Nathanael Greene

Thus Arnold escaped.

the unhappy andr was hanged as a spy on the second of october he met his fate bravely washington it is said shed tears at its stern necessity under military law forty years later the bones of andr were reburied in westminster abbey a tribute of pity for a fine officer the treason of arnold is not in itself important yet washington wrote with deep conviction that providence had directly intervened to save the american cause arnold might be only one of many washington said indeed that it was a wonder there were not more in a civil war every one of importance is likely to have ties with both sides regrets for the friends he has lost misgivings in respect to the course he has adopted in april seventeen seventy nine arnold had begun his treason by expressing discontent at the alliance with france than working so disastrously his future lay before him he was still under forty he had just married into a family of position he expected that both he and his descendants would spend their lives in america and he must have known that contempt would follow them for the conduct which he planned if it were regarded by public opinion as base voices in congress too had denounced the alliance with france as alliance with tyranny political and religious members praised the liberties of england and had declared that the declaration of independence must be revoked and that now it could be done with honor since the americans had proved their mettle there was room for the fear that the morale of the americans was giving way the defection of arnold might also have military results he had bargained to be made a general in the british army and he had intimate knowledge of the weak points in washington's position he advised the british that if they would do two things offer generous terms to soldiers serving in the american army and concentrate their effort they could win the war with a cynical knowledge of the weaker side of human nature he declared that it was too expensive a business to bring men from england to serve in america they could be secured more cheaply in america it would be necessary only to pay them better than washington could pay his army as matters stood the continental troops were to have half-pay for seven years after the close of the war and grants of land ranging from one hundred acres for a private to eleven hundred acres for a general make better offers than this urged arnold money will go farther than arms in america if the british would concentrate on the hudson where the defenses were weak they could drive a wedge between north and south if on the other hand they preferred to concentrate in the south leaving only a garrison in new york they could overrun virginia and maryland and then the states farther south would give up a fight in which they were already beaten energy and enterprise said arnold will quickly win the war in the autumn of seventeen eighty the british cause did indeed seem near triumph an election in england in october gave the ministry an increased majority and with this renewed determination when holland long a secret enemy became an open one in december seventeen eighty admiral rodney descended on the dutch island of st eustatius in the west indies where the americans were in the habit of buying great quantities of stores and on the third of february seventeen eighty one captured the place with two hundred merchant ships half a dozen men-of-war and stores to the value of three million pounds the capture cut off one chief source of supply to the united states by january seventeen eighty one a crisis in respect of money came to a head fierce mutinies broke out because there was no money to provide food clothing or pay for the army and the men were in a destitute condition these people are at the end of their resources wrote rochambeau in march arnold's treason to halting voices in congress the disasters in the south the british success in cutting off supplies of stores from st eustatius the sordid problem of money all these were well fitted to depress the worn leader so anxiously watching on the hudson it was the dark hour before the dawn chapter ten chapter eleven of washington and his comrades in arms by george wrong this librivox recording is in the public domain yorktown the critical stroke of the war was near in the south after general greene superseded gates in the command the tide of war began to turn cornwallis now had to fight a better general than gates greene arrived at charlotte north carolina in december he found an army badly equipped wretchedly clothed and confronted by a greatly superior force he had however some excellent officers and he did not scorn as gates with the stiff military traditions of a regular soldier had scorned the aid of guerrilla leaders like marion and sumter serving with greene was general daniel morgan the enterprising and resourceful virginia rifleman who had fought valorously at quebec at saratoga and later in virginia steuben was busy in virginia holding the british in check and keeping open the line of communication with the north the mobility and diversity of the american forces puzzled cornwallis when he marched from camden into north carolina He hoped to draw Greene into a battle and to crush him, as he had crushed Gates.

He sent Tarleton with a smaller force to strike a deadly blow at Morgan, who was threatening the British garrisons at the points in the interior farther south.

There was no more capable leader than Tarleton.

I'm excited to be here.

I should actually say welcome back because you joined us a few years ago to talk about Nathaniel Green, which is another novel that you wrote about, one of our founders.

Right.

Yeah, it's been a couple of years.

I wrote a four book historical fiction series on the American Revolution called Which took me a ton and ton of research.

Dr. Warren was in the first book.

After the series was published, I decided to go back and write, well, first I wrote a novel about Nathaniel Green.

But I promised Joseph Warren I'd write a proper novel for him.

And rising from his stupor, he opens the door.

General Greene scales the heights of Patchettree And crystals, clear and pure, line the rocks beneath As the building behind him crumbles and rots in the face of longevity The soggy hairs can not be scored, nay, nor replicated by tethered souls Teary eyed and drooling he calls out once more And seeing the mighty youngster he knows what to do And he climbs rung by rung as his robe is carefully dismantled by a hundred hands And he climbs rung by rung as another golden captive dares to free fall into further entrapment And he climbs rung by rung as the sap cleanses and heals the brand of misguided worship on his palms and he climbs rung by rung encased in an arbour of spiralling jade and as he reaches for the final rung the sacrifice can begin under the watch of tangerine regality

With majesty and cautious blessings

For a wife for all to see