Cathay williams, aka Pvt. William Cathey

Though she did not enlist into the Army as a man until after the Civil War had ended, Cathay Williams’ involvement during the Civil War and her importance as the first African American woman to enlist as a soldier qualify her as a “Civil War Soldierette.”

Cathay was born to a free man but her mother was a slave, which meant Cathay was also a slave the moment she was born. She worked on the Johnson plantation outside Jefferson City, Missouri. Her master died around the same time that Union forces occupied Jefferson City in the early part of the war, and slaves were considered “contraband” of the Union. They were often impressed into serving in the army, and this is just what happened to Cathay Williams, who became a part of the 8th Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment at age seventeen.

For the next several years, Cathay marched with this company through Arkansas, Louisiana and Georgia. During these marches she would have come across some of the African American soldiers, or “Buffalo Soldiers” as they were commonly called. It is speculated that seeing those men inspired Cathay’s later decision to enlist.

The Civil War ended, but for Cathay, her life as a solider was not yet over. On November 15, 1866, she enlisted with the United States Regular Army in St. Louis as William Cathay. Because she was illiterate, though, her last name was spelled Cathey, and this was how she was known for the rest of her military career.

William Cathey's enlistment document

William Cathey served as a soldier for two years, during which she went to the hospital at least five different times for various complaints, including rheumatism, neuralgia, and army “itch”. Her stays were often prolonged, and it is possible that Cathay had a condition which could have caused her to be more susceptible to illness. But despite her frequent hospital visits, it seems that no one discovered that William Cathey was actually a woman.

Little is known about Cathay as a soldier. She was neither distinguished nor disgraced, and her fellow soldiers’ opinions of her are unknown.

On October 14, 1868, William Cathey was discharged from the army on the grounds that he was “feeble both physically and mentally” and was therefore unfit to perform his military duties. The surgeon stated that Cathey’s feeble condition had existed prior to enlistment.

William Cathey discharged for being "feeble both physically and mentally"

It would be another eighty years until it became legal for women to join the army. Cathay Williams remains an important woman historically as the first female buffalo soldier and the only documented African American woman to disguise herself as a man and enlist in the army.

If you’d like to learn more about Cathay’s life before and after her enlistment, visit Fold3’s topic page “Female Buffalo Soldier,” by bgill.

Civil War Soldierettes Part 2 Cathay Williams