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Primary sourceLetter1775–1786

Nathanael Greene Papers

Nathanael Greene · 1775–1786

A collection of Greene's wartime letters, orders and accounts from his years as quartermaster general and Southern commander.

This archive preserves Greene's own letters and orders, documenting his roles as quartermaster general and Southern commander.

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Handwritten manuscript letter on yellowed, creased paper, folded into sections, written in cursive ink in multiple columns. Visible text includes 'Dorchester near Boston 15 Feby 1784' and a passage about the writer's Continental Army affairs; a note on the right reads 'Inscription for the cannon... Taken from the British and presented to Major General Greene by order of Congress.'
Nathanael Greene, letter, 15 February 1784. William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan.

About this source

What it is

This is the main surviving archive of letters and papers written by Nathanael Greene between 1775 and 1786, now held at the William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan. The example shown is a personal letter written from Dorchester near Boston in 1784, discussing friends, the Society of the Cincinnati, and a cannon taken from the British and presented to Greene by order of Congress.

Why it matters

Greene served as quartermaster general and later commanded American forces in the South during the Revolutionary War. His letters reveal the daily business of running an army, his friendships, and how contemporaries honored his service, such as the inscribed cannon mentioned in the letter.

Look closer

  • What does the handwriting and condition of the paper tell you about how old documents survive?
  • What personal details does Greene share that a formal military report would not include?
  • Why might Congress have presented a captured cannon to Greene specifically?

This letter is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Nathanael Greene on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Oval portrait of a man with powdered gray hair, wearing a tan coat with a dark blue collar and gold epaulettes bearing silver stars, and a white cravat. Dark background, gilded oval frame.Painting

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Charles Willson Peale · 1778

Oval painted portrait of a man with powdered gray hair wearing a tan coat with dark blue lapels, gold epaulettes with star insignia, and a white cravat, set against a dark background within a gold frame.Painting

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Portrait of Nathanael Greene

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Oval miniature portrait painting of a man in a blue military coat with gold-yellow facing, white cravat, and powdered white hair, turned to his left. Gold border with an inscription reading Nathanael Greene, Brigadier-General in the Continental Army, painted from memory 1792.Painting

Secondary source

Nathanael Greene (1742-1786)

John Trumbull · 1792

Painting of a winter battle scene with stormy grey sky. Mounted George Washington in a tricorn hat sits centrally on a brown horse, facing left toward wounded and fallen soldiers. Officers in blue and buff uniforms surround him; a white horse and fallen figures lie in the foreground, with a drum and a dropped flag on the ground.Painting

Secondary source

The Capture of the Hessians at Trenton, December 26, 1776

John Trumbull · 1786 (begun), completed 1828

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