American legislator and soldier
Christopher Greene
(May 12, 1737 – May 14, 1781) was an American legislator and soldier. He led the spirited defense of
Fort Mercer
in the 1777
Battle of Red Bank
, and for leading the
African American
1st Rhode Island Regiment
during the
American Revolutionary War
, most notably with distinction in the 1778
Battle of Rhode Island
. He was killed in May 1781 at the
Battle of Pine's Bridge
by
Loyalists
, possibly because he was known to lead African American troops.
Early life and education
[
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Greene was born May 12, 1737, at Occupessatuxet, a village in
Warwick, Rhode Island
, to Judge Phillip Greene and Elizabeth (Wickes) Greene. On May 6, 1757, Greene married his third cousin Anna Lippitt, born November 15, 1735, the daughter of Jeremiah Lippitt and Welthian Greene, both descended from a distinguished
Rhode Island
colonial family. Jeremiah was Warwick's town clerk from June 1742 to his death in 1776, with the exception of 1775. He was a deputy to the General Assembly for four years, and Assistant five years.
Greene and Anna would have nine children together. When Greene's father died in 1761, Greene inherited the family's mill estate and ran the business until he became an officer in the
Continental Army
.
[1]
He served in the
Rhode Island Legislature
from 1772 to 1774. Greene was chosen a lieutenant of the
Kentish Guards
1774.
American Revolutionary War
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On May 3, 1775, he was appointed a major in
Varnum's Regiment
by the Rhode Island legislature. He was given command of a company and marched to
Cambridge, Massachusetts
and became part of the
Army of Observation
in support of the rebellion against British rule.
In September 1775,
George Washington
put Major Greene in charge of a battalion in Cambridge under the command of Colonel
Benedict Arnold
. Greene's battalion was part of
Arnold's expedition
through present-day
Maine
to attack the British garrison at
Quebec
. In
the assault on that city
on December 31, 1775, Greene led a detachment of troops, and, after Arnold was wounded, Greene was taken prisoner by the British. He was exchanged after eight months' confinement in August 1776.
In New Jersey
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In June 1776, Greene was promoted to major in the
9th Continental Regiment
under Colonel
James M. Varnum
, in a division which was commanded by his third cousin, General
Nathanael Greene
. In January 1777, the 9th Continental Regiment was renamed as the
1st Rhode Island Regiment
. On 27 February 1777 Greene was promoted to colonel, and placed in command of the regiment, following Varnum's promotion to brigadier general.
In October, Greene was in charge of
Fort Mercer
near present-day
Deptford Township
, now
National Park, New Jersey
, south of
Philadelphia
and
Trenton
in
Gloucester County
.
Fort Mercer and its Pennsylvania counterpart on the west side of the river,
Fort Mifflin
, had the mission of defending the Delaware River against British naval movements on the river. After the British
captured Philadelphia
in September 1777, the forts prevented the
Royal Navy
from bringing supplies into the city.
Battle of Red Bank
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On October 22, 1777, the fort was assaulted by the
Hessians
under Colonel
Carl von Donop
, in what came to be called the
Battle of Red Bank
in
Red Bank
in
Gloucester County
. Von Donop was eager to avenge the 1776 defeat of Hessian troops by
George Washington
in the
Battle of Trenton
. Though they were supported by gunfire from six British
men-o-war
in the
Delaware River
, they were repulsed with heavy loss, and von Donop was mortally wounded.
Greene spent the winter of 1777 to 1778 with his regiment at the
Continental Army
's winter quarters at
Valley Forge
near
Philadelphia
.
Battle of Rhode Island
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In early 1778, Colonel Greene returned to the cooler climate of his home state. He struggled to piece together a unit of former
slaves
, the
1st Rhode Island
. When the idea of offering slaves their freedom in return for active service was first suggested, all concerned believed the plan would help solve the problem of finding Continental recruits. The
Rhode Island General Assembly
voted that every able-bodied Negro, mulatto, and Indian slave could enlist for the duration of the war with bounties and wages the same as for free men. Once enlisted and approved by the regimental officers the slave would become free.
[2]
The small population of 3,331 blacks and Indians, however, could not support the effort adequately. Fewer than two hundred soldiers were recruited. Finding the scheme expensive and impractical, the legislators reversed themselves. "No negroe, mulatto, nor Indian slave will be permitted to enlist in the Continental battalions after 10 June 1778." Greene and his officers proceeded to train the black infantrymen who had already signed on. All heard the news that a French fleet was on the way, and many were looking forward to some serious fighting in the near future.
The decision to stop recruitment also reflected how controversial black regiments were and recognition that, as fighting moved to the Southern colonies, the white Southern slave owners would not tolerate the presence of black regiments.
[3]
Colonel Greene and his regiment were detached for special service in Rhode Island, and he was placed under the command of General
John Sullivan
. General Sullivan, whose headquarters were in
Providence
, was charged with the task of containing the depredations of the 4,000 British and Hessian troops occupying
Newport
on
Aquidneck Island
. For this purpose he had only a brigade of Rhode Island state troops, and several thousand as yet unmobilized militia. In early July 1778 orders from General Washington changed Sullivan's mission from defense to attack and thrust the quiet Rhode Island sector into the forefront of the war.
The
Battle of Rhode Island
commenced on August 29, 1778. Colonel Greene temporarily commanded a brigade in the center of the American order of battle. Greene's "Black Regiment", now under General Nathanael Greene's longtime friend, Maj.
Samuel Ward Jr
, held the far right of the American line. This regiment served with distinction, praised by the allied French officers for repulsing attacks by Hessian soldiers. Due to losses on the eastern flank, General Sullivan was forced to withdraw all American forces from the field, leaving the British forces still in control of Aquidneck Island.
[4]
Death
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Colonel Greene and Major Ebenezer Flagg, along with six black soldiers, and two others who later died of their wounds, were killed on May 14, 1781, when a group of
loyalist
insurgents, known as the Royal Refugee Corps under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James De Lancey, surrounded Greene's headquarters on the
Croton River
in
Westchester County, New York
. An account of the attack noted that, "his body was found in the woods, about a mile distant from his tent, cut, and mangled in the most shocking way."
[1]
Legacy
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Congress voted Greene a sword, which in 1786 was presented to his son by
Secretary of War
Henry Knox
. A monument to his memory was erected near
Red Bank, New Jersey
, in October 1829 by New Jersey and
Pennsylvania
volunteers.
A fine portrait of Colonel Greene by
James Sullivan Lincoln
hangs in the
John Hay Library
of
Brown University
in
Providence, Rhode Island
.
[5]
See also
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References
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Sources
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- Clarke, Louise Brownell. The Greenes of Rhode Island with Historical Records of English Ancestry, 166-168. New York: Knickerbocker Press, 1903.
- Cowell, Benjamin. Spirit of '76 in Rhode Island, 263. Boston: A.J. Wright, Printer, 1850.
- Dearden, Paul F. The Rhode Island Campaign of 1778: Inauspicious Dawn of Alliance. Providence: The Rhode Island Publications Society, 1980.
- Raymond, Marcius Denison
Col. Christopher Greene of Rhode Island read before the Rhode Island Historical Society, April 26, 1902.
Tarrytown, New York: Published by the Author by Request. (1902).
- Ryun, Jim. "Heroes Among Us: Deep Within Each of Us Lies the Heart of a Hero," Chapter 3, Christopher Greene. Destiny Image Publishers, 2002.
- Sweet, John Wood. Bodies Politic: Negotiating Race in the American North, 1730-1830. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003
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