Nathanael Greene has always been considered among the great
of the American Revolution. Time, however, has dimmed remem-
brance of the part he played in the winning of independence and
the forging of the new nation. He was considered a military strate-
gist of the first order by the men of his own time and the opinion
would appear justified in the light of history. Indeed, it may be no
overstatement to say that Greene, while with the army in the
North, generally masterminded Washington's campaigns. Very
early Washington made known his desire to have Greene his
successor should anything happen to him in the course of the
war. In Congress, also, he was considered the most eligible to
succeed Washington.

In the South, Greene's strategy and daring played a major role
in the final undoing of British power in America. At the outset this
was implemented by a major stroke of good fortune. Greene sent
Morgan to harass Cornwallis' flank at Winnsborough but not to
risk a pitched battle with any part of the enemy. Cowpens was
a lucky break for Greene. It weakened Cornwallis to such an
extent that Greene could turn on him at Guilford Court House
and give him such a mauling that he was forced to leave North
Carolina. After that good fortune was Washington's when the
French fleet sailed into the Chesapeake to seal the fate of Corn-
wallis at Yorktown.

After Guilford Court House, Greene dazzled the world by
invading South Carolina and driving the British into Charleston.
Sensational as was the campaign in South Carolina, in reality it
may have had little bearing upon the outcome of the war. How-
ever, it could have been of the greatest importance had the French
fleet failed to arrive off Yorktown. If that had not occurred,
Greene's army and his successes in South Carolina could have been
the only important obstacle between the British and the com-
plete subjugation of the South.

The British had been heavily reinforced and Greene understood
what it would mean if he marched to Virginia leaving the enemy

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