The first Afrikan Amerikan woman to join the Army and the only known female Buffalo Soldier

From a slave to a soldier

She was named Cathay Williams in 1844 to an enslaved mother and a free father in Independence, MO. As an enslaved person, she worked in the plantation house outside Jefferson City, MO until the Union soldiers occupied the area in 1861. Her capture, at the age of 16 (?), resulted in her being forced to serve as a cook and washerwoman for the Union. She traveled under General Philip Sheridan, and he brought her to Washington as a paid servant. While traveling with General Sheridan, she experienced military life first hand and was likely at the Battle of Pea Ridge near Fayetteville, AR in 1862, as well as the Red River Campaign in LA, in 1864. She witnessed Union soldiers burn cotton fields and sink at least one Confederate gunboat.

She was called contraband. In the historical sense of the word, contraband was used to describe enslaved people who, during the American Civil War, had escaped or been brought within the Union lines.  IOW, she was “property that is in a place it should not be.” When the Civil War ended, she was no longer enslaved but she was no longer employed. There were very few employment options for formerly enslaved people, particularly women. Because of her previous experience with military life and the security it offered, she was daring enough to decide she would try to become a soldier.

She chose the name of William Cathay and was the first black woman to enlist in the U.S. Army. Women were not allowed to serve and so she posed as a man. She could have legally continued as a cook but they made less money than the soldiers, and at 5 feet 9 inches tall, she decided that she could pass as a male.  She said “The regiment I joined wore the Zouave uniform and only two persons, a cousin and a particular friend, members of the regiment, knew that I was a woman. They never ‘blowed’ on me. They were partly the cause of my joining the Army. Another reason was I wanted to make my own living and not be dependent on relations or friends.” The army offered a steady paycheck, and benefits such as healthcare, and a pension.

Her enlistment began when she volunteered for a 3 year term in St. Louis, MO in 1866. She is the only documented woman serving as a man during the Indian Wars. At the time of her enlistment, the Army did not require more than a perfunctory medical examination or her gender would have been summarily discovered. She traveled extensively between her time working under General Sheridan and her enlistment in the 38th U. S. Infantry Regiment. The substantial travel and often brutal conditions, combined with her diabetes, took a toll on her health. She was reportedly hospitalized on 5 occasions at 4 different hospitals.

She was the only known female Buffalo Soldier. In 1866, Congress passed the Army Organization Act which allowed for the creation of six cavalry and infantry regiments that were all black. They were tasked with helping to control the Native Peoples, capture thieves, and protect settlers as America was expanding along the western front. They were to safeguard the railroad crews, wagon trains, and map areas that were previously unknown to white America. They were known as the Buffalo Soldiers (they were active until 1951). They also served as the nation’s first park rangers (pictured above).

Although many accounts refer to Cathay Williams, I found many inconsistencies within the various reports. Some say that her gender was never discovered, others record otherwise. In any event, it appears that she was denied her pension. She suffered from smallpox and diabetes and was eventually unable to fulfill her duties as a soldier. Again, I found disagreement over whether she was denied her pension because of her gender, i.e., because she served illegally, or because they found her ailments to be insufficient to warrant a disability pension. The latter is noteworthy because she was discharged due to a preexisting disability.

After her discharge, she found herself employed in the jobs that she had previously been able to avoid. She continued work as a cook and a laundress in CO until she was unable to do so. She died in CO, between 1892 and 1900. I found it impossible to discern the dates of her pensions requests in the U.S. Army Pension Records, which is probably one reason the date of her death is in dispute. Her name does not appear in the 1890 census in Trinidad, CO so historians assume she had passed by that date. Her final resting place is unknown.

She was honored in 2016 in Leavenworth, KS by the Richard Allen Cultural Center. In 2018, a bench was unveiled in her honor by the National Infantry Museum.

It’s Women’s Herstory? Month so celebrate the strong women in your lives and learn about others! How many of you are humming a little Bob Marley right now? Always forward.

Citations:

Wounded Warrior Project, 2020

Teaching Tolerance, SPLC, Hidden Figures of Women’s History by Valerie Haeder

http://www.nps.gov>people>cwilliams

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/208486

blackhistorynow.com

 

source: The first African American woman to join the Army and the only known female Buffalo Soldier