Today is Memorial Day, when we honor our fallen U.S. military heroes. There are countless stories of American heroism, but today I want to focus on Christopher Greene, cousin of the famous Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene.
Both Greenes grew up in Rhode Island, and Christopher was a militia officer when the Revolution began. He was a devoted Patriot who commanded a company of Continental regulars at the siege of Boston. Christopher was not long in attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel, but during the unsuccessful 1775 Quebec expedition, he was captured.
Christopher Greene was a prisoner of war of the British for eight months before a prisoner exchange freed him and allowed him to rejoin the Revolutionary forces, serving under his cousin Nathanael. He was made a colonel and in 1777 given the command of the now-famous 1st Rhode Island regiment.
In October 1777, Greene and his regiment won acclaim from Patriots for a “spirited defense” of Fort Mercer. More than 2,500 Hessians were driven back by 400 Rhode Islanders. Greene was given a commemorative sword by the Continental Congress to honor the victory. From American Battlefield Trust:
[On] October 22, an approaching British force demanded Greene surrender, else no quarter would be granted to the garrison, the Rhode Islander defiantly refused and replied, “this fort shall be my tomb.” Greene successfully defended the fort against a subsequent assault, inflicting heavy losses on the British. The engagement earned him the thanks of the Continental Congress in the form of a ceremonial sword.
Then a notable change took place. With the 1st Rhode Island regiment’s casualties at Fort Mercer and three-year enlistments expiring, some soldiers were going home and numbers were depleted. Slaves were promised emancipation if they would serve, and some 200 black men joined the regiment, seeking personal freedom as much as national freedom. There were also a dozen Wampanoag Indians in his regiment, making for a truly diverse and thoroughly American force. Thus Col. Greene had a racially integrated regiment.
[American Battlefield Trust] [In] August 1778, the unit participated in the Battle of Rhode Island.
Greene remained in Rhode Island until the end of November 1780 when he received orders to join the main army. On January 1, 1781, the First and Second Rhode Island Regiments were consolidated into the “Rhode Island Regiment”. The reorganized unit contained two companies of Black soldiers and encamped near Peekskill, New York. Greene’s primary responsibility throughout the spring involved picketing the Continental lines.
Sadly, Col. Green did not survive to see the nation for which he had fought take shape. In May 1781, his headquarters near Yorktown, NY, were suddenly overrun in a surprise dawn attack, conducted by murderous, Loyalist Tories (locals loyal to the British). While some of Greene’s staff were treacherously murdered in their beds, Greene and some of his men were able to grab their weapons and engage in hand-to-hand fighting.
Reportedly Greene lost his left arm, and then received saber thrusts in the head and torso. It is said that he was particularly abused for being a commander of black troops, and hence was dragged from the house and into the woods where he was finished off and his body mutilated. It is also true that a half dozen of the 27 casualties of the attack were black men. The colonel left a widow and eight children.
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Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee wrote sorrowfully of the murdered Col. Greene, “Here the gallant veteran singly received them with his drawn sword. Several fell beneath the arm accustomed to conquer, till at length overpowered by numbers, and faint from the loss of blood streaming from his wounds, barbarity triumphed over valor.”
Greene had fought and lived as he believed — that all men are created equal and deserve the right to take up arms in defense of their liberty. Today let us honor Col. Christopher Greene and his brave 1st Rhode Island soldiers who sacrificed their lives to give birth to a new nation.
(A source for this article was history museum Facebook account A Daily Dose of the American Rev.)
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