Cathay Williams

Cathay Williams was a Female Buffalo Soldier

Cathay Williams lived a life that challenged nearly every social boundary of her time: race, gender, and class. Born enslaved and denied basic rights, she still found a way to serve in the United States Army during a period when neither women nor African Americans were treated as equals. Her story is one of survival, determination, and quiet rebellion.

Early Life in Slavery

Cathay Williams was born around 1844 in Independence, Missouri, during the height of slavery in the United States. Her mother was enslaved, which legally made Cathay enslaved as well, despite her father reportedly being a free Black man.

As a child and young woman, she would have experienced the violence and restrictions of slavery firsthand. Missouri was a border state during the Civil War, deeply divided between Union and Confederate loyalties.

When Union troops occupied Jefferson City in 1861, enslaved people in the area were often forced into military labor. Williams became one of many African Americans pressed into service as cooks, laundresses, nurses, and laborers supporting Union forces.

Why She Joined the Army

After the Civil War ended, Congress created several all-Black Army regiments. These soldiers later became known as the “Buffalo Soldiers,” a name reportedly given by Native American tribes.

Women were forbidden from military service, but opportunities for Black women in postwar America were extremely limited. Williams disguised herself as a man and enlisted in St. Louis in 1866 under the name “William Cathay.”

Historians believe several factors motivated her:

Economic survival

Desire for independence

Access to stable pay, food, and clothing

The possibility of freedom and mobility unavailable to Black women at the time

Life as a Buffalo Soldier

Williams joined the 38th U.S. Infantry Regiment and traveled across harsh military posts in the American Southwest.

Army life was physically brutal:

Long marches

Disease outbreaks

Poor medical care

Harsh weather

Racism inside and outside the military

She reportedly suffered from repeated illness, including smallpox and chronic health problems. Eventually, Army doctors discovered she was biologically female while treating her in a hospital, leading to her discharge in 1868.

Public Discovery of Her Story

For years, her service remained largely unknown. In 1876, a reporter from the St. Louis Daily Times interviewed her, creating the only detailed firsthand account historians possess today.

In the interview, Williams described:

Passing military inspections

Serving alongside male soldiers

Avoiding detection for nearly two years

The hardships she endured after discharge

Without that interview, historians might never have known her story.

Later Years and Hardship

After leaving the Army, Williams worked as a seamstress and cook in New Mexico and Colorado.

Her health declined dramatically later in life. She suffered from diabetes and partial blindness and entered a hospital around 1891. She applied for a military disability pension but was denied because Army officials argued her disabilities were unrelated to her service.

She disappeared from historical records afterward and likely died around 1893.