Griffin Greene

Griffin Greene (1749–1804) served as a commissary, paymaster, and quartermaster to the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was subsequently a pioneer to the Ohio Country, helping establish Marietta, Ohio as the first permanent American settlement of the new United States in the Northwest Territory.

Early life

Griffin Greene was born in Warwick, Rhode Island on February 20, 1749. He married Sarah Greene of the same town, sister of Christopher Greene. They had four children, Richard, Philip, Griffin, and Susan.

With his cousin Jacob Greene, Griffin built a forge on the Pawtuxet River for the manufacture of iron. This forge was subsequently used for the manufacture of cannonballs supplied to revolutionary soldiers.

Griffin and his cousin, Gen. Nathanael Greene, 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.” They engaged in a significant volume of correspondence during the war, much of which was preserved or recorded.