The Saber and Scroll Journal Volume 9, Number 3, Winter 2020 | Page 116

The Saber and Scroll

and the Forging of a Nation , 1775-1917 . Washington , DC : Center of Military History , United States Army , 2005 .

Sully , Thomas after Charles Wilson Peale . “ Major General Artemas Ward ( oil on canvas ).” Massachusetts Historical Society . Accessed July 24 , 2020 . https :// www . masshist . org / database / 3451 ? ft = Revolutionary-Era % 20Art % 20and % 20Artifacts & from =/ features / revolutionary-era / people & noalt = 1 & pid = 38 .

Thayer , Theodore . Nathanael Greene : Strategist of the American Revolution . New York : Twayne Publishers , 1960 .

Notes

1 European military tradition placed aristocrats in the position of higher commands while those of lesser status served as captains and lieutenants . Ascension was often based on a balance of wealth and influence , coupled with military exploits and accomplishments . The Patriots did not necessarily have this luxury . Even of the first eight Brigadier Generals in the Continental Army , two had no prior combat experience : John Sullivan and Nathanael Greene . Aside from combat experience , even George Washington understood “ that he lacked the experience and knowledge in handling large bodies of men .” These dynamics were even more prevalent in positions of lesser rank . Richard W . Stewart , ed ., American Military History , vol . 1 : The United States Army and the Forging of a Nation , 1775 – 1917 ( Washington , DC : Center of Military History , United States Army , 2005 ), 23 , 51 .

2 John W . Hall , “ My Favorite Officer ,” Sons of the Father : George Washington and His Protégés , ed . Robert McDonald ( Charlottesville : University of Virginia Press , 2013 ), 161 .

3 Terry Golway , Washington ’ s General : Nathanael Greene and the Triumph of the American Revolution ( New York : Henry Holt & Co ., 2005 ), 15 ; Gerald M . Carbone , Nathanael Greene : A Biography of the American Revolution ( New York : Palgrave MacMillan , 2008 ), 15 .

4 Theodore Thayer , Nathanael Greene : Strategist of the American Revolution ( New York : Twayne Publishers , 1960 ), 44 . Thayer speculates that “ Giles ” was William Giles ( Yale , Class of 1763 ); however , Johnson , in Sketches , 9 , stated that “ Giles ” was attending the University of Rhode Island .

5 William Johnson , Sketches of the Life and Correspondence of Nathanael Greene , Major General of the Armies of the United States , in the War of the Revolution vol . 1 ( Charleston : A . E . Miller , 1822 ), 16 .

6 Henry A . Brown , Oration at Valley Forge , June 19 , 1878 ( Philadelphia : Christopher Sower Co ., 1911 ), 52 ; Justin S . Liles , “ The Reluctant Partisan : Nathanael Greene ’ s South-

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