Catharine "Caty" Littlefield Greene (February 17, 1755 – September 2, 1814) was an American patriot who traveled to her husband,

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

General

Nathanael Greene Major general (United States), Major General Nathanael Greene (August 7, 1742 – June 19, 1786) was an American military officer and planter who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War. He emerge ...

's, encampments during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. She entertained and comforted the soldiers, officers, and officer's wives. During that time she had four children and a fifth after the end of the war. Greene followed her husband, regardless of cold weather or illness in the camps, notably spending the winter at

Valley Forge Valley Forge was the winter encampment of the Continental Army, under the command of George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. The Valley Forge encampment lasted six months, from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778. It was the t ...

. During the war, Nathanael signed promissory notes for clothing and food for his soldiers in South Carolina. He was not repaid during his lifetime and through a chain of events the debt-ridden Greenes moved to Georgia to operate a rice plantation, relying on enslaved workers. They moved from the north to the plantation with Phineas Miller, the children's tutor. After Nathanael's death in 1786, Miller, successfully ran the plantation for a time. With the help of her friend

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...

, arrangements were made with the federal government to repay the money that Nathanael spent to take care of his troops. Greene married Miller at the home of her friends, George and

Martha Washington Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 2, 1731 Old Style, O.S. – May 22, 1802) was the wife of George Washington, who was the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, she served as the ...

, in Philadelphia, in 1796. She was a noted supporter of the inventor

Eli Whitney Eli Whitney Jr. (December 8, 1765January 8, 1825) was an American inventor, widely known for inventing the cotton gin in 1793, one of the key inventions of the Industrial Revolution that shaped the economy of the Antebellum South. Whitney's ...

. Her "extraordinary activity of mind, and tact in seizing on points, so as to apprehend almost intuitively, distinguished her through life. It enabled her, without apparent mental effort, to apply the instruction conveyed in the books she read, to the practical affairs of life".

Early life

Catharine ("Caty") Littlefield was born on February 17, 1755, off the coast of

Rhode Island Colony The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was an English colony on the eastern coast of America, founded in 1636 by Puritan minister Roger Williams after his exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It became a haven for religious ...

Block Island Block Island is an island of the Outer Lands coastal archipelago in New England, located approximately south of mainland Rhode Island and east of Long Island's Montauk Point. The island is coterminous with the town of New Shoreham, Rhode Isl ...

, where her mother's family were among the first settlers in the 1660s. She was born into an upper-class family; her father John Littlefield was a member of the Rhode Island legislature. Catharine was the second of five children born to John and Phebe (née Ray) Littlefield. Catharine spent her early childhood years with her family on Block Island, where she learned to ride a horse at a young age. There were no conveniences of villages or small towns, no schools or stores. The only public building was a meetinghouse. Her mother Phebe died on April 30, 1761. She was buried in the Block Island Old Burial Ground in May. At age ten, Catharine and her younger sister were sent to live in East Greenwich with Catharine ("Kitty") Ray and William Greene, her aunt and uncle. Both of her caretakers were active in local government and acquainted her with its inner workings. Her uncle was later the

Governor of Rhode Island The governor of Rhode Island is the head of government of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and serves as commander-in-chief of the state's Army National Guard and Air National Guard. The current governor is Dan McKee, a member of the Democrati ...

(1778–1786). Catharine received a formal education and lessons of domesticity. Among the household's visitors were her aunt's friend

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

, and her uncle's relative

. Catharine corresponded with Franklin, his sister Jane Franklin Mecom, and his daughter

Sarah Franklin Bache Sarah Franklin Bache (September 11, 1743 – October 5, 1808), sometimes known as Sally Bache, was the daughter of Benjamin Franklin and Deborah Read. She was a leader in relief work during the American Revolutionary War and frequently served as ...

beginning in 1755, a habit that continued until 1790. Catharine had a happy childhood, enjoying dancing and riding. She visited family at Block Island, where Nathanael would meet her and enjoy dancing with her. She had a quick, curious mind and enjoyed a multitude of topics, which made her "one of the most brilliant and entertaining of women", according to Elizabeth F. Ellet.

Marriage to Nathanael Greene

Beginning in 1772, Catharine was courted by

, a fellow Rhode Islander, who was 12 years and six months her senior. He was a merchant and a foundry worker. Catharine married Nathanael on July 20, 1774, becoming Catharine Littlefield Greene. She expected a comfortable life with her husband in Coventry, Rhode Island.

Revolutionary war

The beginning of the war

After the initial

Battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 were the first major military actions of the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot militias from America's Thirteen Co ...

of the

(April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), Nathanael was made a brigadier general in the

and commander of Rhode Island's three regiments. He was a patriot fighting against the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

. A

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

, Nathanael was banned from attending meetings after he served as a colonial legislator and an officer in the military. Curious about the war, the pregnant Greene rode for a full day by horse and buggy from her home in Coventry to meet up with Nathanael at the American Army camp in Massachusetts.

An officer's wife

Greene spent some of her time at home and managed their business, but spent as much time as she could at military camps or at his headquarters, in housing that Nathanael arranged near where he was during the war. She saw many of the battles, including those in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, and Charleston. Against her husband's wishes, Greene stayed near his headquarters and encampments as much as she could after she had their first child in 1776. Greene formed a camaraderie with others her husband was stationed with, often the one responsible for planning social events for the troops to have respite. She became friends of Lucy Flucker Knox,

Martha Martha (Aramaic language, Aramaic: מָרְתָא‎) is a Bible, biblical figure described in the Gospels of Gospel of Luke, Luke and Gospel of John, John. Together with her siblings Lazarus of Bethany, Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is descr ...

and

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

, and other officers and their wives. Martha spent the winters in her husband's encampments, including

and

. Lucy often stayed near her husband during the winter. Wives of officers had assistance, whether servants, slaves, or, if necessary, assigned soldiers. Officer's wives organized dinner parties, dances, and balls for officers. Nathanael wrote that "we had a little dance at my headquarters ... Upon the whole we had a pretty little frisk" in March 1779. Greene danced with General George Washington at Valley Forge and for three hours at Middlebrook. Alexander Hamilton met his wife Elizabeth Schuyler at an event. According to author Mary Ellen Snodgrass, "she kept up intense scrutiny of military politics" and corresponded with

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

, Alexander Hamilton, and

Henry Knox Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806) was an American military officer, politician, bookseller, and a Founding Father of the United States. Knox, born in Boston, became a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionar ...

, the secretary of war. She also communicated with Martha Washington.

Philadelphia and New Jersey

Greene stayed at

during the winter, living in a small hut, or a house "far more elegant" than where Nathanael was housed. Greene's lodging, from the main camp at Valley Forge, was used to entertain officers, including Jeremiah Wadsworth and

Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and a Founding Father of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military expl ...

. She was visited by soldiers "in turn", who were suffering from cold and hunger and they received comfort, kindness, and cheer by her fireside. She lived among sickness, cold weather, suffering, and moments of joy, which endeared her to the soldiers and officers. When Nathanael was encamped at

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a Town (New Jersey), town in and the county seat of Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

, Greene stayed a year with the family of

William Alexander, Lord Stirling William Alexander, also known as Lord Stirling (December 27, 1725 – January 15, 1783), was a Scottish-American major general during the American Revolutionary War. He held a claim to be the male heir to the Scottish title of Earl of Stirl ...

, on their estate in Basking Ridge.

Newport, Rhode Island

Greene was in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

in 1780 and 1781, where the French General

Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau (1 July 1725 – 10 May 1807) was a French Royal Army officer who played a critical role in the Franco-American victory at the siege of Yorktown in 1781 during the American Revolutionary Wa ...

, his officers, and troops were stationed. In December 1781, Greene visited George and Martha Washington in Philadelphia, before meeting up with her husband in the south in April 1782.

War in the south

During Nathanael's command in the South, he faced harsh conditions without sufficient supplies and money. In order to feed and clothe his soldiers during the winter, he personally guaranteed thousands of dollars to Charleston

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

s. He later discovered that the speculator, John Banks, through whom he had dealt was fraudulent. At the end of the war, the merchants pressed him for payment on the notes, and

judgments Judgement (or judgment) is the evaluation of given circumstances to Decision-making, make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. In an informal context, a judgement is opinion expressed as fact. In the context o ...

came down from

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

courts. He was without sufficient funds and heavily in debt. Congress stated that Nathanael secured the loans without authorization and would not pay any of the debt. Nathanael sold off his property in Rhode Island and moved his family to Georgia.

Motherhood during the war

When Greene followed her husband during the war, she gave birth to five children. In 1779, she had three children and was pregnant with their fourth child when Nathanael was made commander of George Washington's southern forces. Greene was not able to join her husband in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, until 1781. She split her time between staying with him at his headquarters and on the islands that gave her respite from the heat. By this time, her children were George, Martha, Cornelia, and baby Nathanael Ray. Their fifth child, born by the end of the war, was Louisa. They had two more daughters who died shortly after they were born. * George Washington was born by February 1776, the place and date are unknown. He went with his mother to Nathanael's headquarters at Prospect Hill near Boston to help him recover from a bad case of

jaundice Jaundice, also known as icterus, is a yellowish or, less frequently, greenish pigmentation of the skin and sclera due to high bilirubin levels. Jaundice in adults is typically a sign indicating the presence of underlying diseases involving ...

. She stayed there until the end of the

Siege of Boston The siege of Boston (April 19, 1775 – March 17, 1776) was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War. In the siege, Patriot (American Revolution), American patriot militia led by newly-installed Continental Army commander George Wash ...

campaign (April 19, 1775 – March 17, 1776). * Martha "Patty" Washington, born on March 14, 1777, in Potowamut (Nathanael's hometown). Greene, ill with pneumonia, was delayed several months in meeting up with Nathanael in New Jersey. Greene and her two children traveled over very difficult roads for four days to avoid the British and Tories. They ultimately made it to Abraham Lott's estate, Beaverwyck, in New Jersey, where she met up with Nathanael. Greene remained in Basking Ridge, staying on the estate of

for a year. * Cornelia Lott was born in 1779 when Nathanael and his troops where camped out at their house and grounds in Coventry. Nathanael, concerned about Greene's health, received approval for a leave from Washington so that he could attend to his wife while his troops marched to New York. Cornelia was born fragile and sickly, and it was not clear that she was going to live. When she began getting stronger, Nathanael returned to his soldiers. * Nathanael "Nat" Ray was born in January 1780 at her husband's encampment at Morristown, New Jersey. A few weeks before her due date she traveled through a frigid snowstorm with her son George, but she left the girls behind. Patty was on Block Island with Greene's father and Cornelia was with Nathanael's family in Potowamut. Greene gathered her three children and the new baby to Coventry in the summer of 1780. * Louisa was born about March 1784 in Newport. Nathanael, with his family after the end of the war, sent their children to visit relatives for the birth of the baby. * Catharine was born in Newport, after Louisa and by August 1785. A few of the children had whooping cough, but they survived. Baby Catharine had it too. Her throat closed up and she died. Greene became despondent, ill, and pregnant again by the fall of 1785. Realizing she was pregnant again, Greene collapsed and required nursing care. * A baby girl was born early April 1786 at Mulberry Plantation after Greene had an accidental fall. The premature baby died shortly after it was born. Green was a strict parent, and "none of her children ever thought of disobeying her". She also enjoyed playing with them. When the war ended, Greene looked forward to having Nathanael home to share in the responsibility of raising the children and handling business and household affairs. His presence at home "brought a peace of mind unknown to her since the conflict began." With his return to the family as a whole, Nathanael became a light-hearted parental figure, helping to share the burden of raising children, without strict discipline.

Recover funds from the war

At the urging of a trusted adviser, Greene personally presented to the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

a petition for indemnity to recover funds that Nathanael had paid to Charleston merchants. On April 27, 1792, President

approved and signed an act that indemnified the Greene estate. In a happy letter to a friend, she wrote:

Plantation

After the war, Nathanael was given land in Georgia and farm land in South Carolina for his military service. A

slave plantation A slave plantation is an agricultural farm that uses enslaved people for labour. The practice was abolished in most places during the 19th century. Slavery Planters embraced the use of slaves mainly because indentured labor became expensive ...

on the

Savannah River The Savannah River is a major river in the Southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and South Carolina. The river flows from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, ...

called Mulberry Grove, in

Chatham County, Georgia Chatham County ( ) is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Georgia, on the state's Atlantic coast. The county seat and largest city is Savannah. One of the original counties of Georgia, Chatham County was created February 5, 1777, a ...

, was granted to him by the

Georgia General Assembly The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directl ...

in gratitude for his services during the war. Nathanael decided to move the family, with the children's tutor Phineas Miller, in the fall of 1785. Here, he hoped to make a living and pay off their debts from what they earned on their

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

, produced with slave-labor. Nathanael set aside his anti-slavery beliefs to operate the plantation. Greene, living on the frontier, far away from her family in Rhode Island, had to adjust to being the mistress of a struggling plantation. According to Stegeman, "her dream of wealth and leisure, once the war was over, had been shattered; she could no longer count on even the most basic security." Greene saw her husband as a "tired, haggard ex-soldier who had given himself to a belief, had signed away his future life, in fact, for that cause." She earnestly ran the plantation house with their domestic enslaved people. She also got to know members of her community.

Nathanael's death

Nathanael died suddenly on June 19, 1786, of sunstroke. Greene assumed responsibility for managing the plantation. Nathanael still had debt from the war that needed to be paid off. Greene contacted all she knew who might be helpful and gained Alexander Hamilton's support to obtain the money from the government for the debt. After her husband's death, Greene met the pressures of rearing her children and handling Nathanael's devastated finances. The children's tutor, Phineas Miller, became the plantation manager and Mulberry Grove flourished by 1788.

Cotton gin

Greene met a young man named

, who tutored her neighbor's children, but soon lost interest in that occupation. He preferred to study law. With her encouragement he took up residence at Mulberry Grove and during that time he pursued his inventions, working in a room in the basement. Greene considered him a mechanical genius. Within a year he had produced a model for the

cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); ...

. In an 1883 article in ''The North American Review'' titled "Woman as Inventor", the early feminist and abolitionist

Matilda Joslyn Gage Matilda Joslyn Gage ( Joslyn; March 24, 1826 – March 18, 1898) was an American writer and activist. She is mainly known for her contributions to women's suffrage in the United States, but also campaigned for Native American rights, aboli ...

claimed that Mrs. Greene suggested to Whitney the use of a brush-like component, which was instrumental in separating the seeds from the cotton. Gage provided no source for this claim, and to date there has been no independent verification of Greene's role in the invention of the gin. Her daughter Cornelia Greene Skipwith Littlefield describes her mother's role in "perfecting" the cotton gin with Eli Whitney in a ''Century'' magazine article written by her granddaughter. The article also mentioned that she suggested using a brush to separate the seeds from the cotton.

Second marriage and later years

Greene married Miller on June 13, 1796, in

at the home of President and

. After selling Mulberry Grove in 1798, Greene and Miller lived at Dungeness plantation on the southern end of Cumberland Island, on land that Nathanael was awarded. Miller died in 1803.

Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician, businessman, lawyer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805 d ...

showed up at the plantation after killing Green's friend, Alexander Hamilton, in the

Burr–Hamilton duel The Burr–Hamilton duel took place in Weehawken, New Jersey, between Aaron Burr, the third U.S. vice president at the time, and Alexander Hamilton, the first and former Secretary of the Treasury, at dawn on July 11, 1804. The duel was the culm ...

(July 11, 1804). Unable to entertain the killer of her friend, she let him enter her home and she left. Greene returned when Burr was gone. Greene died of malaria at the plantation on September 2, 1814, and she was buried there in the family cemetery.

Notes

References

Bibliography

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