Nathanael Greene Monument

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Coordinates: 32°4′47.7″N 81°5′29.7″W / 32.079917°N 81.091583°W / 32.079917; -81.091583
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Nathanael Greene Monument
Historic American Buildings Survey picture of the monument
Map
32°4′47.7″N 81°5′29.7″W / 32.079917°N 81.091583°W / 32.079917; -81.091583
LocationJohnson Square, Savannah, Georgia, United States
DesignerWilliam Strickland
MaterialGranite
Height50 feet (15 m)
Beginning dateMarch 21, 1825
Completion date1830
Dedicated toNathanael Greene

The Nathanael Greene Monument is a public

vandalized with googly eyes
, which drew national attention to the monument.

The monument is one of several in the city honoring notable individuals from the

Casimir Pulaski Monument and the William Jasper Monument.[1]

History

Background and dedication

Portrait of Nathanael Greene by John Trumbull (1792)

southern colonies, including in Georgia. For his actions during the war, the government of Georgia awarded him Mulberry Grove Plantation, a plantation seized from loyalists, and in 1786, Greene County, Georgia was named in his honor. He died later that year at Mulberry Grove and was buried in Colonial Park Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia.[2]

On March 21, 1825, during his visit to the United States, Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette laid the cornerstones for two monuments in Savannah.[3][4] The two monuments were in honor of Greene and fellow American Revolutionary War hero Casimir Pulaski, with the Greene cornerstone laid in Johnson Square and the Pulaski cornerstone laid in Chippewa Square.[3] At the dedication ceremony for the Greene cornerstone, held in association with local Masonic lodges,[3] Lafayette said,[5]

The great and good man to whose memory we are paying a tribute of respect, affection, and regret, has acted in our revolutionary contest a part so glorious and so important that in the very name of Greene are remembered, all the virtues and talents which can illustrate the patriot, the statesman, and the military leader…

"Finishing" the monument

Fundraising efforts for the erection of the two monuments initially went poorly, and in November 1826, the Georgia General Assembly authorized a lottery to raise $35,000 for the cause.[4] Given the difficulties in acquiring funds, commissioners for the monuments decided to focus on erecting only the monument in Johnson Square as a joint monument to both Greene and Pulaski.[3][4] The Johnson Square monument was completed in 1830, having been designed by William Strickland.[5] In 1853, with sufficient money raised, a monument solely dedicated to Pulaski was erected in Monterey Square.[4][note 1] Following this, the monument at Johnson Square became the Greene monument.[3] Following the 1860 United States presidential election, the monument was the site of secession celebrations preceding the American Civil War. During the celebrations, the monument was draped with a large banner that featured a rattlesnake and the phrase "Don't Tread on Me",[7][8] similar to the Gadsden flag.

Celebrations of secession in Johnson Square, c. 1860

In 1879, the

bas-relief of Greene.[3] Former President of the Confederate States of America Jefferson Davis, whose father had served under Greene during the Revolutionary War, attended the ceremony and gave a speech praising Greene. During the speech, Davis also defended the Lost Cause of the Confederacy and urged reconciliation after the Civil War.[9]

Post-19th century

While the exact location of Greene's grave in Colonial Park Cemetery was debated for several year, in 1901, his body was identified in a vault in the cemetery.[5] The following year, on November 14, 1902, his body was reinterred under the monument. The remains of his son, George Washington Greene, were also interred at the monument.[3][10] According to a 2014 article in the Savannah Morning News, the remains of the two individuals had been buried in the same vault and the decision to inter both of them was due to being unable to distinguish between the two.[11] At the accompanying ceremony, the Savannah Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution placed a bronze wreath directly above the place of Greene's body.[12] The Governor of Rhode Island and the president of the Society of the Cincinnati also attended the ceremony.[13]

In 1953, the

Georgia historical marker near the monument that gave information on both Greene and the monument.[5] In 2012, money was raised by a local garden club for the erection of a wrought iron fence around the monument.[14][15]

In October 2018, the statue was

criminal damage to property, depending on the cost of the damage.[21][22]

Design

Informative plaque on the monument

The monument consists of a 50-foot (15 m)

bas-relief of Greene, while the other was inscribed with the following:[3]

Major General

Nathanael Greene
Born in Rhode Island 1742
Died in Georgia 1786
Soldier Patriot
The Friend Of Washington
This Shaft has been reared by the
People Of Savannah In Honor
Of His Great Services

to the American Revolution

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The cornerstone at Chippewa Square, the initial planned location for the Pulaski monument, was moved to Monterey Square on October 11, 1853.[6]

References

  1. ^ Mobley 2008.
  2. ^ Georgia Historical Society 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Knight 1917, p. 319.
  4. ^ a b c d e Lamb 1886, p. 297.
  5. ^ a b c d Georgia Historical Society 2014.
  6. ^ Knight 1917, p. 321.
  7. ^ Lee & Agnew 1869, pp. 79–80.
  8. ^ Morekis 2015.
  9. ^ Savannah Morning News 2016.
  10. ^ Savannah Morning News 2014.
  11. ^ Maltenfort 2014.
  12. ^ Knight 1917, pp. 319–321.
  13. ^ Park 1906, p. 218.
  14. ^ Savannah Morning News 2012.
  15. ^ Curl 2014.
  16. ^ Vera & McLaughlin 2018.
  17. ^ Silverstein 2018.
  18. ^ Molina 2018.
  19. ^ Lang 2018.
  20. ^ Politi 2018.
  21. ^ Peebles 2018.
  22. ^ Pirani 2018.

Bibliography

External links

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