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217:, was hospitalized and later 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 frequently was 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.
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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.
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Because of the prohibition against women serving in the military, Cathay
Williams enlisted in the United States Regular Army under the false name of William Cathay on November 15, 1866 at St. Louis, Missouri for a three-year engagement, passing herself off as a man. She was assigned to the
291:
The exact date of
Williams' death is unknown, but it is assumed she died shortly after being denied a pension, probably sometime in 1893. Her grave marker is likely to have been made of wood and deteriorated long ago. Thus her final resting place is unknown.
236:. It was at this time that Williams' story first became public. A reporter from St. Louis heard rumors of an African-American woman who had served in the army, and he came to interview her. Her life and military service narrative was published in
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469:. Series: Case Files of Disapproved Pension Applications of Veterans of the Army and the Navy Who Served Mainly in the Civil War and the War with Spain, ca. 1861 - ca. 1934. 1934. Archived from
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after she passed a cursory medical examination. 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.
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and later moved to Pueblo, Colorado. She married, but it ended disastrously when her husband stole her money and a team of horses. Williams had him arrested.
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An
Exceptional Woman. Female Buffalo Soldier—With Documents. Cathay Williams or William Cathay (Cathey), Private, Thirty-eighth U.S. Infantry, 1866-1868
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In 2016, a bronze bust of Cathay
Williams, featuring information about her and with a small rose garden around it, was unveiled outside the
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157:. Williams became the first female to enlist and the only documented woman to serve in the U.S. Army while posing as a man during the
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Disapproved
Pension Application File for Cathay Williams (aka William Cathay), 38th U.S. Infantry Regiment, Company A (SO-1032593)
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to a free man and a woman in slavery, making her legal status also that of a slave. During her adolescence, Williams worked as a
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Voices of the
Buffalo Soldier: Records, reports, and recollections of military life and service in the West
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149:(September 1844 – 1893) was an American soldier. An African-American woman, she enlisted in the
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In 2018, the
Private Cathay Williams monument bench was unveiled on the Walk of Honor at the
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She moved to
Trinidad, Colorado, where she worked as a seamstress. She may also have owned a
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African
Americans in the U.S. Army, Profiles of Bravery: Cathay Williams – U.S. Army website
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486:"Monument to female Buffalo Soldier is dedicated in Leavenworth | The Kansas City Star"
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454:. Edited by Frank N. Schubert. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2003, p. 33.
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678:. Sources pertaining to Cathay Williams' life compiled by the National Park Service
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on the
Johnson plantation on the outskirts of Jefferson City, Missouri. In 1861
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185:. At that time, captured slaves officially were designated by the Union as
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693:(1st ed.). Texas A & M University Press: College Station, Tex.
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Amazons to Fighter Pilots – A Biographical Dictionary of Military Women
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508:"Buffalo Soldiers honor first female, documented U.S. Army soldier"
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examined Cathay Williams. Despite the fact that she suffered from
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Fails to Make Enough Room for Each Star Among Its Stellar Cast"
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Buffalo soldiers in the West : a Black soldiers anthology
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429:. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 482–483.
576:"Profiles in Courage: Cathay Williams aka William Cathay"
136:
38th U.S. Infantry Regiment, U.S. Army (Buffalo soldier)
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Female wartime cross-dressers in the American Civil War
264:) had been granted pensions for their service in the
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Cathy Williams: From Slave to Female Buffalo Soldier
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213:Shortly after her enlistment, Williams contracted
201:Cathay Williams' disability discharge certificate
169:Cathay Williams was born in September 1844 in
659:"The Ballad of Cathay Williams William Cathay"
1323:African-American United States Army personnel
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604:African American History in the American West
247:U.S. Army Pension records for Cathay Williams
8:
1303:People of Missouri in the American Civil War
276:In September 1892, a doctor employed by the
1283:African Americans in the American Civil War
260:, and Mary Hayes McCauley (better known as
1278:African Americans in the American Old West
1268:African-American female military personnel
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582:. United States Army. 2008. Archived from
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689:Glasrud, Bruce; Searles, Michael (2007).
484:Davismirandadavis, Miranda (2016-07-22).
620:"Female Buffalo Soldier- With Documents"
673:Cathay Williams: Female Buffalo Soldier
532:Zacharek, Stephanie (October 6, 2021).
387:
1236:Military history of African Americans
552:from the original on October 28, 2021
395:Tucker, Phillip Thomas (2002-01-01).
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1328:19th-century African-American people
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225:Cathay Williams worked as a cook at
208:38th United States Infantry Regiment
1318:19th-century African-American women
598:Ramona L. Rand-Caplan, ed. (2008).
1273:People from Independence, Missouri
641:. 3 September 2005. Archived from
639:African-American News & Issues
618:Stanford L. Davis (25 June 2006).
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506:Gunn, Olivia (17 February 2018).
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1308:People of the American Old West
85:U.S. government, self-employed
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356:List of wartime crossdressers
302:Richard Allen Cultural Center
69:John Williams, William Cathay
1293:19th-century American slaves
778:United States Colored Troops
55:1893 (aged 50–51)
16:American soldier (1844–1893)
1333:19th-century American women
600:"Williams, Cathay (1850– )"
221:Post-military service years
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1175:Second Battle of the Marne
676:Archived from the original
425:Pennington, Reina (2003).
272:Declining health and death
266:American Revolutionary War
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1170:Third Battle of the Aisne
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343:American Civil War portal
238:The St. Louis Daily Times
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77:Soldier, cook, seamstress
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783:Bureau of Colored Troops
309:National Infantry Museum
304:in Leavenworth, Kansas.
111:United States of America
1180:Meuse–Argonne offensive
1142:Pancho Villa Expedition
1116:Philippine–American War
825:25th Infantry Regiment
377:modeled after Williams.
351:African-American firsts
1205:Wham Paymaster Robbery
966:William Othello Wilson
820:24th Infantry Regiment
796:
248:
227:Fort Union, New Mexico
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171:Independence, Missouri
45:Independence, Missouri
1078:Spanish–American War
866:George Ritter Burnett
815:10th Cavalry Regiment
795:
657:Shane McCrae (2012).
622:. Buffalo Soldier.net
246:
200:
117:Years of service
1185:Oise-Aisne Offensive
990:American Indian Wars
941:William H. Thompkins
810:9th Cavalry Regiment
645:on 27 September 2007
537:The Harder They Fall
362:The Harder They Fall
240:on January 2, 1876.
153:under the pseudonym
846:Edward L. Baker Jr.
401:. Stackpole Books.
373:portrays Cuffee, a
367:revisionist Western
278:U.S. Pension Bureau
1229:United States Army
1210:Brownsville Affair
871:Louis H. Carpenter
797:
371:Danielle Deadwyler
249:
203:
151:United States Army
59:Trinidad, Colorado
1338:Colorado pioneers
1245:
1244:
1193:
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1043:Victorio Campaign
1003:Texas–Indian wars
700:978-1-60344-449-1
193:U.S. Army service
144:
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1298:Buffalo Soldiers
1101:San Juan Heights
1053:Bannock Uprising
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980:Notable battles
951:George H. Wanton
764:Buffalo Soldiers
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911:William McBryar
886:Clinton Greaves
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1086:Las Guasimas
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998:Saline River
856:Thomas Boyne
771:Predecessors
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663:. Retrieved
647:. Retrieved
643:the original
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1215:Bisbee Riot
1162:World War I
1063:Bear Valley
1038:Apache Wars
982:(1866–1918)
971:Brent Woods
926:Thomas Shaw
921:Isaac Payne
906:Isaiah Mays
851:Dennis Bell
839:(1866–1918)
837:recipients
661:. Poets.org
556:November 4,
175:house slave
159:Indian Wars
82:Employer(s)
1252:Categories
1134:Border War
1033:Wichita II
1023:North Fork
916:Adam Paine
876:John Denny
665:2012-11-27
649:2007-01-15
626:2007-07-30
610:2008-11-13
590:2008-11-13
492:2016-07-30
382:References
187:contraband
165:Early life
99:Allegiance
1013:Wichita I
956:John Ward
709:607825144
365:, a 2021
282:neuralgia
256:in 1816,
183:Civil War
120:1866–1868
1198:See also
1147:Carrizal
1106:Santiago
1096:El Caney
1091:Tayacoba
901:Fitz Lee
550:Archived
315:See also
286:diabetes
215:smallpox
569:Sources
517:8 April
128:private
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296:Honors
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705:OCLC
695:ISBN
558:2021
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519:2020
512:WTVM
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