Cato Howe Revolution and Family Tree

His Story

On April 11, 1818, a sixty-three-year-old Black Revolutionary War veteran named Cato Howe appeared before a Massachusetts official seeking a federal pension. More than three decades had passed since the conclusion of the American Revolution. Howe, a resident of Plymouth, declared that he had entered military service in the spring of 1775 and remained in the Massachusetts Continental Line until the war ended in 1783. He had served through the long struggle for American independence, but old age and financial hardship had brought him to the point of requesting assistance from the country whose independence he had helped secure.

Howe’s military history places him among the thousands of Black men who served the American cause during the Revolutionary War. His surviving pension records identify him as a man of color and a private in the Massachusetts Line, serving principally in Captain George Dunham’s company of Colonel John Bailey’s regiment.

In his original pension declaration, Howe stated that he enlisted during the spring of 1775. He later reenlisted on February 19, 1777, and continued in service until the end of the Revolution, according to a Pension Bureau summary prepared in 1931.

Howe’s declaration also associated his service with Arnold’s brigade. This reference places him within a military organization connected to Benedict Arnold during Arnold’s service as an American general, although the surviving testimony does not identify every campaign in which Howe personally participated.

His military career was unusually long. If his recollection of service from 1775 through 1783 is accepted, Howe spent approximately eight years connected to the American war effort, including the difficult years when Continental soldiers faced shortages of clothing, food, pay, and equipment.

The documentary record preserves little about his experiences on individual battlefields. It does, however, establish that he claimed extended Continental service and that federal officials subsequently recognized his eligibility for a pension.

Howe’s pension was approved under the Act of March 18, 1818. He received a certificate numbered 5555 and an allowance of eight dollars per month.

By 1820, Howe’s circumstances had become particularly difficult. He reported owning no real estate and declared personal property valued at approximately twenty-seven dollars. He described himself as a farmer who suffered severely from rheumatism and was frequently unable to perform labor.

His wife Alathea was approximately seventy years old and bedridden. Howe stated that she was sometimes unable to feed herself. Both husband and wife had received assistance from the town of Plymouth before his pension was granted.

After Alathea’s death, Howe married Lucy Prettison on August 20, 1821. Their marriage was recorded in Plymouth’s town records and later became important evidence in Lucy’s application for a widow’s pension.

Cato Howe died in Plymouth in late February or early March 1824. His pension file preserves conflicting death dates of February 29 and March 1, while a contemporary sexton’s interment register records his burial on March 2.

His story continued after his death. Nearly thirty years later, Lucy, by then known as Lucy Rogers, successfully pursued a pension based on her marriage to the Revolutionary War veteran. Her application preserved additional information about Howe’s military career, family, and final years.

Through these surviving records, Cato Howe emerges as more than a name on a military roll. His life connects the experiences of Black Continental soldiers with the struggles of aging Revolutionary War veterans and the long process through which their families sought recognition from the federal government.

Early Life

A Black Resident of Colonial Massachusetts

Cato Howe was born approximately 1755, based upon his statement that he was sixty-three years old when he applied for a Revolutionary War pension in April 1818.

His exact date of birth and birthplace have not been established from the surviving pension transcriptions.

The records identify Howe as a Black man. A later Pension Bureau summary describes him as a man of color, and a Plymouth interment record from 1824 identifies him as a colored man.

These documents establish his racial identification in surviving official records but do not establish whether he was born free, had formerly been enslaved, or experienced another legal status during his youth.

Massachusetts in the middle of the eighteenth century contained both free and enslaved Black residents. Slavery existed in colonial New England, although its organization and scale differed from the plantation systems of the southern colonies.

Black residents worked in agriculture, maritime trades, domestic service, skilled occupations, and other forms of labor. Their legal and economic circumstances varied considerably.

Howe’s early occupation, household, parents, and upbringing remain undocumented in the pension materials examined for this biography.

Plymouth Before the Revolution

By the time Howe entered the Revolutionary War, he was associated with Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Plymouth was among the oldest English colonial settlements in New England. Its eighteenth-century economy included farming, fishing, maritime commerce, local crafts, and trade with neighboring communities.

The town also maintained militia organizations that formed part of Massachusetts’s broader military system.

As opposition to British imperial policy increased during the 1760s and 1770s, communities throughout Massachusetts became involved in disputes over taxation, representation, and the authority of Parliament.

The crisis intensified following the Boston Tea Party and the punitive measures imposed upon Massachusetts in 1774.

By the spring of 1775, colonial resistance had developed into military preparation, with local militia companies and provincial leaders organizing forces to respond to British military action.

Howe’s declaration places the beginning of his service in this opening period of the Revolution.

Revolutionary War Service

Enlistment in the Spring of 1775

In his declaration of April 11, 1818, Howe stated that he entered the military service of the American Revolution in the spring of 1775.

His enlistment coincided with the outbreak of armed conflict in Massachusetts following the battles of Lexington and Concord.

During the first months of the Revolution, the American military establishment consisted largely of provincial troops and militia organizations raised by individual colonies.

Massachusetts contributed a substantial portion of the soldiers who assembled around British-occupied Boston.

Howe later described his military service as having been performed in the Massachusetts Line on the Continental establishment.

His surviving declaration does not identify every company or regiment in which he served during the opening months of 1775.

Captain George Dunham’s Company

Howe identified Captain George Dunham as one of his commanding officers.

His original declaration names Captain Dunham’s company and Colonel Bailey’s regiment as the military organization in which he served.

A Pension Bureau summary prepared in 1931 identifies the officers more fully as Captain George Dunham and Colonel John Bailey.

The same summary states that most of Howe’s military service was performed in this company and regiment.

Colonel John Bailey commanded Massachusetts Continental troops during the Revolutionary War. His regiment formed part of the broader military establishment serving under the Continental Congress.

Howe’s association with Bailey’s regiment provides an important starting point for further investigation of his movements, assignments, and possible campaign service.

However, individual battlefield participation cannot be established solely from the regiment’s operational history.

Reenlistment on February 19, 1777

The 1931 Pension Bureau summary provides a specific reenlistment date of February 19, 1777.

According to that summary, Howe served from the spring of 1775 until February 19, 1777, when he reenlisted and continued until the conclusion of the war.

Reenlistments were common as the Continental Army attempted to replace expiring short-term enlistments with a more stable force capable of remaining in the field for extended periods.

Congress and the states struggled to maintain sufficient manpower, and experienced soldiers who agreed to remain in service were especially valuable.

Howe’s reported reenlistment indicates that his military involvement continued beyond the initial period of Massachusetts mobilization.

Service in Arnold’s Brigade

Howe’s 1818 declaration associated his service with Arnold’s brigade.

During the early years of the Revolution, Benedict Arnold served as an American military officer and participated in several major campaigns before his later defection to the British.

The reference to Arnold in Howe’s declaration concerns the American military organization in which Howe reported serving. It does not imply that Howe supported Arnold’s later treason.

The surviving transcription does not identify the precise dates of Howe’s service under Arnold or specify the military operations in which he was present.

Additional Continental Army muster rolls and regimental returns would be needed to establish those details.

Serving Until the End of the War

Howe stated that he remained in the Massachusetts Line until the end of the Revolutionary War.

He reported receiving an honorable discharge in 1783.

His original declaration did not include a surviving written discharge.

A certificate dated March 7, 1805, attributed to William Hull, stated that Howe had served during the Revolution and had been honorably discharged, according to Hull’s recollection.

The certificate described three years of service under an enlistment. That statement is narrower than Howe’s later claim of approximately eight years of overall military involvement.

The difference should not automatically be interpreted as a contradiction concerning the entire period of service, since Hull’s statement may have referred to a particular enlistment rather than every term Howe completed.

Nevertheless, the exact chronology of his military service requires examination of the original muster rolls and enlistment records.

Battles and Campaigns

The Opening of the American Revolution — 1775

On April 19, 1775, British regulars marched from Boston toward Concord, Massachusetts, under orders to seize military supplies held by colonial forces.

The expedition encountered armed Massachusetts militiamen at Lexington and Concord, where fighting initiated the Revolutionary War.

As British troops withdrew toward Boston, militia companies from surrounding communities attacked the column along its route.

The conflict quickly expanded as provincial forces assembled around Boston and established military positions intended to contain the British garrison.

Howe reported entering military service during the spring of 1775, placing his enlistment within the opening months of the Revolution.

The surviving pension transcriptions do not establish that he personally participated in the fighting at Lexington or Concord.

The Siege of Boston — 1775–1776

Following the battles of Lexington and Concord, American provincial forces surrounded Boston, where British troops occupied the town and its principal military positions.

The Siege of Boston became the first major sustained military operation of the Revolutionary War.

General George Washington arrived in Massachusetts in July 1775 and assumed command of the American forces. He worked to reorganize the provincial troops into a more unified army under Continental authority.

Throughout the siege, American soldiers maintained defensive positions, constructed fortifications, guarded roads, and attempted to restrict British movements.

In March 1776, American forces fortified Dorchester Heights, threatening the British position in Boston. British commanders subsequently evacuated the city.

Howe’s reported enlistment in the spring of 1775 places his military service within the period of the siege.

However, his pension declaration does not identify his exact station or establish his presence at any particular siege operation.

The siege is therefore relevant to the historical setting of his early service, but his individual participation in specific operations remains unverified.

Continental Army Campaigns — 1776–1777

During 1776, the Revolutionary War expanded beyond Massachusetts as British forces launched a major campaign to seize New York City.

General William Howe’s army defeated American forces at the Battle of Long Island in August, occupied New York City, and continued operations against Washington’s army through the autumn.

American forces retreated across New Jersey before achieving victories at Trenton in December 1776 and Princeton in January 1777.

These campaigns placed considerable pressure upon the Continental Army and demonstrated the difficulties of maintaining a permanent military force.

Howe’s pension records establish that he reported continued service during this period, including a reenlistment in February 1777.

His declaration identifies Captain George Dunham, Colonel John Bailey, and Arnold’s brigade, but does not provide a detailed account of his individual movements.

Without supporting muster rolls or contemporary returns, his presence at the major battles of the New York and New Jersey campaigns cannot be established.

The Later Revolutionary War — 1777–1783

During the later years of the Revolution, the Continental Army continued fighting while facing serious problems of recruitment, supply, financing, and military organization.

American and allied forces eventually achieved decisive victories, including the surrender of British General John Burgoyne’s army at Saratoga in 1777 and the defeat of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781.

The war continued after Yorktown, although large-scale operations in the principal American theaters became less frequent.

The Treaty of Paris, signed in September 1783, formally recognized American independence.

Howe stated that he remained in military service until the end of the war and received an honorable discharge in 1783.

The surviving pension documents do not establish that he personally fought at Saratoga, Yorktown, or any other named battle during these years.

His reported long-term service remains historically significant without assigning him to engagements unsupported by individual evidence.

Military Honors and Recognition

Honorable Military Discharge

Howe stated in his pension declaration that he was honorably discharged from the Massachusetts Line in 1783.

A certificate dated March 7, 1805, attributed to William Hull, also supported his honorable discharge, based upon Hull’s recollection of his military service.

The surviving transcriptions do not include an independently verified original discharge certificate issued to Howe at the conclusion of the war.

Federal Recognition of His Service

Howe’s military service received federal recognition when his Revolutionary War pension was approved under the Act of March 18, 1818.

His pension certificate, numbered 5555, authorized payment at the rate of eight dollars per month.

His widow later received a pension based upon his Revolutionary War service.

A bounty-land warrant reference also appears in the file, although the surviving transcriptions examined do not establish the complete administrative disposition of that warrant.

No individual battlefield decoration, Badge of Military Merit, or formal commendation for a specific act of valor has been verified in the supplied records.

Original Military Records

Revolutionary War Pension

The Pension Application of 1818

On April 11, 1818, Cato Howe applied for a federal pension under the Act of March 18, 1818.

The law provided pensions to qualifying Revolutionary War veterans who had served in the Continental military establishment and were in reduced financial circumstances.

Howe identified himself as a resident of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and stated that he had served as a private in the Massachusetts Line for more than nine months.

He described his enlistment in the spring of 1775 and his continued service until 1783.

He also acknowledged that he possessed no written discharge.

His declaration was signed with a mark rather than a written signature.

Pension Certificate No. 5555

Howe’s pension was approved at eight dollars per month, equivalent to ninety-six dollars annually.

His later declaration identifies pension certificate number 5555 and gives a certificate date of January 25, 1819.

The Pension Bureau’s later correspondence confirms that he received a pension under the 1818 legislation.

The federal allowance provided an important source of income during his declining years.

The Property Declaration of 1820

In 1820, pensioners receiving benefits under the 1818 law were required to submit statements describing their property and financial circumstances.

Howe appeared before a Massachusetts court and declared that he owned no real estate.

His schedule identified a small collection of personal possessions, including household furniture, cooking utensils, and other ordinary items.

The transcription lists one bed, one wig, five chairs, one table, two kettles, three knives and forks, three plates, two bowls, an axe, and shoes, although some item descriptions remain uncertain.

The declared property was valued at approximately twenty-seven dollars and two cents.

This amount represents the property reported under the pension requirements rather than a complete accounting of every possession in his household.

Rheumatism and the Inability to Work

Howe described himself as a farmer but stated that he was severely affected by rheumatism.

He explained that the condition frequently prevented him from performing labor.

The term rheumatism was used broadly in the nineteenth century for painful conditions involving joints and muscles. The pension statement does not establish a specific modern medical diagnosis.

For an elderly man whose livelihood depended upon physical work, recurring inability to labor could have serious financial consequences.

Alathea Howe’s Illness

Howe’s declaration also described his wife Alathea, who was approximately seventy years old.

He stated that she was bedridden and frequently unable to feed herself.

Her condition placed additional demands upon a household already experiencing poverty and limited earning capacity.

Howe reported that both he and his wife had received assistance from the town of Plymouth before he obtained his pension certificate.

The statement provides direct evidence of their financial hardship during this period.

It does not establish that Howe and his wife had experienced the same level of poverty throughout their earlier lives.

Howe’s Death and Final Pension Payment

Cato Howe died in Plymouth in 1824.

A Pension Office notation dated September 27, 1853, records his death as February 29, 1824, and states that his pension was paid through the date of his death.

A later Pension Bureau summary gives February 29 or March 1, 1824, acknowledging that both dates appeared in the claim.

The discrepancy remains unresolved in the supplied transcriptions.

Lucy Rogers’s Widow’s Pension

Nearly thirty years after Howe’s death, his second wife sought a federal pension based upon his Revolutionary War service.

Lucy had married Howe on August 20, 1821, in Plymouth.

Following his death, she married John Rogers, who died in Boston on August 7, 1840.

By 1853, Lucy was again a widow and was living in Boston.

On June 21, 1853, she submitted a declaration seeking benefits under federal pension legislation.

Her application identified her as the former widow of Cato Howe and relied upon his established pension history.

Federal officials approved her claim at ninety-six dollars annually, beginning February 3, 1853.

The pension records identify her claim as W.2354.

The Bounty-Land Application of 1855

On March 28, 1855, Lucy Rogers submitted another declaration seeking bounty land under legislation approved March 3, 1855.

She stated that she was receiving a Revolutionary War widow’s pension and had not previously received a bounty-land warrant under the applicable laws.

Two women, Catherine L. Barbadoes and Mary Elsberry, provided supporting testimony concerning her identity and widowhood.

The pension file contains a bounty-land warrant reference, but the transcriptions examined do not establish the full outcome of Lucy’s application.

Lucy died on May 7, 1855, according to the later Pension Bureau summary.

From His Account

Cato Howe’s pension declaration and property statement preserve his own account of military service and financial hardship. The following excerpts are drawn from the supplied archival transcriptions. Their spelling and wording should be checked against the original manuscript images before use as definitive diplomatic transcriptions.

This statement established the basic nature of Howe’s military claim and his asserted service in the Continental establishment.

Howe’s declaration describes an extended military career beginning in the first year of the Revolution and continuing through the final year of the war.

The transcription contains a spelling that differs from the later Pension Bureau summary, which identifies Captain George Dunham. The original manuscript should be consulted to confirm the officer’s name.

Howe’s statement formed part of the financial examination required of pensioners under federal law.

This statement provides direct evidence that physical illness interfered with Howe’s ability to support himself through work.

Howe’s description of his wife provides one of the most personal details preserved in his pension file.

The statement demonstrates that Howe and Alathea had depended upon local public assistance before the federal government began providing his Revolutionary War pension.

Military Service Record

The chronology is based primarily upon Howe’s retrospective pension declaration and later Pension Bureau correspondence. Contemporary muster rolls have not been independently examined for every period listed, and no individual battlefield participation has been established from the transcriptions reviewed.

Later Life and Burial

Life in Plymouth After the Revolution

Following the Revolutionary War, Cato Howe lived in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

The surviving pension records do not provide a continuous account of his civilian life between his discharge in 1783 and his pension application in 1818.

By the time of his later property declaration, Howe identified his occupation as farmer.

His statement does not establish whether he owned farmland earlier in life or worked land belonging to another person.

Financial Hardship and Public Assistance

In his later years, Howe experienced severe financial and physical difficulties.

His property declaration identified no real estate and personal possessions valued at approximately twenty-seven dollars.

He suffered from rheumatism and was often unable to work.

His wife Alathea was bedridden and frequently unable to feed herself.

Howe stated that the couple had received assistance from Plymouth before he obtained his federal pension.

These circumstances illustrate the vulnerability of aging veterans whose military service did not guarantee economic security in civilian life.

His Second Marriage

After Alathea’s death, Howe married Lucy Prettison on August 20, 1821.

The ceremony was performed by Reverend William S. Torrey in Plymouth.

The marriage record was later certified by Plymouth town clerk Leander Lovell as part of Lucy’s application for federal pension benefits.

Death in 1824

Cato Howe died in Plymouth in 1824.

The surviving pension file gives conflicting death dates of February 29 and March 1.

The Pension Bureau’s 1931 historical summary explicitly acknowledges both dates.

A Pension Office notation from September 1853 records February 29, 1824, and states that Howe’s pension had been paid through his death.

The March 2 Interment Record

On May 19, 1853, Plymouth town clerk Leander Lovell certified an entry from the records of James Morton, who had served as the town’s sexton from 1820 through 1830.

The register recorded an interment dated March 2, 1824, identifying Cato Howe as a colored man.

This is significant documentary evidence of his death and burial in Plymouth.

However, the transcribed certification does not identify a particular cemetery or grave location.

The March 2 entry should therefore be described as a recorded interment date, not as proof of burial in a specific cemetery.

Original Sources

The following documents form the principal foundation for this biography. The central source is Cato Howe’s Revolutionary War pension and widow’s pension file preserved by the National Archives.

National Archives Pension File

1. National Archives and Records Administration. Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, Cato Howe or How, pension and widow’s claim W.2354, including soldier’s pension certificate No. 5555. National Archives Identifier 54938572. View archival record.
2. Pension Office. File identification and bounty-land warrant reference for Cato Howe and Lucy Rogers. Image 4159590_00282.
3. Cato Howe. Original Revolutionary War pension declaration, April 11, 1818, Plymouth, Massachusetts. Image 4159590_00288.
4. William Hull. Certificate concerning Cato Howe’s military service and honorable discharge, March 7, 1805. Image 4159590_00312.
5. Cato Howe. Pension certificate identification, No. 5555. Image 4159590_00296.
6. Cato Howe. Property, income, occupation, and family declaration, 1820–1821 court proceedings. Image 4159590_00297.
7. Leander Lovell, Plymouth Town Clerk. Certified extract from sexton James Morton’s interment register, recording Cato Howe’s interment on March 2, 1824. Image 4159590_00299.
8. Leander Lovell, Plymouth Town Clerk. Certified marriage record of Cato Howe and Lucy Prettison, August 20, 1821. Image 4159590_00300.
9. Lucy Rogers. Power of attorney authorizing Israel Perkins to pursue her widow’s pension claim, June 21, 1853. Image 4159590_00301.
10. Lucy Rogers. Widow’s pension declaration, June 21, 1853. Image 4159590_00302.
11. Pension Office. Widow’s pension roll entry for Lucy Rogers, formerly widow of Cato Howe, at ninety-six dollars annually. Image 4159590_00286.
12. Pension Office. Administrative records concerning Lucy Rogers’s pension claim, 1853. Images 4159590_00305–00308.
13. Pension Office. Correspondence confirming Cato Howe’s pension payments through his death, September 27, 1853. Image 4159590_00309.
14. Lucy Rogers. Bounty-land declaration under the Act of March 3, 1855, with supporting testimony from Catherine L. Barbadoes and Mary Elsberry. Image 4159590_00295.
15. United States Bureau of Pensions. Historical summary of Cato Howe’s military service, marriages, death, and widow’s pension, August 28, 1931. Image 4159590_00304.

Transcription Collection

The Yost Post research collection, RevWar-Transcriptions-Final.xlsx, records associated with National Archives Identifier 54938572.

The supplied transcriptions provide the basis for the military chronology, family details, pension information, and original-document excerpts reproduced in this biography.

The original manuscript images should be consulted for final verification of uncertain dates, spellings, officer names, and the precise wording of handwritten documents.

Historical Research Note