Cathay Williams
Before we leave the Civil War for good in this post, there is just one more example of a woman who just wouldn’t allow herself to be stuck far from the front lines. What makes this story even more interesting was that the person that will be described was not just a woman, but also an African-American woman, who was once also a former slave. This remarkable woman who overcome barriers of gender and skin color, was Cathay Williams who was born in 1844 in Independence, Missouri.
Her father was a freeman but her mother was still a slave which, unfortunately, automatically made young Williams also a slave. As such, she worked as a house slave on a plantation. When Union forces occupied the area in 1861, all slaves were considered to be “contraband” property and therefore impressed into service by the Union army. Williams found herself employed by the 8th Indiana Volunteer Regiment. Throughout the war, she would remain with the Union army in various locations and battles.
After the conclusion of the Civil War, Williams decided that she wanted to join the army herself as a free person. However, she was the wrong gender to do so. But this did not stop her plans. On November 15, 1866, Cathay Williams became “John Williams” and enlisted in the U.S. Regular Army for a three-year contract. From there she joined the 38th Regiment in patrolling the western states. She successfully managed to hide her gender but was uncovered and discharged from the service in 1868. She remained out west and lived in New Mexico and Colorado. She applied for a disability pension from the military but was denied in the end. She dies sometime in 1891 but the exact date and location of her burial are unknown to this day.