Front:
Spirit of 76
A Grêit General of the Revoution
USA 13
Soirit ok76
SADENA
JAN
FIRST DAY OF ISSUE
1976
1776 1976
General Nathanael Greene.
1742-1786
QUARTERMASTER GENERAL
VICTOR OF THE CAROLINA CAMPAIGN
PATIENT, RESOLUTE, LOYAL
IN GREATNESS SECOND ONLY TO WASHINGTON
Oficial Fiust Day Cover Philadelphig 76
Back:
© 1976, Fleetwood, Cheyenne, Wyoming, U.S.A. -C
THE SPIRIT OF '76
General Nathanael Greene (1742-1786)
Early in 1776, January 4, while some still hoped for
accommodation with Britain, Nathanael Greene wrote a
Rhode Island delegate in Congress: “Permit me, then, to
recommend from the sincerity of my heart, ready at all
times to bleed for my country's cause, a declaration of
independence; and call upon the world, and the great God
who governs it, to witness the necessity, propriety and
rectitude thereof." The youngest of the "first crop” of
Brigadier Generals named in the Continental Army in
1775, he distinguished himself many times as a military
leader of the Revolution before being named in 1778 as
Quartermaster General of the Continental Army, after
the Valley Forge experience showed the inadequacy of
supply. The effects of Green's good administration were
quickly felt, and his system of field depots increased the
fighting ability and morale of the troops. Greene,
however, never gave up the right to claim command in the
field. After a disagreement with Congress, he resigned
only to be recalled by Washington to lead the effort in the
South in 1780, during which he firmly established his
reputation as a General second in greatness only to
Washington. Greene pledged his honor and his life, and
ultimately sacrificed his personal fortune, for In-
dependence
