Private Cato Underwood*

Private Cato Underwood (1754-unknown), recorded as a Negro in Revolutionary War sources, is credited for serving for the town of Needham as well as for Natick. He initially enlisted in 1775 in Captain Aaron Haynes’ Company and Colonel Jonathan Brewer’s Regiment, for a service term of 7 days. His name appears later on service records at Fishkill, New York. It is unclear what his connection to the other soldiers with the same surname from Needham was. He is possibly the same Cato Underwood who was one of the founding members of Black Freemasonry, and signed his name to a petition to end slavery in Massachusetts in 1777. It appears he resided in Boston after the war, where there are records of poll taxes he paid.

Note: More often than not, service, vital, and/or other historical records were created and kept by men of English and European backgrounds. They employed a wide range of descriptive terms, such as "mulatto," negro," and "dark complexion." These terms cannot fully capture any soldier's identity, but they do offer clues. In some cases, the surname of a soldier of color connects him to a Natick family that is well documented. Often, these soldiers are Indigenous men. The biographies in this project make it possible to say more not only about a soldier's identity or background, but also about the life he led in Natick and beyond.