# Greene — The Columbiad character guide

> Greene in The Columbiad by Joel Barlow.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0006-book-iii

## Snapshot

A general who fights the long southern war with patience and cunning, turning retreat and attrition into the victories that wear an empire down.

## Who they are

Greene belongs to the hard middle stretch of the poem's war, the years when American fortunes in the South hang on maneuver rather than glory. His genius is defensive and stubborn: he trades ground for time, keeps an outmatched army alive, and lets the enemy exhaust itself chasing him. His presence lets Barlow show that freedom is won as much by endurance and judgment as by dramatic charges.

## Relationships

### [Burgoyne](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/characters/burgoyne)

_rivalry_

Burgoyne, a British general, is a military opponent of Greene, an American general, during the Saratoga campaign.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/characters/greene
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/characters