Catharine Littlefield Greene

Born February 17, 1755 (Block Island, Rhode Island)

Died July 20, 1814 (Cumberland Island, Georgia)

Businesswoman

Catharine "Caty" Littlefield Greene witnessed, and at times participated in, some of the most far-reaching events in American history through her marriage to General Nathanael Greene (1742–1786). She was a friend and confidant to important, well-known people of her day, including President George Washington (1732–1799; served 1789–97; see entry in volume 2) and his wife, Martha Washington (1732–1802; see entry in volume 2).

After the American Revolution (1775–83), Catharine Greene became a financial supporter of Eli Whitney (1765–1825; see entry in volume 2), who was developing a mechanized process for ginning, separating cotton fiber from its seeds. Her participation in Whitney's invention of the cotton gin secured her place in history, because the new machine revolutionized the U.S. cotton industry and had a huge impact on America's economy in the nineteenth century.

"... I should be extremely happy if the war had an honorable close ... God grant the day may not be far distant when peace, with all her train of blessings, shall diffuse universal joy throughout America."

Nathanael Greene, in a letter to his wife, Catharine Littlefield Greene

Island girl

Catharine Littlefield was born on February 17, 1755, the second of five children of Phebe Ray and John Littlefield. As a child, Catharine was called Kitty, but for most of her life, friends and family called her Caty. She was named for her mother's sister, Catharine Ray, who played a major role in her life.

The Littlefields lived on Block Island, 12 miles off the Rhode Island coast in the stormy Atlantic Ocean. The island was named after Adriaen Block, an early seventeenth-century Dutch explorer. Caty's ancestors were among the group of independent-minded settlers who first came to live there in the 1660s. They settled in the town of New Shoreham. Most is land families made their living by raising livestock, fishing, or building sailing ships.

John Littlefield inherited his family's wealth and represented New Shoreham in the General Assembly of Rhode Island. He was a gentle man who loved to gather his children together and tell them stories of their ancestors. He filled their imaginations with legends of the island, which had once been the hiding place of pirates such as William Kidd (c. 1645–1701). The island had no schools, markets, or streets, so the children occupied their days with beach exploration and trips to visit playmates. If a public gathering was deemed necessary, a small meeting hall was available for that purpose. The subject most often discussed was politics.

Block Island was isolated, but on a clear day its residents could see up and down the mainland across the water. The few trees that grew on the island were bent by the winds, and shipwrecks littered the shore. Occasionally, the Littlefield family would board a ship for the 30-mile trip to Newport, Rhode Island, where they would shop and visit friends. Even if their ship launched on a calm day, it was not unusual for the weather to change abruptly; then the trip would turn into a treacherous passage. During these early years, Caty developed a fear of sea travel that would stay with her for life.

A move to the mainland

Caty's life changed drastically in the spring of 1761 when her mother died at the age of twenty-eight. By the time Caty was a preteen, she was sent to live with her Aunt Catharine in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. Catharine was married to William Greene Jr. (c. 1731–c. 1809), a popular state political leader and an advocate for colonial freedom from British domination. He was the governor of the state of Rhode Island from 1778 to 1786.

Educational opportunities had been few on Block Island, and John Littlefield wanted his daughter Caty to have an education. She had a rich vocabulary and natural intelligence; however, her spelling was very bad, and her worldview was limited to her island existence. Excellent tutors were available in East Greenwich, and after Caty moved there, her world opened up. She received a political education around the Greenes' dinner table, where legislators and civil servants and young would-be politicians gathered most evenings. Caty's Aunt Catharine schooled her in proper social etiquette. By the time Caty was in her teens, many of the young men of East Greenwich who visited the Greene home were there to see her as much as to discuss politics.

One of the young men who frequented the home was a distant relative of William Greene named Nathanael Greene. His family owned an iron forge on the Pawtuxet River near his home in Coventry, Rhode Island. The forge produced iron anchors and chains for sailing ships. When his workday was finished, Nathanael often rode the 10 miles to East Greenwich to join the political gatherings at William Greene's home. The frequency of his travels increased once he became acquainted with the young and beautiful Caty Littlefield.

Within months of their first meeting, Nathanael Greene and Caty Littlefield (or Kitty, as he knew her then) were married. The ceremony took place on July 20, 1774, at the Greene mansion, attended by only a few close friends and relatives. After the wedding festivities, the couple drove to their home in Coventry to begin their new life as husband and wife. However, their time together would soon be interrupted.

In April 1775, less than one year after their marriage, Nathanael was called away from their home in Coventry. He joined the colonial forces to challenge the British troops who were marching to Concord, Massachusetts. The American Revolution had begun in earnest. Greene returned to Coventry but soon received an urgent summons from the General Assembly in Providence, Rhode Island. To his astonishment, Nathanael Greene was commissioned as a brigadier general in command of the Rhode Island Brigade. He was charged with the responsibility of preparing the state's defenses. Greene had risen from private to brigadier general in only two months' time.

Life in the military camps

Through letters from Nathanael and reports from the weekly newspapers, Caty began to follow the course of the war. But not content to sit at home and wait, Caty soon packed her belongings and joined Nathanael at his headquarters. From then on, Caty and the other generals' wives, including Martha Washington, would make annual visits to join their husbands in camp during the winter lull in fighting. Dinners, dances, and other social events filled the long winter months, and Caty thrived in this new environment. Her good cheer was a welcome addition at camp gatherings and parties, which were designed to give the officers a temporary break from the dark business of war.

The ranking officers and their wives became frequent dinner guests at the home of George and Martha Washington, and Caty soon became close friends with Martha. George Washington was so fond of Caty that at one party he reportedly danced three hours with her without once sitting down. The Greenes felt equally fond of the Washingtons; they named their first son George and their first daughter Martha. Caty and Nathanael would have five children together, with their fourth baby, Nathanael Ray Greene, being born in a winter army camp.

An end to war, but then tragedy

On April 16, 1783, representatives of the United States and Great Britain signed preliminary articles of peace in Paris, ending the war. It had been eight years, almost to the day, since the opening shot of the American Revolution. As Nathanael Greene traveled home to his family, people along roads in town after town welcomed him as a conquering hero (see box). The Greenes rejoiced at being reunited, but they faced a bleak financial future due to heavy losses during the war. Nathanael had acquired large tracts of land, making the family land-rich but cash-poor. They had their home in Rhode Island and 7,000 acres on Cumberland Island, off the coast of Georgia. In addition, legislatures in the Carolinas and Georgia had granted General Greene three more large estates as compensation for his services in those states. However, their land and property had suffered from years of neglect during the war and needed capital (money) for improvements.

To begin the process of rebuilding, the Greene family moved to their estate in Georgia, called Mulberry Grove. Because no schools were available there, the Greenes needed to hire a tutor for their children. Nathanael was also looking for someone who could help him assemble his official war papers. He hired twenty-one-year-old Phineas Miller to fill both positions. Miller was a graduate of Yale and had been recommended by Dr. Ezra Stiles (1725–1795), the college president. Caty liked Miller immediately, and the children responded well to his instruction. But the Greenes were living entirely on credit, and their debts were mounting. For the next three years, they struggled to make their plantation profitable, but the stress took its toll on Nathanael. On June 19, 1786, at the age of forty-four, he died in his bed at Mulberry Grove. His loss was mourned deeply, not only by his family but by the young nation he had helped preserve. Caty was left with five small children and serious financial problems. Before he died, Nathanael Greene sought repayment for the money he spent out of his own pocket to help supply the Continental Army during the war. Caty continued pursuing Nathanael's claim for reimbursement, money now owed to her as the widow of a war veteran.

Following Nathanael Greene's death, Phineas Miller took over the administration of Mulberry Grove. The plantation prospered but still labored under heavy debt. Over the years, Caty and Miller developed a loving relationship with one another. However, they could not marry, because Caty's status as Nathanael's widow was of vital importance in her petition to Congress. In 1791, the two drew up a legal agreement concerning who controlled their property and recorded it in the county courthouse in Savannah, Georgia. Victory for Caty came in April 1792 when she received the first installment of the compensation from Congress on General Greene's war expenses.

General Nathanael Greene

Nathanael Greene was one of the ablest generals of the Continental Army under George Washington. He was raised as a Quaker, a member of a religious group that opposes war. However, he abandoned Quaker beliefs to help the American colonies win their independence from Britain. Despite his family's objections, Greene joined the Continental Army as a private in the Kentish Guards, a volunteer infantry company in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. Hespen this spare time reading military manuals and studying the lives of great generals until he had mastered military history and strategy. Although he had no previous military experience, he taught himself military science from the volumes he had collected for his personal library.

When the American Revolution broke out in 1775, thirty-three-year-old Private Greene was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. Greene possessed natural leadership qualities and a sound grasp of military affairs. He used his knowledge to outmaneuver far more experienced generals on the field of battle. Before the war was over, he was recognized as having the best military ability of all of George Washington's subordinate generals. Because of his mastery of military logistics, Greene was Washington's most trusted associate. He was also his chosen successor, the officer who would replace General Washington in the event of his death.

The army Greene inherited was often ragged, undisciplined, and lacking in basic supplies. The quartermaster and commissary departments, which were responsible for supplying the Continental Army, had fallen into disarray, so General Washington recommended to Congress that Greene be appointed as quartermaster general, the officer who ensures that army troops have the food, munitions, and medical provisions they need. Greene accepted the new job, which would turn out to be a difficult one. Because the quartermaster's department already had serious debts, Congress was unwilling to approve more funding for military supplies. Greene struggled endlessly to gather enough provisions to fuel an army. At times, he used his own private funds.

After two years, Greene resigned as quartermaster and was offered command of the Southern Department in the fall of 1780. After years of constant warfare, the South was in disarray, and its inhabitants were impoverished. The British had a strong hold on South Carolina and Georgia, and when Greene took over, they were busy making plans to move into North Carolina and Virginia. However, Greene devised a military strategy that contributed directly to the collapse of British power in the South and to the final U.S. victory in the American Revolution.

Eli Whitney and the cotton gin

In 1792, Caty Greene's Mulberry Grove neighbors asked her to help them find a tutor for their family. Greene sought advice from Ezra Stiles, the man who had recommended Miller. Stiles suggested another Yale graduate, a young man named Eli Whitney. Greene and Miller met Whitney in New York City, and the trio then traveled together to Mulberry Grove in Georgia. When Whitney discovered the teaching job did not pay as well as advertised, Greene invited him to stay at her plantation where he could make money by solving mechanical problems around the place. Whitney chose to take the offer and enjoy the gracious hospitality of Caty Greene. She recognized his talents and encouraged his creativity in working on mechanical equipment. Whitney enjoyed the attention and the freedom to fashion a variety of items for use around the plantation.

Whitney was included in Greene's circle of friends and houseguests. He was often involved in dinner conversations about the postwar economy. Tobacco prices had dropped, but cotton held great promise as a cash crop. Plantation owners agreed that growing cotton would be very profitable if the process of cotton ginning could be sped up with the invention of a machine. Whitney drew up some plans and showed the drawings to Miller. The two of them then consulted with Greene, and she agreed to furnish the funds for the construction and experimental use of a cotton gin. She set up a laboratory where the work would take place; Miller, Whitney, and Greene were the only people allowed to enter the lab.

Whitney built a small model of the cotton engine, or gin, and showed it to Greene and Miller. At first, the cotton lint clogged the teeth of the cylinder. The problem was solved by adding a coarse brush on a second revolving cylinder. Legend has it that Greene was the one who introduced the solution, thereby creating a working model to present for a patent. A patent was awarded on March 14, 1794, retroactive to November 6, 1793, when the patent office received the descriptions and drawing. Miller and Whitney formed a company, funded by Greene's money, and began manufacturing the machines.

Word of the cotton gin spread, and the simple design was soon copied by several manufacturers. Rather than licensing their competitors to build the machines, Miller and Whitney held out for a monopoly (control over all production and sales). However, the cotton gin proved such a simple machine it was easy for others to build their own and not rely on Miller and Whitney. Therefore thoughts of wealth quickly disappeared. Catharine Greene was once again in financial distress. She and Phineas Miller finally married in 1796. Despite their best efforts, Mulberry Grove could never become a financial success as a plantation. In 1798, they finally put it on the auction block for unpaid taxes.

Dungeness

Greene, Miller, and the remaining children still living at home moved to Cumberland Island to begin anew. Using the foundation Nathanael had laid for a future home, they oversaw the completion of the house, which they called Dungeness. They developed a prosperous plantation there, and Greene experienced much happiness until Miller died in December 1803. He was thirty-nine.

Once again, Greene found herself widowed and facing more unpaid bills. By 1807, Eli Whitney's patent had expired, ending any real hope of return on her investments on the cotton gin. By 1814, the new war with Britain, theWar of 1812 (1812–15), was almost two years old, and the Georgia seaboard was under imminent threat of invasion. Greene continued her life as hostess to friends, new and old, but her last years were a constant struggle. She died of a fever in 1814.

For More Information

Books

James, Edward T., ed. Notable American Women 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University, 1971.

Lakwete, Angela. Inventing the Cotton Gin: Machine and Myth in Antebellum America. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003.

Stegeman, John F., and Janet A. Stegeman. Caty: A Biography of Catharine Littlefield Greene. Providence, RI: Rhode Island Bicentennial Foundation, 1977. Reprint, Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1986.

Thane, Elswyth. The Fighting Quaker: Nathanael Greene. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1972.

Thayer, Theodore. Nathanael Greene: Strategist of the American Revolution. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1960.

Web Sites

"The Inventor." The Eli Whitney Museum.http://www.eliwhitney.org/inventor.htm (accessed on August 13, 2005).

"Teaching with Documents: Eli Whitney's Patent for the Cotton Gin." The National Archives.http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/lessons (accessed on August 13, 2005).