Griffin Greene (1749–1804) served as a commissary, paymaster, and quartermaster to the Continental Army during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. He was subsequently a

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...

to the Ohio Country, helping establish

Marietta, Ohio Marietta is a city in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Ohio, United States. It is located in southeastern Ohio at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, northeast of Parkersburg, West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, Ma ...

as the first permanent American settlement of the new

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in the Northwest Territory.Milligan, ''Ohio's Founding Fathers'', 31-33.Hildreth, ''Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', 279-90.

Early life

Griffin Greene was born in

Warwick, Rhode Island Warwick ( or ) is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, the third largest city in the state with a population of 82,823 at the 2020 census. It is located approximately south of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, southwest of Boston, Massachu ...

on February 20, 1749. He married Sarah Greene of the same town, sister of

Christopher Greene Christopher Greene (May 12, 1737May 14, 1781) was an American legislator and soldier. He lead the spirited defense of Fort Mercer in the 1777 Battle of Red Bank, and for leading the African American 1st Rhode Island Regiment during the American R ...

. They had four children, Richard, Philip, Griffin, and Susan.Hildreth, ''Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', 279. With his cousin Jacob Greene, Griffin built a forge on the

Pawtuxet River The Pawtuxet River, also known as the Pawtuxet River Main Stem and the Lower Pawtuxet, is a river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, ac ...

for the manufacture of iron. This forge was subsequently used for the manufacture of cannonballs supplied to revolutionary soldiers.Hildreth, ''Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', 279-80. Griffin and his cousin, Gen.

Nathanael Greene Nathanael Greene (June 19, 1786, sometimes misspelled Nathaniel) was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as General George Washington's most talented and dependab ...

, had a close relationship. “Among the earliest attachments of the general’s life, was one formed with a cousin of the name of Griffin Greene. And to the close of their lives, the affectionate regard in which they held each other, was nearly proverbial.”Johnson, ''The Life and Correspondence of Nathanael Greene, Vo. I'', 128. They engaged in a significant volume of correspondence during the war, much of which was preserved or recorded.Hildreth, ''Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', 281.

Revolutionary War

During 1775 Griffin Greene served as commissary to Rhode Island troops. In 1777 he served as paymaster of the

1st Rhode Island Regiment The 1st Rhode Island Regiment (also known as Varnum's Regiment, the 9th Continental Regiment, the Black Regiment, the Rhode Island Regiment, and Olney's Battalion) was a regiment in the Continental Army raised in Rhode Island during the Americ ...

of the Continental Army; this regiment was then commanded by his brother-in-law, Colonel

. During 1778, Griffin Greene served as deputy to the Quartermaster General of the Continental Army, his cousin

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

.Hildreth, ''Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', 280-81.

Marietta and the Ohio Country

After the war, Griffin Greene was a

to the Ohio Country. He was a prominent figure in the early days of Marietta and the Northwest Territory, serving in multiple positions of government,Milligan, ''Ohio's Founding Fathers'', 32-33. including justice of the peace, judge, postmaster, revenue collector,Lowrie, ''Proceedings of the Senate of the United States of America, Vol. I'', 433. and port inspector. He became a director of the

Ohio Company of Associates The Ohio Company of Associates, also known as the Ohio Company, was a land company whose members are today credited with becoming the first non- Native American group to permanently settle west of the Allegheny mountains. In 1788 they establis ...

upon the death of

James Mitchell Varnum James Mitchell Varnum (December 17, 1748 – January 9, 1789) was an American legislator, lawyer, generalHeitman, ''Officers of the Continental Army'', 559. in the Continental Army, and a pioneer to the Ohio Country.Wilkins, ''Memoirs of the R ...

.Hildreth, ''Pioneer History'', 249. He also spent time at the settlement of

Belpre, Ohio Belpre (historically spelled Belpré; pronounced ) is a city in Washington County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River near Parkersburg, West Virginia. Its name derives from "Belle Prairie" (French for "beautiful meadow"), the name given ...

and took an active part in the erection of the

Farmer's Castle Farmer's Castle was a defensive fortification built opposite the mouth of the Little Kanawha River on the Ohio River by a group of pioneers from the Ohio Company of Associates. It was located about 15 miles downriver of Marietta, Ohio, the first ...

fortification during the Northwest Indian War. At the start of his trip west, Meriwether Lewis spent September 13, 1803 at Marietta and visited with Griffin.Ambrose, ''Undaunted Courage'', 112. Griffin Greene was "a man of intelligent aspect, quick apprehension, and a ready, vigorous application of his mind to any subject before him."Hildreth, ''Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', 290. "As a man of genius and intellect, he ranked with the first of the Ohio Company's settlers, abounding as it did with able men." He died in

during June 1804 and was buried at Mound Cemetery in Marietta, along with many other American Revolutionary War soldiers and pioneers.

References

Bibliography

* Ambrose, S. E.: ''Undaunted Courage'', Simon and Schuster, New York, New York (1996). * Hildreth, S. P.: ''Biographical and Historical Memoirs of the Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', H. W. Derby and Co., Cincinnati, Ohio (1852). * Hildreth, S. P.: ''Pioneer History: Being an Account of the First Examinations of the Ohio Valley, and the Early Settlement of the Northwest Territory'', H. W. Derby and Co., Cincinnati, Ohio (1848). * Johnson, W.: ''Sketches of the Life and Correspondence of Nathanael Greene, Vol. I'', A. E. Miller, Charleston, South Carolina (1822). * Lowrie, W: ''Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate of the United States of America, Vol. I'', Duff Green, Washington, D.C. (1828). * Milligan, F. J.: ''Ohio's Founding Fathers'', iUniverse, New York, New York (2003). {{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, Griffin 1749 births 1804 deaths American pioneers Northwest Territory judges People from Marietta, Ohio Burials at Mound Cemetery (Marietta, Ohio) People from Warwick, Rhode Island People of colonial Rhode Island Continental Army staff officers Continental Army officers from Rhode Island Burials in Ohio Greene family of Rhode Island