George Sears Greene

He graduated from West Point and was breveted 2nd Lieutenant in the 1st United States Artillery on 1 July 1823, and was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant, 3rd US Artillery the same day. He was promoted to First Lieutenant on 31 May 1829 but resigned from the Army on 30 June 1836.

By 1850 he was a civil engineer in Providence, RI and in 1860, still a practicing engineer at age 60, was living in New York City. He was working on a project in Central Park when he was appointed Colonel of the 60th New York Infantry on 18 January 1862, and he was promoted to Brigadier General of Volunteers on 28 April 1862.

His was the Federal Division which had the most success among the several assaults of September 17. He and his Division, part of the overall 12th Corps attack, pushed the Confederate Center all the way back to the Dunker Church, and held the ground for much of the morning.

He was noted particularly for leading a brigade of the 12th Corps in the successful defense of Culp's Hill at Gettysburg on 2 July 1863. He was seriously wounded in the face at Wauhatchie, TN/GA on 28 or 29 October 1863 and was absent, recovering, into 1865. He was honorably mustered out of Volunteer service 30 April 1866.

He continued as an engineer with projects in Washington, Michigan, and New York. He was re-commissioned First Lieutenant of Artillery, USA on 2 August 1894 and placed on the Army Retired List on 11 August 1894.

His service basics from Heitman1 and Warner.2 Personal details from family genealogists and the US Census of 1850 & 1860. His memorial is on Findagrave. His picture is from a M. Brady photograph now at the National Archives.

He married Elizabeth Vinton (1805-1832) in July 1828 and they had 3 children, but she died soon after the third was born and all 3 of her babies died in young childhood. He married again, Martha Barrett Dana (1809-1883) in January 1837 and they had 5 sons and a daughter together.

The General's second son, Samuel Dana Greene (1840-1884), graduated in 1859 from the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD, and was Executive Officer aboard the USS Monitor under Captain Warden. During the famous battle of the Monitor and the Merrimack (CSS Virginia) at Hampton Roads, VA in March 1862, Sam took command of the ship when a lucky shot from the forward pivot gun of the CSS Virginia hit the pilot house of the Monitor blinding Captain Warden.

Third son Charles Thruston Greene (1842-1923) was on his father's staff at Antietam.

05/06/1801; Warwick, RI

01/28/1899; Morristown, NJ; burial in Family cemetery, Warwick, RI