Nathanael Greene was born on August 7, 1742, in Warwick, Rhode Island. His family was some of the first settlers to come to Rhode Island and helped establish the colony in the 1630s. Greene was quite the reader. He would eventually grow a large library.  He helped establish the first school in Rhode Island. He also added books on military science to his library which he read cover to cover. Little did Greene know that reading all these books would help save his country. This passion eventually drew disapproval from the Quaker church. When Greene attended a military parade and showed support for armed rebellion against England, he was expelled from his church. 

In 1770, Nathanael was elected to the General Assembly of Rhode Island. Within a few years, tensions between England and the colonies were already running high, and Nathanael helped organize a local military group known as the Kentish Guards. In July 1774, Nathanael married Catharine Littlefield. They had six children over the course of a dozen years, until Nathanael's death in 1786.

When the news of the battles of Lexington and Concord reached Rhode Island, Greene was one of four men in his community who hurried to Boston to offer his services. Nathanael Greene was made commander of the Continental Army with the rank of Major-General. In June 1775 he had his troops in position around Boston.  Later Greene and his troops were ordered to Long Island to drive off the British if they attacked that area. Late in the summer of 1776, the British attacked the Americans around New York when the Americans were forced to retreat. During this period Nathanael was made a Major-General.

Today, Greene is one of the most respected generals of the Revolutionary War. He is one of the most talented military strategists to this day because of all the war books he read as a child. Nathanael fell ill on June 12, 1786, and he died at Mulberry Grove on June 19, 1786, at the age of 43.