Greene Square: A Veterans Day Salute to the General Who Chose Savannah

Every November 11, the country stops to thank the men and women who have served in uniform. Veterans Day began as Armistice Day, marking the end of fighting in World War I, and it now honors every veteran. In Savannah, a city that has been shaped by soldiers since the siege of 1779, it is never far from the surface.

It is a good day to tell the story of one of our squares at Office Evolution Savannah Gateway, named for a general who chose Savannah to be his home after the war.

The Quaker General

Nathanael Greene was born in Rhode Island in 1742 and raised a Quaker. He had no formal military training, just a stack of books and a stubborn streak. When the Revolution began, he rose fast to become one of George Washington’s most trusted generals, sent south to command the Continental Army in the Southern colonies.

Greene rarely won a battle outright. He kept his small army alive, wore the British down, and pushed them back toward the coast until they held little more than Charleston and Savannah. Many historians count him among the best strategists of the war.

Savannah Claims Greene

After the war, Georgia thanked Greene with Mulberry Grove, a plantation on the Savannah River upriver from the city. He moved there with his family but died at Mulberry Grove in 1786, at the young age of 44.

Savannah has honored him ever since. Greene County, Georgia, was named for him the year he died. The obelisk in Johnson Square had its cornerstone laid by the Marquis de Lafayette in 1825, which became known as Greene’s monument. In 1902, his remains were moved from Colonial Park Cemetery and reburied beneath it.

Greene Square, Downtown

Greene Square was laid out in 1799 on Houston Street, in the eastern part of the historic district. For generations, it was a center of Savannah’s African American community. Second African Baptist Church stands on the square, and its congregation is linked to one of the most consequential moments of the Civil War in Savannah: the place where General Sherman’s Special Field Orders No. 15, the “forty acres and a mule” order, was announced. It is a quiet square today, with deep history all around it.

Greene Square at 20 Martin Court

When we planned Office Evolution Savannah Gateway, we named every group of offices for a Savannah square instead of labeling hallways A, B, and C. Greene Square is our coworking section: open and dedicated desks, fast Wi-Fi, coffee, printing, and meeting rooms down the hall for the days you need a door.

It is built for people starting something with what they have, just like how Greene built an army out of whomever he could find. That includes a lot of veterans. Many service members leave the military and start businesses of their own, and the skills they bring (planning, discipline, and getting the mission done with limited resources) are what a new business needs. If you are a veteran building something in Savannah, we would love to have you at a desk in Greene Square.

To every veteran reading this: thank you for your service.

Learn more about Nathanael Greene and Greene Square

• Greene Square, Wikipedia: the square, its buildings, and Second African Baptist Church.
• Nathanael Greene Monument, Georgia Historical Society: the story behind the Johnson Square obelisk.
• Nathanael Greene Monument, Wikipedia: Lafayette’s cornerstone and the 1902 reburial.

Come see our Greene Square

Office Evolution Savannah Gateway opens in early 2027 at 20 Martin Court. If you want to claim a desk in Greene Square, or see the other squares in the building, get in touch, and we will save you a spot. Our Founding Membership Deal runs through the end of November.