Located in Johnson Square, the monument was designed by William Strickland and honors Nathanael Greene, a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.

However, in the leadup to the American Revolution, he helped to found a militia in Rhode Island and eventually rose to the rank of brigadier general in the Continental Army.

[2] On March 21, 1825, during his visit to the United States, Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette laid the cornerstones for two monuments in Savannah.

[3] At the dedication ceremony for the Greene cornerstone, held in association with local Masonic lodges,[3] Lafayette said,[5] The great and good man to whose memory we are paying a tribute of respect, affection, and regret, has acted in our revolutionary contest a part so glorious and so important that in the very name of Greene are remembered, all the virtues and talents which can illustrate the patriot, the statesman, and the military leader…Fundraising efforts for the erection of the two monuments initially went poorly, and in November 1826, the Georgia General Assembly authorized a lottery to raise $35,000 for the cause.

During the celebrations, the monument was draped with a large banner that featured a rattlesnake and the phrase "Don't Tread on Me",[7][8] similar to the Gadsden flag.

In 1879, the city council of Savannah organized a committee with the Georgia Historical Society to create a plan for "finishing" the monument.

It was decided that two bronze plaques would be added to the monument, with the costs split evenly between the city council and the historical society.

[3][10] According to a 2014 article in the Savannah Morning News, the remains of the two individuals had been buried in the same vault and the decision to inter both of them was due to being unable to distinguish between the two.