Reverend Zachariah Greene
To Use This Document
With Your Students
Date
1829
Description
3/4 view portrait of older man. Right hand holding glasses. Zachariah Greene (1760–1858) was an eyewitness and direct participant in the fight to create the United States. Born in Stafford, Connecticut, Greene enlisted in the Continental Army as a 16-year-old. Much later in life, he recalled being present for a reading of the Declaration of Independence in the summer of 1776: "I belonged to the revolutionary army when the Declaration of our Independence was read for the first time on the 4th of July, 1776 in the park which then lay very near the edge of the city [New York]. The army rejoiced and it was loudly proclaimed in every direction - united we stand divided we fall." (letter from Greene to Col. D.E. Delevan, 1851) Greene was wounded in action at the Battle of White Marsh, in Pennsylvania, when a musket ball entered his shoulder and fractured his scapula and clavicle. In 1797, he became the minister of the Setauket Presbyterian Church. Nicknamed the “Fighting Parson,” he had a strong influence on generations of churchgoers, including the painter of this portrait, William Sidney Mount.
Type
Image
Region
Long Island
Era
Revolution and New Nation
Topic
American Revolution, Community
Repository
Identifier
1975.016.0007
Source
Long Island Museum, Stony Brook, NY, Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Ward Melville, 1975
Rights
This image is provided for education and research purposes. Rights may be reserved. Responsibility for securing permissions to distribute, publish, reproduce or other use rests with the user. For additional information, see our Copyright and Use Statement.