General George S. Greene
Posted to the Project on 06 Aug 08
The bronze statue to General George Sears Greene is located at the crest of Culp’s Hill. It was dedicated on September 26, 1906 and cost $6,863.00. The sculptor was Roland Hinton Perry. Perry was born in New York City and was educated at art schools in Paris. He also executed several busts and portraits at Vicksburg.
Greene was the oldest field commander in the Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg and commanded a brigade of New York troops. Greene was an 1823 graduate of West Point. After the War, he was a prominent Civil Engineer. Born in 1801, he survived until 1899, dying at the age of 98. He was buried in Warwick, Rhode Island under a 2-ton boulder taken from the crest of Culp’s Hill. The bronze portrait memorial was erected a little less than ten years after his death by the state of New York. Greene points in the direction of the earthworks held by his men.
August 6th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
I have always thought that Ol Pap Greene was at LEAST as significant in his work on the Federal right as JLC was on the left. Too bad General Greene didn’t get a book written about him! I bet the boys were really glad he make them dig those trenches on Culp’s Hill!
August 6th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
We vacationed in Virginia this year and went to Yorktown. They talk more about the Revolutionary War, but did mention the Civil War battle held there. When they did, I thought about you.
I hope you’r doing well.
pat
August 7th, 2008 at 10:34 am
There is no book on Greene? He played significant roles at both Antietam and Gettysburg. Attacking at the first and defending at the latter.
Not many people live 98 years and all in a single century!
August 7th, 2008 at 10:43 am
I did a quick search online and found only two books mentioned on Greene, one by R.L. Murray “A Perfect Storm of Lead” (2000) and one by David W. Palmer “The Forgotten Hero of Gettysburg” (2007). I think that JLC gets all the “press” because of “The Killer Angels”. Not sure that there is a popular book on Ol’ Pap.
This one needs more exploration.
Ed
September 4th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Dear Sir,
I recently came across your website and found that some of your readers believe there is no biography of General George Sears Greene. I am the author of GSG’s biography (which took 6 years of research and writing) and it has been praised by historians and authors in the Civil War field of study. If there is additional information you need, I can provide that for you. Please let others know that the book does exist (since January of 2005). Thank you.
Sincerely,
David W. Palmer