Cato Howe was an enslaved African American Black Patriot spy and courier during the American Revolution. Cato's enslaver, Hercules Mulligan, gathered intelligence through his connections as well as clients at his New York City tailoring shop. Cato carried the information on horseback to Continental Army officers and other revolutionaries, including Alexander Hamilton and George Washington, and often through British-held territory. Cato's messages are credited with saving Washington's life on two occasions. Besides 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.

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 George Washington and taken from Culpeper County, Virginia. The leaders of the spy ring were Abraham Woodhull and Robert Townsend, using the aliases of "Samuel Culper Sr." and "Samuel Culper Jr.", respectively; Tallmadge was referred to as "John Bolton".