Cathay Williams

Cathay Williams
Nickname	William Cathay (nom de guerre)
Born	September 1842 Independence, Missouri
Died	1892 (aged 47–48) Trinidad, Colorado
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1866 - 1868
Rank	Private
Unit	Company A, 38th U.S. Infantry Regiment, Buffalo Soldiers
Commands held	United States Army
Battles/wars	American Civil War

Cathay Williams (September 1844 - 1892) was an American soldier. She is the first African-American female to enlist, and the only documented to serve in the United States Army posing as a man, under the pseudonym William Cathay.

Biography

Early years

Williams was born in Independence, Missouri to a free man of color and a woman in bondage, making her legal status also that of a slave. During her adolescence, Williams worked as a house servant on the Johnson plantation on the outskirts of Jefferson City, Missouri. In 1861 Union forces occupied Jefferson City in the early stages of the American Civil War. At that time, captured slaves were officially designated by the Union as "contraband," and many were forced to serve in military support roles such as cooks, laundresses, or nurses. At age seventeen, Williams was impressed into serving the 8th Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment, commanded by Colonel William Plummer Benton.

Civil War

For the next few years, Williams travelled with the 8th Indiana, accompanying the soldiers on their marches through Arkansas, Louisiana, and Georgia. She was present at the Battle of Pea Ridge and the Red River Campaign. At one time she was transferred to Little Rock, where she would have seen uniformed African-American men serving as soldiers, which may have inspired her own interest in military service. Later, Williams was transferred to Washington, D.C., where she served with General Philip Sheridan's command. When the war ended, Williams was working at Jefferson Barracks.

Despite the prohibition against women serving in the military, Williams enlisted in the United States Regular Army on 15 November 1866 at St. Louis, Missouri for a three year engagement, passing herself off as a man. Only two others are known to have been privy to the deception, her cousin and a friend, both of whom were fellow soldiers in her regiment.

Shortly after her enlistment, Williams contracted smallpox, was hospitalized and rejoined her unit, which by then was posted in New Mexico. Possibly due to the effects of smallpox, the New Mexico heat, or the cumulative effects of years of marching, her body began to show signs of strain. She was frequently hospitalized. The post surgeon finally discovered she was a woman and informed the post commander. She was discharged from the Army by her commanding officer, Captain Charles E. Clarke on October 14, 1868.

Personal life

Williams went to work as a cook at Fort Union, New Mexico, and later moved to Pueblo, Colorado. Williams married, but it ended disastrously when her husband stole her money and a team of horses. Williams had him arrested. She next moved to Trinidad, Colorado, where she made her living as a seamstress. She may also have owned a boarding house. It was at this time that Williams' story first became public. A reporter from St. Louis heard rumors of a female African-American who had served in the army, and came to interview her. Her life and military service narrative was published in The St. Louis Daily Times on 2 January 1876.

In late 1889 or early 1890, Williams entered a local hospital where she remained for some time, and in June 1891, applied for a disability pension based on her military service. The nature of her illness and disability are unknown. There was precedent for granting a pension to female soldiers. Deborah Sampson in 1816, and Mary Hayes McCauley (better known as Molly Pitcher) had been granted pensions for disguising themselves as men to serve in the American Revolutionary War. Sampson's cause had been championed by none other than Paul Revere. However, Williams had no influential friends to help her.

In September 1891, a doctor employed by the Pension Bureau examined Williams. Despite the fact that she suffered from neuralgia and diabetes, had had all her toes amputated, and could only walk with a crutch, the doctor decided she did not qualify for disability payments. Her application was rejected.

The exact date of Williams' death is unknown, but it is assumed she died shortly after being denied a pension, probably sometime in 1892. Her simple grave marker would have been made of wood and deteriorated long ago. Thus her final resting place is now unknown.

See also

• African-American firsts
• List of wartime crossdressers

References

v t e Buffalo Soldiers Predecessors United States Colored Troops Bureau of Colored Troops Original units 9th Cavalry Regiment 10th Cavalry Regiment 24th Infantry Regiment 25th Infantry Regiment Medal of Honor recipients (1866–1918) Edward L. Baker, Jr. Dennis Bell Thomas Boyne Benjamin Brown George Ritter Burnett Louis H. Carpenter John Denny Clinton Greaves Henry Johnson George Jordan Fitz Lee Isaiah Mays William McBryar Thomas Shaw Emanuel Stance Freddie Stowers William H. Thompkins Augustus Walley George H. Wanton Moses Williams William Othello Wilson Brent Woods Notable battles (1866–1918) American Indian Wars Saline River Texas–Indian wars Beecher Island Wichita I Beaver Creek North Fork Red River War Wichita II Apache Wars Victorio Campaign Fort Tularosa Bannock Uprising Yaqui Uprising Bear Valley Spanish–American War Las Guasimas Tayacoba El Caney San Juan Heights Santiago Philippine–American War Moro Rebellion Border War Pancho Villa Expedition Carrizal Ambos Nogales World War I Third Battle of the Aisne Second Battle of the Marne Meuse-Argonne Offensive Oise-Aisne Offensive See also Wham Paymaster Robbery Brownsville Affair Bisbee Riot United States Armed Forces Military history of African Americans