Major General Nathanael Greene Homestead at Twilight
"Major General Nathanael Greene Homestead at Twilight"
Coventry, RI
January 9, 2021
Major General Nathanael Greene:
Nathanael Greene was born at the Forge Grist Mill in Potowomut, Warwick R.I., July 27, 1742, to Nathanael a preacher in the Society of Friends and Mary (Mott) Greene.
Nathanael Jr. and his brothers were trained by their father as ironmasters. The family business at the forge prospered and this led to the establishment of a second ironworks in Coventry, ten miles from the Potowomut forge on the south branch of the Pawtuxet River. This business grew and by 1768 over 100 families lived in the vicinity of their Coventry forge. Nathanael made his home at the Coventry forge in 1770 and ran the family business. A setback occurred in 1772 when a fire destroyed the Coventry forge. Although efforts to rebuild were slow, the forge was eventually rebuilt. Today there is no evidence of a forge. An avid reader since boyhood, Nathanael actually had no formal education.
Nathanael believed that a war was inevitable between the colonists and the mother country, Britain. Because of this concern, he joined in the establishment of the Kentish Guards of East Greenwich. This military unit, organized by charter of the Rhode Island General Assembly, was trained by a British sergeant, a deserter, who Nathanael had persuaded to join the colonists' cause. On the evening of April 19, 1775, news of the British attack at Lexington reached Nathanael. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Greene mounted his horse and rode to East Greenwich where he joined other members of the Kentish Guard and marched onward to Boston. Soon after, the Rhode Island general Assembly appointed Greene, General of the Army of Observation. With a portion of this force, he joined the American troops besieging Boston. Six weeks later, Congress appointed Greene Brigadier General of the Continental Army. Later, he was named Major General.
As Quartermaster General and war strategist, Greene was involved in the major battles of the Revolution including Harlem Heights, Trenton, Brandywine, Valley Forge and Portsmouth Rhode Island. Following the defeat of Generals Lincoln and Gates in the south, Washington appointed General Greene to command the southern forces. Under this command came success at Eutaw Springs and Guilford Court House and the withdrawal of Lord Cornwallis to Virginia. As the war ended, General Greene and others received gifts of land tracts and Tory plantations from South Carolina and Georgia in appreciation for the defeat of Cornwallis. Among the holdings given Greene was Mulberry Grove, a plantation on the Savannah River in Georgia.
After the war ended, the Greenes faced with enormous debts incurred during the war from the letter of credit Nathanael had received to provide money for provisions for his troops. An agent sent to purchase the provisions absconded with the funds. The provisions had to be provided, so Greene pledged repayment expecting Congress to compensate him. The creditors' demands for reimbursements obliged the General to sell some properties. Congress did vote the funds but it was not until 1792 several years after Greene's death, that the matter was finally resolved.
In 1783, General Greene's family moved from Coventry to Newport for a brief time and then to Mulberry Grove. The Homestead in Coventry was signed over to his brother Jacob. In 1786, General Greene died of sunstroke while riding through his plantation. He was buried in the colonial cemetery of Christ Episcopal Church in the Graham vault in Savannah, Georgia. Later his remains were removed from the cemetery and re-interred in Johnson Square, Savannah Georgia.
The Homestead:
Built by Nathanael in 1770, the "Homestead" as it historically has been known, was originally called "Spell Hall" as it was indicated in one of Nathanael's letters. Constructed on the hillside, the site chosen for the Homestead was well sheltered on the west by natural woods. The land to the front sloped eastward as a terrace to the Pawtuxet River. Originally the house overlooked a broad area of open woodland meadow. The building is a well preserved 18th century structure of simple, yet refined design. Originally the site had 83 acres but at the time of the 1919 sale to the Homestead Association, it had been reduced to 13 acres of open space and woodlands. The 2 & 1/2 story structure is typical of it's time in design. Around the 1870's, the front door area was Victorianized with a bracketed hood and double window door. During the early 1920's, an 18th century door with appropriate trim was attached to the opening making it look as it would have in Nathanael's time. During the 1870's a fire started that burned up to the second floor in the vicinity of the door.
The two main floors of the home each consist of four rooms on either side of a central hall. The rooms on the first floor are dining room, parlor, library and kitchen - each having a paneled fireplace. The completely intact interior was first restored in the early 1920's with the establishment of the building as a museum. A second major restoration was accomplished in 1990 showing from then on a more correct perspective of the house when the Quaker family lived there. An extensive paint analysis was accomplished in the 1990 restoration giving now the earliest colors used throughout the 18th century home. The rooms on the second floor are what we feel they would have been there in the 18th and 19th centuries. The first bedroom on the right as you ascend the stairs might have been used by Nathanael and later his brother Jacob. The room diagonally across the hall might have been used by Jacob Varnum Greene, the son of Jacob and the bedroom on the right is decored Victorian style with wallpaper and lace curtains since the occupant, Elizabeth Margaret who was the daughter of Jacob Varnum, lived until 1899, the Victorian era. The fourth room is used now as a museum shop.
When Nathanael and Caty moved from Coventry, the house was purchased by Nathanael's brother Jacob. He and his wife Peggy continued to live there until they died and the same was true of the next two generations. Upon the death of Elizabeth Margaret, the property was inherited by the children of her first marriage, Patience and Harris Inman. In 1915 the home was sold out of the family. Showing great concern for the property, four members of the Kent County Chapter of the Rhode Island Sons of the American Revolution purchased the property in 1919, restored it and gave it the name we know today as the Nathanael Greene Homestead. the first caretaker, actually lived in the house but by 1935, a caretaker's cottage was built and is used to this day.
Major General Nathanael Greene Homestead at Twilight
"Major General Nathanael Greene Homestead at Twilight"
Coventry, RI
January 9, 2021
Major General Nathanael Greene:
Nathanael Greene was born at the Forge Grist Mill in Potowomut, Warwick R.I., July 27, 1742, to Nathanael a preacher in the Society of Friends and Mary (Mott) Greene.
Nathanael Jr. and his brothers were trained by their father as ironmasters. The family business at the forge prospered and this led to the establishment of a second ironworks in Coventry, ten miles from the Potowomut forge on the south branch of the Pawtuxet River. This business grew and by 1768 over 100 families lived in the vicinity of their Coventry forge. Nathanael made his home at the Coventry forge in 1770 and ran the family business. A setback occurred in 1772 when a fire destroyed the Coventry forge. Although efforts to rebuild were slow, the forge was eventually rebuilt. Today there is no evidence of a forge. An avid reader since boyhood, Nathanael actually had no formal education.
Nathanael believed that a war was inevitable between the colonists and the mother country, Britain. Because of this concern, he joined in the establishment of the Kentish Guards of East Greenwich. This military unit, organized by charter of the Rhode Island General Assembly, was trained by a British sergeant, a deserter, who Nathanael had persuaded to join the colonists' cause. On the evening of April 19, 1775, news of the British attack at Lexington reached Nathanael. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Greene mounted his horse and rode to East Greenwich where he joined other members of the Kentish Guard and marched onward to Boston. Soon after, the Rhode Island general Assembly appointed Greene, General of the Army of Observation. With a portion of this force, he joined the American troops besieging Boston. Six weeks later, Congress appointed Greene Brigadier General of the Continental Army. Later, he was named Major General.
As Quartermaster General and war strategist, Greene was involved in the major battles of the Revolution including Harlem Heights, Trenton, Brandywine, Valley Forge and Portsmouth Rhode Island. Following the defeat of Generals Lincoln and Gates in the south, Washington appointed General Greene to command the southern forces. Under this command came success at Eutaw Springs and Guilford Court House and the withdrawal of Lord Cornwallis to Virginia. As the war ended, General Greene and others received gifts of land tracts and Tory plantations from South Carolina and Georgia in appreciation for the defeat of Cornwallis. Among the holdings given Greene was Mulberry Grove, a plantation on the Savannah River in Georgia.
After the war ended, the Greenes faced with enormous debts incurred during the war from the letter of credit Nathanael had received to provide money for provisions for his troops. An agent sent to purchase the provisions absconded with the funds. The provisions had to be provided, so Greene pledged repayment expecting Congress to compensate him. The creditors' demands for reimbursements obliged the General to sell some properties. Congress did vote the funds but it was not until 1792 several years after Greene's death, that the matter was finally resolved.
In 1783, General Greene's family moved from Coventry to Newport for a brief time and then to Mulberry Grove. The Homestead in Coventry was signed over to his brother Jacob. In 1786, General Greene died of sunstroke while riding through his plantation. He was buried in the colonial cemetery of Christ Episcopal Church in the Graham vault in Savannah, Georgia. Later his remains were removed from the cemetery and re-interred in Johnson Square, Savannah Georgia.
The Homestead:
Built by Nathanael in 1770, the "Homestead" as it historically has been known, was originally called "Spell Hall" as it was indicated in one of Nathanael's letters. Constructed on the hillside, the site chosen for the Homestead was well sheltered on the west by natural woods. The land to the front sloped eastward as a terrace to the Pawtuxet River. Originally the house overlooked a broad area of open woodland meadow. The building is a well preserved 18th century structure of simple, yet refined design. Originally the site had 83 acres but at the time of the 1919 sale to the Homestead Association, it had been reduced to 13 acres of open space and woodlands. The 2 & 1/2 story structure is typical of it's time in design. Around the 1870's, the front door area was Victorianized with a bracketed hood and double window door. During the early 1920's, an 18th century door with appropriate trim was attached to the opening making it look as it would have in Nathanael's time. During the 1870's a fire started that burned up to the second floor in the vicinity of the door.
The two main floors of the home each consist of four rooms on either side of a central hall. The rooms on the first floor are dining room, parlor, library and kitchen - each having a paneled fireplace. The completely intact interior was first restored in the early 1920's with the establishment of the building as a museum. A second major restoration was accomplished in 1990 showing from then on a more correct perspective of the house when the Quaker family lived there. An extensive paint analysis was accomplished in the 1990 restoration giving now the earliest colors used throughout the 18th century home. The rooms on the second floor are what we feel they would have been there in the 18th and 19th centuries. The first bedroom on the right as you ascend the stairs might have been used by Nathanael and later his brother Jacob. The room diagonally across the hall might have been used by Jacob Varnum Greene, the son of Jacob and the bedroom on the right is decored Victorian style with wallpaper and lace curtains since the occupant, Elizabeth Margaret who was the daughter of Jacob Varnum, lived until 1899, the Victorian era. The fourth room is used now as a museum shop.
When Nathanael and Caty moved from Coventry, the house was purchased by Nathanael's brother Jacob. He and his wife Peggy continued to live there until they died and the same was true of the next two generations. Upon the death of Elizabeth Margaret, the property was inherited by the children of her first marriage, Patience and Harris Inman. In 1915 the home was sold out of the family. Showing great concern for the property, four members of the Kent County Chapter of the Rhode Island Sons of the American Revolution purchased the property in 1919, restored it and gave it the name we know today as the Nathanael Greene Homestead. the first caretaker, actually lived in the house but by 1935, a caretaker's cottage was built and is used to this day.