Gerald M. CarboneCritiques

I finished Nathanael Greene: A Biography of the American Revolution by Gerald M. Carbone. A good but not a great biography of Nathanael Greene, I would give it 3.5 stars. The strength of the book is on the Southern Campaign, and the weakest section is on his early life, and the section on the Northern Campaigns does not go into great enough detail for me.

Under 300 pages of reading a full life biography that I wish gave greater detail to his whole life.½

Nice, succinct biography on arguably the greatest general in the American Revolution save Washington and Arnold (before his treason). One thing author Gerald Carbone did that I really liked is he didn't fix spelling or other "errors" from Greene's letters. This made the quotes more authentic and real to me and humanized Greene all the more.

I also appreciate how Carbone compared Greene's lack of military education (other than reading books) to those of his enemies, like Cornwallis. Yet Greene's battlefield instincts proved correct over and over again.

Without Greene's efforts, specifically in the South, the Revolution might have lasted some years longer.½

Nathanael Greene is probably my favorite person from this era in American history - he is, in my opinion, the most unknown and underrated of the founding fathers and the general who was most responsible for the colonial victory over the British during the Revolutionary War. He was the general most trusted by Washington as a field commander and he served at Boston, New York, Delaware, New Jersey and Philadelphia. He was the Quartermaster for the Continental Army and he finished his military career as the commanding general for the Southern Army setting up Cornwallis for his final defeat. Carbone covers all of this and more in a book that offers plenty of primary source citations for the academic but is very readable for the history buff or the casual biography fan. A very well done book about one of the most prominent faces and forces in the American Revolution.½

Great book on Greene's military service
I thought that Mr. Carbone created a super story on Greene's military service, but there was little pages dedicated to Greene's own personal life. The author makes it perfectly clear that Greene understood military tactics and knew when and how to use them. Even after Greene's defeats in New York and Pennsylvania, Greene still bounces back with victories in New Jersey and a partial victory at Monmouth.
Mr. Carbone gave extensive coverage of Greene's southern command that eventually lead to the British surrender at Yorktown. I would have liked to have read something of the man; especially when you consider that Greene was raised as a Quaker, developed a very successful business and yet he takes up the call and joins the continental army. And I thought maybe that the author would have covered Greene's burial site, but no mention was given. Overall, the author gives Greene his just dues as a great patriot and that he was someone that General Washington relied on throughout the Revolutionary War. Highly recommend.

Great book on Greene's military service

I thought that Mr. Carbone created a super story on Greene's military service, but there was little pages dedicated to Greene's own personal life. The author makes it perfectly clear that Greene understood military tactics and knew when and how to use them. Even after Greene's defeats in New York and Pennsylvania, Greene still bounces back with victories in New Jersey and a partial victory at Monmouth. Mr. Carbone gave extensive coverage of Greene's southern command that eventually lead to the British surrender at Yorktown. I would have liked to have read something of the man; especially when you consider that Greene was raised as a Quaker, developed a very successful business and yet he takes up the call and joins the continental army. And I thought maybe that the author would have covered Greene's burial site, but no mention was given. Overall, the author gives Greene his just dues as a great patriot and that he was someone that General Washington relied on throughout the Revolutionary War. Highly recommend.

Excellent book. The author really takes you back to the early Days of George Washington. You are able to gain an insight into Washington's military career from as early as the French-Indian War all the way up to the last days of the American Revolution.
It's filled with lots of important dates, facts and names that help piece the military career of Washington along. The author does not dabble to much into the political life of Washington but rather concentrates on telling the story on Washington's military career. This book really lets you see Washington for all his brilliance, defeats and glory.
Highly Recommend.

I can't say much for the biography itself, except that this is a good start at getting Greene's name in the history books, along with George Washington's, where it belongs. And for someone interested in getting to know more about Nathanael Greene, I would suggest this, seeing as how accounts of the forgotten general are few and far between.

It boggles my mind how absent Greene's name is from accounts of The American Revolution. People don't realize there would be been no Yorktown if not for Greene. Before Greene's magnificent Southern campaign, the British controlled all of the south. By Yorktown, they controlled virtually none of it. Without decisively winning any battles, Greene not only took charge of the south, but had driven Cornwallis' troops out of the Carolinas and right into George Washington's hands. Greene himself said it best after the battle at Yorktown:

We have been beating the bush and the General has come to catch the bird. Never was there a more fortunate Man, and may success and laurels attend him. We have fought frequently, and bled freely, and little glory comes to our share.

So what happened to Washington's favorite general, the savor of the south, after the revolution? He was met with much debt and received no fanfare when he returned to his home state of Rhode Island. And he died three years later, in 1786. He was buried in an unmarked tomb that wasn't discovered until 1901, which is covered at the beginning of this book.

His name was virtually forgotten and his remains were unknown for virtually 115 years. It's despicable and sad. Without Greene, there would not have been a Yorktown, and who would know what would have happened, how long the war might have gone on and who would have won if there was no Nathanael Greene.