The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-03-07
STATES MAY WAR.
Continued from 10th Page.


the remains of Maj. Gen. Greene and
of his eldest SON.,
Had you written to me you would
have been informed of the satisfactory
reasons for delay in action. My re-
quest of you of the 9Th ultimo was
to ascertain the wishes of Maj. Gen.
Greene's descendants, relative to one
of three places. namely, wheth-
er they should be deposited
under the former entitled Greene
and Pulaski monument in Sa-
Savannah. or under the Guilford Court
House battle monument now about to
be erected, or under the monument
about to be erected in front of the new
state House at Providence, the capital
of Rhode Island.
Rhode Islands Claims.
Your prior action of your own Volt
ton has not placed the matter before
the descendants as they were entitled
to have it. The state of Rhode ISL
and also has claims which cannot with
propriety be overlooked, and l regret
very much noticing in your favor the
statement that the people of Savan-
nah and of the state of Georgia at large
would never consent to the remains
being taken away. They will certainly
be buried here
The Rhode Island Cincinnati have
held aloof from any expression of their
wishes pro or con or even suggestions.
II is proper, however, as you have thus
taken IN your favor to conclude all
discussion, to consider the matter in it's
other aspect.
so far as the descendants of Gen
Greene are concerned. scattered
through the United States, their inter-
est in this matter is but a sentimental
one. They permitted the remains to be
neglected, with no tablet even to des-
ignate their locality, for hundred and
fourteen years until finally all record
was supposed to be lost, and yet some
of the family have continuously re-
sided in Georgia since 1886.
Maj. Cen Nathaniel Greene was a
native of Rhode Island, where his an
cestors resided from the time Surgeon
John Greene became one of the historic
founders of Providence plantations
with Roger Williams in 1886
Maj. Gen. Greene married in Rhode
Island and his wife's family were all
Rhode Islanders
IN the War of the Revolu-
ton he was credited on the quota
of that state to the continental service
and he was distinguished in the bat
tie of Rhode Island. After the war he
returned there and received many
marks of approval from the Legisla-
ture of his native state
"On December %, 1888, he was elected
president of the Rhode Island State
Society of the Cincinnati and presided
al its first meeting in the Senate cham
h@r. .st"te house. Providence, on that
day. He remained its president until
his decease in June, 1855, having pre-
sided at the last previous meeting of
that society held in Newport. Rhode
Island, on July 4, 1885.
He never was in the state of Geor-
gia until after the Revolution. 1t was
not until 1855 that the state of Georgia
gave him title to the Graham planta-
ton. He had been in that state but
about seven months when he died sud-
denly -of a congestive chill. He was
still citizen of Rhode Island, which
state has ever claimed him.
when the several states were re-
quested by Congress to furnish two
statues for the hall of the old Capitol,
Washington, Rhode Island furnished
his as one of the two. The state of
Georgia made no pretense of claiming
him as her representative.
thinks Georgia Has No Right.
THE accidental circumstances of his
decease from the vicissitude of climate
in Georgia, in the ordinary course of
affairs, has no relevancy in determin-
ing place of final burial
when the citizens of Savannah de-
termined to erect a commemorative
monument, subscriptions We're collected
and the monument was erected to COM
menlorate the services of General
Greene and of Count Casimir Pulaski
of the Continental Legionary Cavalry,
who was mortally wounded
at the siege of Savannah.
1t was not until many years
afterward that it was decided to erect
a separate monument to Pulaski and
to consider the first one as wholly ded-
icated TO Greene.
I'm all that time no proper effort
was made to discover where his re-
mains were placed in the Colonial
Cemetery.
Maj Gen. Greenes eldest son died
before he was of age. His only surviv-
ing son, Nathaniel Ray Greene, lived
and died in Rhode Island where his
two sons the late Honorable and Ven
cradle Nathaniel Greene, president OF
the Rhode Island Cincinnati. and
Prof. George Washington Greene, LII.
D.. also lived and died, and there
George Washington Greene's only son
also is buried so that now the male
line Of Greene is extinct, but the
Greene Homestead on Narragansett
Bay is owned by Miss Mary Ward
Greene, daughter of Prof. George
Washington Greene.
These details are known to you,
but not generally known 10 others.
1t remained for the Rhode Island
Concinnat to go to the expense. not
inconsiderable, and to make the effort
TO md those honored remains.