Nathanael Greene Homestead (NGH)

This is a picture I took of his portrait in
Second Bank Portrait Gallery,
Philadelphia, PA

If you drive on Route 95 by Exit 7 in Rhode Island you will see a brown sign that says "Nathanael Greene Homestead this Exit". I have driven by the sign dozens of times during the years, yet I never checked it out, that is, until Sunday afternoon.

Nathanael Greene was a key player in the Colonies fight for independence against England. His rank in the second half of the war was second only to General George Washington. He was put in command of the southern troops in 1780. He was one of three generals to serve the full 8 years of the war. Greene was born in Warwick, RI, but the house he built, that we visited is in Coventry, RI

The NGH was built in Coventry next to a foundry that Nathanael and his brother Jacob ran. It sits close to a river which is roughly a hundred yards in the back yard. Laurie and I visited it on Sunday afternoon. The cost is $8. It is only open Fri-Mon 10-5. Any other info can be found at their website.

http://nathanaelgreenehomestead.org/#

You go into a Visitor Center where you watch a fifteen minute film that chronicles the life of Greene. After that, a docent takes you on a tour of the house. You go into each  room and they explain artifacts in the room, how the Greene's would have lived, and which items are original to the house. The docents all seemed to be high school kids. The kid that gave us the tour was an absolute history buff. He knew far more about Greene, the Revolutionary War, and even Russian History (we may have gotten a little off subject in our conversation) than was required for the job. I would guess in busier times and a bigger crowd, it is probably less than a 45 minute tour.

Nathanael Greene Homestead, Coventry, RI

The tour lasted about an hour but that is probably because our conversation about current events and politics. After we walked out of the house, we walked down to the cemetery where many people were buried including other Revolutionary War soldiers, but not Nathanael Greene.

Books were one of the most expensive items in Colonial times
and fire was a real danger. So Greene kept his books in this
leather chest. In case of a fire he could pick it up and throw it out
the window. Which is a lot easier than trying to throw a
bookshelf out the window.  

One of my favorite things about the house was one of its visitors. Marquis de Lafayette. He was friends with Greene and visited him up in Rhode Island. I just find it fascinating that two heroes cared enough for each other to visit.  The house had many artifacts. Some were original to Nathanael Greene, some to the time period. Others were reproductions to help visitors understand living at that time.

Greene used this desk when he was"on campaign"
with the army writing letters, orders, and reports

After the war, Greene was given a large land grant in Georgia and died there at the age of 43 of sunstroke.

The top photo in this picture is of
Marquis de Lafayette