The Greenes of Rhode Island, with historical records of English ...

George Sears Greene.
engagement with the Merrimac, on March 9, 1862, he had handled the guns
in the turret until Worden was disabled near the close of the engagement,
when he succeeded to the command, being then only twenty-two years old.
In July, 1862, the Monitor was stationed in the James River, part of a fleet
co-operating with McClellan's army. Another son, Charles Thrviston Greene,
had enlisted at the age of twenty as a private in the 2 2d New York Militia
when it was ordered to Harper's Ferry in 1862. My father succeeded in
getting him a commission as Second Lieutenant in the 60th New York and
detailed as an aide on his staff. He was subsequently promoted to be
Captain and Assistant Adjutant-General, and served with his father in all
the campaigns in Virginia and aftei"wards around Chattanooga. In Novem-
ber, 1864, at the battle of Ringgold, Ga., his leg was cut off by a three-inch
shell, and he was compelled to leave the field of active service.
When my father joined his brigade at Warrenton, Va., in July, 1862,
Pope was just beginning his movements against Jackson, and, after consider-
able manoeuvring and countemiarching, the first engagement was fought at
Cedar Mountain on August 9th. It was my father's first battle. His
brigade had been weakened by detachments and was therefore placed in
reserve, and only brought into action at the close of the engagement. The
report of the commanding general. Pope, mentions him as having "behaved
with distinguished gallantry." The division commander. Augur,
was wounded, and of the brigade commanders, one, Geary, was wounded,
and another. Prince, was taken prisoner; so that my father succeeded to
the command of the division, which he retained for the next two months,
including the Antietam campaign.
Cedar Mountain was quickly followed by Jackson's brilUant flank
movement, the disastrous battle of Manassas, and Pope's hasty retreat
within the fortifications of Washington. In these movements Banks's
corps covered the retreat, but was not actively engaged. From Washing-
ton the army moved under McClellan's command to Antietam, and there,
around the Dimker Chtirch, my father was engaged in some of the fiercest
fighting of the whole war. His division arrived on the field at 2.30 a.m.
of September 17th, and at 5 a.m. moved into action as part of the attack
by Hooker's, Mansfield's, and Sumner's corps, which was intended to turn
Lee's left fiank. This attempt failed, but only after a morning of exceptionally
hot fighting, in which Mansfield was killed (my father had met him
for a few moments that morning for the first time since they were cadets
at West Point forty years before) and Hooker, Sedgwick, and others were
wounded. The centre of attack was the Dunker Church, on the Hagerstown
tvunpike, and it fell to my father's division to carry this point about