis was forced to surrender, due to the lack troops and supplies.

The Battle of Springfield was fought on June 23rd 1780. It was to be the British Army's second attempt to advance on Washington's forces in New Jersey. The first was a failed attempt at the Battle of Connecticut Farms, which happened only sixteen days earlier.

After Howe 's victory at Brandywine, his army camped at Germantown, Pennsylvania. Washington planned a surprise attack against the redcoats at sunrise. He broke the army into four separate columns for battle. The American soldiers marched to Germantown by two roads, with General Sullivan to the right and General Greene to the left. Washington, along with General Wayne, joined Sulliven and caused the British to fall back.

The Battle of Trenton occurred approximately 20 months after the revolution started. On November 16, 1776, the Battle of Fort Washington marked a decisive victory for the British. The British forces killed 59 Continental soldiers and took another 2,837 prisoner (“Weapons and war,” n.d.). Due to the defeat, Continental soldiers retreated across New Jersey into Pennsylvania. The Continental Army did not suffer any losses, but the troops suffered from a sense of defeat. Washington and his men faced a cold winter ahead, they were not sufficiently equipped to survive, enlistment contracts neared the end, local militants refused to take up arms, and the Continental Congress abandoned the

No other options are left for the American army, running from the British along side the Delaware River, fighting against deserters, disease, famine, and their major lack of artillery was no help to the cause. On the 25th of December in 1776, George Washington led his army across the Delaware River in New Jersey. In a desperate attempt to win a battle, and help motivate people to rejoin the revolution, Washington devised a plan to attack the Hessians at Trenton on Christmas night. He declared that it was victory or death, they were either going to win the battle, or they were going to die, but retreat was not an option.