The 173 letters in this collection were typed in September, 1945 from microfilm of the Bancroft Transcript of the Nathanael Greene Letter Book owned by the New York Public Library. The microfilm was obtained by Charles S. Marshall of the National Park Service, and a letter from Marshall written at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park and dated September 20, 1945 states that the generosity of the Woman's College (now UNCG) Library enabled him to complete its transcription.

The letters were written in January and February of 1781, in the months immediately preceding the Battle of Guilford Court House on March 15. It is obvious from many of these letters that Greene was appalled by the state of the army in the South. In a long letter to North Carolina Governor Abner Nash dated January 7, 1781, Greene details the present condition of the army and its needs: "Unless the men are clothed, armed and properly equipped, numbers do but add to the distress of an army. And never was there a more convincing proof of the truth of this proposition, than can be exhibited from the state of our troops at this time; more than one half of whom, are unfit for any kind of duty; hundreds being without shirts, shoes, stockings, or any other clothing, either to render them decent in their appearance, or to secure them from the weather". One of the main problems Greene faced during these months was equipping the soldiers properly and obtaining food supplies. Greene speaks frankly in his January 13, 1781 letter to General Washington: "It is true, I came to the Southward in expectation of meeting with difficulties, but they far exceed, what I had any idea of. This Country is so extensive and supplies are so difficult to obtain, that it is impossible to carry on the war, any great length of time with the militia. The waste of Stores and consumption of provisions and forage, must ruin any nation in the Universe, whose resource is not greater than ours."

Still, there are victories against the enemy, as Greene's January 23, 1781 letter to General Francis "Swamp Fox" Marion reports: "On the 17th at daybreak, the enemy consisting of 1150 British troops and 50 Militia, attacked General Morgan, who was at the Cowpens between Pascolet [sic] and Broad river, with 290 Infantry, 80 Cavalry and about 500 Militia. The action lasted about 50 minutes; our brave troops charged the enemy with bayonets, and entirely routed them, killing near 150, wounding upwards of 200 and taking more than 500 prisoners..."

Letters become more frequent in February of 1781, as Cornwallis gives chase to the withdrawing Continental troops. A letter to the "commanding officer of the Guilford Militia" dated February 5, 1781 reports that Cornwallis is moving with "great rapidity" and making preparations to cross the Yadkin River. He implores: "You will please to call out the Militia of this and neighboring Counties, and let them collect at Guilford; and they must bring with them six days provision." Continuing to withdraw toward Virginia, Greene again writes Washington on February 15, 1781: "L[or]d Cornwallis has been at our heels, from day to day ever since we left Guilford, and our movements, from that time to this, have been of the most critical kind, having a river in our front and an enemy in our rear...The miserable situation of the troops for want of clothing, has rendered the march the most painful imaginable, many hundreds of the soldiers tracking the ground with their bloody feet. Your feelings for the suffering soldiers, had you been here, must have been shocked on the occasion."