Greensboro in Guilford County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Nathanael Greene

Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 19, 2006

1. Major General Nathanael Greene

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

[Front of monument pedestal]:
Appointed Major General in command of the Southern Army October 14, 1780
Born in Rhode Island August 7, 1742
Died in Georgia June 19 1786

[Left Side of monument pedestal]:
Guilford Court House · Hobkirks Hill · Ninety – Six · Eutaw Springs

[Right Side of monument pedestal]:
Harlem Heights · Trenton · Princeton · Brandywine · Germantown · Monmouth

[Lower left of monument base]:
It is with a pleasure which friendship alone is susceptible of that I congratulate you on the glorious end you have put to hostilities in the southern states.
Washington

[Lower right of monument base]:
Greene is as dangerous as Washington. I never feel secure when encamped in his neighborhood.
Cornwallis

[Plaque in front of the Liberty monument]:
March XV MDCCLXXXI

In the manoeuvering that preceded it, in the strategy that compelled it, in the heroism that signalized it, and in the results that flowed from it, the Battle of Guilford

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Court House is second to no battle fought on American soil. Over the brave men who fell here their comrades marched to ultimate victory at Yorktown, and the cause of constitutional self-government to assured triumph at Philadelphia. To officer and private, to Continental soldier and volunteer militiaman, honor and award are alike due. They need neither defense nor eulogy but only just recognition. A grateful nation erects this monument, therefore, as an expression of its solemn pride in the men who fought here, of its imperishable devotion to their memory, and of its unalterable confidence in the permanence of the principles which their example vindicated and their blood consecrated.

Erected 1915 by The Guilford Battle Ground Company.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Revolutionary. A significant historical date for this entry is June 19, 1981.

Location. 36° 7.934′ N, 79° 50.668′ W. Marker is in Greensboro, North Carolina, in Guilford County. Marker is on Guilford Courthouse NMP Tour Road, on the left when traveling west. Marker is in Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, on the Auto Tour near stop 8. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2332 New Garden Road, Greensboro NC 27410, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Monument and the General (a few steps from this marker); John Penn

Gen. Greene Equestrian Statue image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 19, 2006

2. Gen. Greene Equestrian Statue

Maj. Gen. Nathanael Green was the commander of the Southern army and the hero of the Battle of Guilford Court House.

(within shouting distance of this marker); Signers of the Declaration (within shouting distance of this marker); Signers Monument (within shouting distance of this marker); William Hooper (within shouting distance of this marker); Capt. George Reynolds (within shouting distance of this marker); Park Founders (within shouting distance of this marker); Joseph M. Morehead (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Greensboro.

More about this marker. The sides of the pedestal for the equestrian statue of Gen. Greene contain of list of the major battles in which he played a part.

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. To better understand the relationship, study the marker shown.

Also see . . .
1. Guilford Courthouse National Military Park. National Park Service. (Submitted on April 9, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.)

2. Major General Nathanael Greene. (Submitted on April 9, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.)

Liberty Monument Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 1, 2010

3. Liberty Monument Marker

Additional commentary.
1. History of the Nathanael Greene Memorial
Nathanael Greene (1742-1783) was a military strategist during the American Revolution, rising through the ranks to become a Major General in the Continental Army. He became George Washington's most trusted subordinate and became Quartermaster General at Valley Forge. Taking command of the army at Charlotte, North Carolina in December 1780, Greene conducted the campaign that broke the back of the British war effort in America, commanding at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, March 15, 1781.

Shortly after Greene's death, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution directing that a memorial to him be built at the nation's capitol, but it was never erected. In 1857 the Greene Monument Association was organized with $600 raised by January 1860, but the efforts were discontinued by the Civil War, and the money was lost. In 1911, both Houses of Congress appropriated $30,000 for the monument (which cost $28,052.60) and a contract was issued on Sept. 16, 1912. A $25 prize was offered for an appropriate inscription for the plaque on the base of the allegorical figure, and it was won by Dr. D. Alphonso Smith, a Greensboro native and professor of English at the University of Virginia.

The esplanade was resurfaced in 1957. In 1962,

Greene Statue image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 19, 2006

4. Greene Statue

The equestrian statue of Gen. Greene stands in a large clearing in Guilford Courthouse National Military Park.

the two Civil War cannons were removed. The monument was vandalized on July 4, 1989, and a fund was created by the Greater Greensboro Foundation to extensively restore it and five other monuments in the park. $150,000 was raised for the project, and restoration occurred in January 1990. During the restoration, the bronze figures were removed from the monument; the damaged steps around the base were dismantled; the low wall flanking base of Greene figure was dismantled. About one-third of the damaged or missing bronze letters of the inscriptions were recast. Replacement stones were supplied from North Carolina Granite Company from the original quarry in Mount Airy, North Carolina.

Source: Smithsonian Institution Research Information System

— Submitted April 9, 2008, by Kevin W. of Stafford, Virginia.

Closeup of Greene Statue image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 19, 2006

5. Closeup of Greene Statue

Closeup of <i>Liberty</i> image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 1, 2010

6. Closeup of Liberty

At the front of the esplanade is a bronze allegorical sculpture of a Greek Goddess, or Liberty. Crowned with a laurel, she holds a bald eagle shield in her left hand and two palm fronds in her right.

Credits. This page was last revised on November 29, 2019. It was originally submitted on April 9, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 2,879 times since then and 109 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 9, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. 3. submitted on August 25, 2010, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. 4, 5. submitted on April 9, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. 6. submitted on August 25, 2010, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. • Kevin W. was the editor who published this page.