Travel Tuesday: Hanging Out With Revolutionary War Hero and Cousin Nathanael Greene

Jeff posing with his 3rd cousin 7 times removed Major General Nathanael Greene, on exhibit in the Crypt of the U.S. Capitol.

This past October my husband and I accompanied my parents on a 10 day vacation in Washington D.C., Shenandoah National Park, and much of Virginia. This was the same trip in which we visited my husband Jeff’s ancestral home of Jamestown Colony, where his 11th great grandparents settled after immigrating from England in the 17th century.

The trip allowed us to also visit some spots associated with his 3rd cousin 7 times removed, Revolutionary War hero Major General Nathanael Greene (1742-1786 ). During the D.C. portion of the vacation, Jeff had lined up a tour of the Capitol Building for us on our first day. Jeff told me just prior to the tour that located throughout the building are statues of two significant individuals from every state, and that one of the Rhode Island statues was that of Nathanael Greene. So he wanted to make sure we got to see it and would get a photo with it.

We were pleasantly surprised to encounter two additional Nathanael Greene spots on vacation, at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History (also on day one in D.C.), and in Greene County, Virginia just outside of Shenandoah National Park.

Ran across Nathanael mentioned in an exhibit at the Smithsonian.

Jeff trekked across brush to pose next to this roadside sign on Highway 33.

We didn’t even realize there was a Greene County in the vicinity when we planned the vacation. Upon checking into our Massanutten, Virginia timeshare, I noticed the county identified on a map of the area. When I showed Jeff, we realized we would drive through the county at least a couple of times on planned roadtrips. We did a bit of quick research on the county, trying to determine what the tie is to Nathanael. Did he live there at some point? Did he have family from there? Nope…the county was just a big enough fan to name itself after the hero.

On the morning we set out for Jamestown, Jeff was thrilled to spot a big “Come To Greene” sign along Highway 33, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. We of course had to stop so he could get a photo by it.