page_title: Praying Indian
section_title: Soldiers of Praying Indian origin
hierarchical_section_title: Praying Indian / Praying Indians in the Revolutionary War / Soldiers of Praying Indian origin
caption_attribution_description: English: A partial list of names memorialized on the monument in Natick
context_page_description: Praying Indian is a 17th-century term referring to Native Americans of New England, New York, Ontario and Quebec who converted to Christianity either voluntarily or involuntarily. Many groups are referred to by this term, but it is more commonly used for tribes that were organized into villages. These villages were known as praying towns and were established by missionaries such as Puritan leader John Eliot and Jesuit missionaries St. Regis and Kahnawake and the missionaries among the Huron in western Ontario.
context_section_description: Histories for Native American, African-American, and other minority groups were compiled by Revolutionary War historian George Quintal Jr. in his book Patriots of Color: ‘A Peculiar Beauty and Merit’. A sampling of histories of Praying Indian soldiers is found below:
  James Anthony was born in Natick and initially served for eight months in 1775 in the regiment of Col. Jonathan Ward and in the company of Capt. James Mellen. He later re-enlisted for three years from 1777 to 1780 in the 4th Massachusetts Regiment under Col. William Shepherd, serving in Capt. Reuben Slayton's company. The unit fought at Saratoga and was present at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777. Anthony was discharged 14 March 1780.
  Caesar Ferrit from Natick came from a diverse background: West Indies, French, Dutch, and Natick Indian. Born around 1720, he was raised in Boston by an English family and studied animal husbandry. He lived in Boston for several years but then moved to live among the Natick Indian community in 1751; this may have been the group he identified strongest with. He answered the call for Minutemen at Lexington and Concord with his son John and was part of a group of militia under Capt. Joseph Morse that ambushed British soldiers in Lexington. This engagement was likely one of the first skirmishes of the battle and the entire Revolutionary War. He enlisted in various militias and regiments throughout the war, serving in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York under numerous commanding officers. He was discharged from service in 1781 at the approximate age of 61. He died in Natick in 1799 at the approximate age of 79.
  John Ferrit was the son of Caesar Ferrit and followed his father to the Battle of Lexington and Concord. He was part of the company under Capt. Morse that was likely one of the first groups to directly engage the British at Lexington. Like his father, he served in various units throughout the war and fought in New York and Rhode Island. He was discharged in 1781.
  Thomas Ferrit had a much shorter military stint than his brother or father. Born in 1751, he served for two days as a Minuteman at Lexington under the command of Capt. Ebenezer Battle. After the skirmish there is no record of military service, but he was married in Natick in 1777.
  Joseph Paugenit Jr. was born in Framingham and was baptized in Natick in 1754. His father, Joseph Sr., fought during the French and Indian War. He served in the company of Capt. Thomas Drury under the command of Col. John Nixon, and fought at Bunker Hill. He later re-enlisted in the Col. Thomas Nixon's 4th Regiment in New York and fought at the Battles of Harlem Heights and White Plains. After his second discharge he re-enlisted a second time, once again under Col. Thomas Nixon. He fought at the Battle of Saratoga and was reported as deceased soon after, likely as the result of wounds sustained during the battle or from contracting smallpox.
  Alexander Quapish was born circa 1741 and enlisted in Dedham in 1775. He served as a member of Lt. Col. Loammi Baldwin's main guard in the regiment of Col. John Brewer. He took ill in March 1776 and died in Needham. Records indicate Michael Bacon, who cared for him in his last days, conducted his burial and sought compensation from the Continental Army for his services.
  Samuel Comecho served in the Battle of Bunker Hill under the command of Capt. Benjamin Bullard in Col. Jonathan Brewer's regiment. Born in Natick, Comecho enlisted for eight month's service and his unit held the line at Bunker Hill between the redoubt and the rail fence. He re-enlisted on the first day of 1776 in Col. Asa Whitcomb's regiment and served in Capt. William Hudson Ballard's company in the Canadian theater. It was reported that he died on March 14, 1776. The cause of death was likely smallpox.
caption: A partial list of names on the Natick monument
exif: {}