Life Story: Catharine Littlefield Greene Miller (1755–1814)

Catharine Littlefield was born on February 17, 1755 on Block Island, a settlement off the coast of the Rhode Island colony. She was born into the upper ranks of colonial society. Her father John Littlefield was a member of the Rhode Island legislature. Her mother Phoebe Ray Littlefield was a descendant of the first settlers of Block Island. Her family called her Caty.

Catharine was only ten years old when her mother died. Her father worried that his growing daughter needed the guidance of a woman to help her through her adolescence, so he sent her to live with her aunt and uncle, Catharine and William Greene. William was a leader of the Rhode Island Whig Party and served as a Supreme Court justice for the colony. He would become governor of Rhode Island during the American Revolution.

In the Greene home, Catharine received a formal education. She learned to read, write, and manage the household of a prosperous gentleman. She was also introduced to all of the leading politicians of Rhode Island and became very familiar with the inner workings of government. One frequent visitor was William’s cousin, Nathanael Greene. Nathanael, a very successful merchant, was fourteen years older than Catharine. In spite of their age difference, Catharine and Nathanael adored one another. In 1772, when Catharine was seventeen years old, Nathanael began to court her with the approval of both her uncle and her father. They married on July 20, 1774 and began building a new life together in Coventry, Rhode Island.

Catharine expected to settle into the comfortable, fashionable life of a prosperous merchant’s wife, but within a year of her marriage, The Battles of Lexington and Concord kicked off the Revolutionary War. Nathanael was put in command of the Rhode Island militia. Soon after, he was promoted to general in the newly formed Continental Army. He immediately joined his troops, leaving his wife to manage their home and business.

Catharine threw herself wholeheartedly into her husband’s military life. She disliked being apart from him, so she traveled to be with him whenever he was camped for an extended period of time. Nathanael tried to convince her to stay safe in Rhode Island, especially after the birth of their first child in 1776, but Catharine would not be deterred.

Catharine traveled all over the thirteen colonies during the course of the Revolution. She visited New York City during the American occupation, wintered at Valley Forge, and made her way to the Carolinas when her husband was appointed the commander of the Southern army. She never experienced the level of hardship that other camp followers did. Her husband always made sure she had genteel housing close to camp. Catharine and Nathanael became very close with George and Martha Washington, who both did everything they could to make them happy and comfortable. She also formed lifelong friendships with Lucy Knox, Alexander Hamilton, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Lord Stirling and his daughter Mary Alexander. Catharine was instrumental in planning and throwing social events for the officers of the Continental Army, who appreciated getting a break from the discomforts of camp. Her beauty, elegance, and enthusiasm earned her a glowing reputation with the troops, who admired her determination and spirit. She gave birth to five children before the war ended. Every time she travelled to be with Nathanael, she had to leave her children behind.

When the war officially ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1783, Catharine expected that her life would resume the course she had always imagined. But Nathanael was in financial trouble. When he became commander during the Southern Campaign, Nathanael took out huge loans to buy food for his troops because the Continental Congress was not sending enough money or supplies. At the end of the war the loans came due, but when Nathanael appealed to the government for help, the Congress denied his petition. They claimed he had not requested permission to take out the loans and refused to help him pay them back.

Nathanael decided the only course of action was to sell everything he owned in Rhode Island and start over in Georgia. The new southern state had gifted him a large area of land that could be made into a prosperous plantation, and Nathanael believed this was his best chance of repaying his debts. Catharine was forced to leave everything and everyone she knew and relocate her family to a sparsely settled area. Instead of being a prosperous merchant’s wife, she was now the wife of a struggling planter.

Catharine threw herself into the task of learning to be a plantation mistress. Her role was to oversee their home and the enslaved people who worked to run it. She also established friendships in their new community. Just as their plantation, Mulberry Grove, was beginning to prosper, Nathanael died of sunstroke while working the fields in 1786. Catharine was now a widow in charge of five young children, a fledgling plantation, and paying off her husband’s enormous war debt.

Catharine rose spectacularly to the occasion. She appointed her children’s tutor Phineas Miller as plantation manager. Together they worked hard to make Mulberry Grove prosperous. By 1788 the plantation was turning a profit and Catharine could focus on the problem of her husband’s debts.

Catharine appealed the government’s decision regarding her husband’s loans. Using the connections and knowledge she had gathered during the years at her uncle’s home and the Army camps, Catharine waged a steady campaign to get Nathanael’s debts forgiven. She contacted every friend she and her husband had ever made and slowly worked her way through the US government. Alexander Hamilton personally oversaw her case, and although George Washington felt he couldn’t intervene due to his position as president, there is no doubt that he privately supported and counselled her.

Her actions drew criticism. Many felt she was overstepping the bounds of proper feminine behavior. But Catharine continued undaunted, and her hard work paid off. In 1792 Congress passed a bill awarding her full compensation for all of her husband’s debts. Catharine celebrated by writing a friend: “I can tell you my dear friend, that I feel as saucy as you please – – not only because I am independent, but because I have gained a complete triumph over some of my friends who did not wish me success — and others who doubted my judgement in managing the business – – and constantly tormented me to death to give up my obstinacy as it was called. They are now as mute as mice – not a word dare they utter, how sweet is revenge.”

Catharine’s victory freed her from the crushing debt that had haunted her since the end of the American Revolution, but it did not prevent her from experiencing further hardship in her life. Her eldest son drowned in 1793 and she never quite recovered from her grief. Catharine married her plantation manager Phineas in 1796 and they invested heavily in the invention of their new tutor Eli Whitney. Catharine and Phineas got caught up in a land scam trying to raise money for the production and marketing of Eli Whitney’s cotton gin, and they were forced to sell Mulberry Grove in 1798. They moved to another tract of undeveloped land given to Nathanael at the end of the Revolution. For the third time in her life Catharine started over, this time on Cumberland Island in Georgia.

Catharine lived on Cumberland Island for the rest of her life. Phineas passed away in 1803 and Catharine died on September 2, 1814. 

• camp follower: Civilians, usually women, who travel with an army and provide essential services like cooking, laundry, and nursing.
• Continental Army: The army formed by the Second Continental Congress and led by General George Washington.
• Continental Congress: The governing body of the new United States during the American Revolution. 
• court: To formally pay visits to someone with the intent of marrying them.
• merchant: A person whose business is buying and selling goods.
• militia: A military force of volunteer citizens.
• petition: A formal written request sent to an authority figure.

• APUSH Connection: 3.5: American Revolution
• Teach this life story with Army Wife and A Loyalist Wife for a discussion of the lives and experiences of Revolutionary War wives.
• Compare and contrast this story with Army Wife, A Loyalist Wife, Life Story: Margaret Corbin, and Reflections from the Home Front to explore how social class affected the experiences of women whose husbands joined the Continental Army.

DOMESTICITY AND FAMILY

• For resources relating to the American Revolution in New York, see The Battle of Brooklyn.