Cato Howe was an enslaved
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
Black Patriot
Black Patriots were African Americans who sided with the colonists who opposed British rule during the American Revolution. The term "Black Patriots" includes, but is not limited to, the 5,000 or more African Americans who served in the Continen ...
spy and courier during the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
. Cato's enslaver,
Hercules Mulligan
Hercules Mulligan (September 25, 1740March 4, 1825) was an Irish-American tailor and spy during the American Revolutionary War. He was a member of the Sons of Liberty.
Early life
Born in Coleraine in the north of Ireland to Hugh and Sarah Mull ...
, gathered
intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can be des ...
through his personal connections as well as clients at his New York City tailoring shop, and Cato carried the information on horseback to Continental Army officers and other revolutionaries, including
Alexander Hamilton and
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
, and often through British-held territory. Cato's messages are credited with likely saving Washington's life on two occasions. Other than his intelligence activities with Mulligan, little definite information about Cato is available, though an excavation of his home after the war provides historians with more information about his life after the war.
American Revolution
Because no correspondence with Mulligan's name or a recognized alias on it survives, a complete record of his and Cato's activities during the American Revolution cannot be compiled. An article in the Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine in 1985 stated: "Every estimate of the number of minorities who participated in the American Revolution has been deceptively low...." Cato is among those whose contributions have been mostly overlooked. Historian Paul R. Misencik has written that Cato was a "faithful accomplice" of Mulligan's.
Cato enlisted as a private in the 2nd Massachusetts Regiment under Colonel John Bailey in 1775, along with his owner,
Hercules Mulligan
Hercules Mulligan (September 25, 1740March 4, 1825) was an Irish-American tailor and spy during the American Revolutionary War. He was a member of the Sons of Liberty.
Early life
Born in Coleraine in the north of Ireland to Hugh and Sarah Mull ...
. In 1778 he was granted his freedom in return for his service.
Culper Ring
![Culper Ring code (orig)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Culper_Ring_code_%28orig%29.jpg)
While Cato and Mulligan operated mostly simultaneously with Washington and
Benjamin Tallmadge
Benjamin Tallmadge (February 25, 1754 – March 7, 1835) was an American military officer, spymaster, and politician. He is best known for his service as an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He acted as leade ...
's
Culper Ring
The Culper Ring was a network of spies active during the American Revolutionary War, organized by Major Benjamin Tallmadge and General George Washington in 1778 during the British occupation of New York City. The name "Culper" was suggested by ...
of American spies, their official affiliation with the group is disputed. Although Historian Alexander Rose has written that Mulligan and Cato began espionage activities within six weeks of
Robert Townsend, alias "Samuel Culper, Jr.", sending his first intelligence letter, historian Stephen Knott writes that they began spying in late 1776 or early 1777, well before formation of the
Culper Ring ring in 1778 and mostly independent of it.
Hessian plot
Cato facilitated a plot between Mulligan and
Haym Salomon
Haym Salomon (also Solomon; anglicized from Chaim Salomon; April 7, 1740 – January 6, 1785) was a Polish-born Jewish businessman and political financial broker who assisted the Superintendent of Finance, English-born Robert Morris, as the prim ...
, a
Patriot
A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism.
Patriot may also refer to:
Political and military groups United States
* Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution
* Patriot m ...
loyalist who had been released from British captivity under the condition that he work as a translator between the British and
Hessian soldiers. The plot involved both collecting intelligence from and advertising Mulligan's tailoring business to the Hessian officers. Mulligan sent Cato to Salomon's shop with ads to translate into German and pass to the Hessians, and Cato returned with the translations and intelligence that Mulligan could report to Hamilton and Washington at
Continental Army headquarters.
British troop movements
Since the British did not suspect an enslaved person would be acting as a messenger to
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
, in April 1777, they allowed Cato to cross the
Hudson River
The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
on a ferry, carrying packages containing intelligence about British General
William Howe's activities and movements. Many of the soldiers were Mulligan's customers, and therefore knew Cato and let him both pass to New Jersey and return to New York with the packages, marked "H. Mulligan, clothier."
After the British abandoned Philadelphia and returned to New York City in the summer of 1778, activity again picked up in the restored British Army headquarters. William Cunningham, an Irish
Tory
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...
who was serving as Provost Marshal of New York City, suspected Mulligan of espionage and was curious about Cato's trips from New York. He eventually questioned and jailed Cato, treating him cruelly, and interrogating him about Mulligan's activities and his own deliveries out of town. Cato would not talk.
Attempts on Washington
During the winter of 1779, a British officer came into Mulligan's New York tailor shop late in the evening looking for a watch coat. During the ensuing conversation, the officer shared a British plan to attack and capture Washington the following day. Cato was quickly dispatched to alert Washington, who moved his troops and thwarted the attack.
In 1780, Mulligan received intelligence from his brother Hugh, who worked for British army contractor Kortright and Company, that the British planned to intercept Washington in
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decade ...
on his way to meet with
General Rochambeau. Cato carried the message to Washington, who rerouted in such a way to distract the British from the French landing in
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...
.
He was discharged in 1783.
Post-war life
After his service, Cato returned to
Plymouth, Massachusetts. In 1792, the town of Plymouth issued a decree stating that whosoever could clear a particular patch of land within three year could claim it. Cato, joined by Prince Goodwin, Plato Turner, and Quamany, took up the challenge and established a small community on their new property, calling it
Parting Ways or New Guinea. Cato lived out the rest of his days there with his first wife Althea, who died around 1820, and then his second wife, Lucy Prettison. Cato passed away in 1824 and is buried on the land that he owned in Plymouth.
In popular culture
The Culper Ring is depicted in the fictionalized
AMC
AMC may refer to:
Film and television
* AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain
* AMC Networks, an American entertainment company
** AMC (TV channel)
** AMC+, streaming service
** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company
*** ...
American Revolutionary War
period drama
A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swas ...
''
Turn: Washington's Spies'' based on
Alexander Rose's book ''
Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring'' (2007). Mulligan and Cato are portrayed in the fourth and final season.
See also
*
Culper Ring
The Culper Ring was a network of spies active during the American Revolutionary War, organized by Major Benjamin Tallmadge and General George Washington in 1778 during the British occupation of New York City. The name "Culper" was suggested by ...
*
Intelligence in the American Revolutionary War
During the American Revolutionary War, the Continental Army and British Army conducted espionage operations against one another to collect military intelligence to inform military operations. In addition, both sides conducted political action, c ...
*
Intelligence operations in the American Revolutionary War
During the American Revolutionary War, the Continental Army and British Army conducted espionage operations against one another to collect military intelligence to inform military operations. In addition, both sides conducted political action, ...
*
Hercules Mulligan
Hercules Mulligan (September 25, 1740March 4, 1825) was an Irish-American tailor and spy during the American Revolutionary War. He was a member of the Sons of Liberty.
Early life
Born in Coleraine in the north of Ireland to Hugh and Sarah Mull ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cato (American Revolution)
18th-century American slaves
African-American history of New York (state)
African-American people
American spies during the American Revolution
Black Patriots
New York (state) in the American Revolution
Place of birth missing
Year of birth missing
Year of death missing