The Saber and Scroll
just as he abandoned his religiously restricted education in pursuit of obtaining a liberal education in his youth , he also abandoned the pacifistic tenets of Quakerism so he could do his part to correct the wrongs he perceived in British-colonized America . Accounts vary as to why Greene was removed from the Society of Friends , but in 1773 , he was excommunicated for either attending a military parade or being at an alehouse . Nonetheless , this removal gave him the freedom he needed to pursue his military ambitions .
On October 29 , 1774 , the men of East Greenwich , Rhode Island established the Kentish Guards as a means of protecting their province from the threat of potential attacks by local Tories . 10 Nathanael Greene was a founding member and financier of the group , but when he volunteered to serve as an officer , he was not selected . Although Greene was regarded as one of the most informed minds on military matters in Rhode Island , he ultimately became a Private in the group he helped found and fund .
Greene was already an unlikely candidate for military leadership given his Quaker background , but his physical ailments sealed his fate in terms of achieving a foothold in the Kentish Guard . He walked with a pronounced limp and was prone to severe bouts of asthma . Although he provided the militia with funding and support , he joined the militia at the lowest rank , Private , where his peers viewed him as a “ blemish ” on the organization for his physical ailments . 11
As a result , Greene contemplated leaving the militia altogether . However , despite his damaged ego , he promised his friend , and newly selected Captain of the Kentish Guard , James Mitchell Varnum , that he would continue to support the militia financially even if he did not participate . Varnum , also frustrated with the treatment of Greene , also felt compelled to leave the militia . Varnum knew that Greene should have been selected as an officer and certainly did not appreciate his friend being treated with such contempt . However , neither man left , training together through the winter of 1774 and into 1775 : Varnum as the commander and Greene as a Private . 12 In the autumn of 1774 , the Rhode
Island Assembly determined that it needed to review its provincial laws concerning the militias . To accomplish this , the Assembly established a defense committee to which Greene was assigned . The panel consisted primarily of senior military officers , so the fact that Private Greene was among them speaks volumes of the Assembly ’ s faith and confidence in his military knowledge .
Greene made quite an impression on the members of the committee , while his military superiors certainly took note of his abilities and potential . In response to Greene ’ s contributions to the committee , he received “ magnanimous ” recognition of his “ fitness for command ” based on his energy and the “ ascendency of his intellect .” He was considered unanimously by those superior to him in rank as more qualified than any other in the colony to serve
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