12 Facts About Cathay Williams

Cathay Williams became the first female to enlist and the only documented woman to serve in the US Army while posing as a man during the Indian Wars.

Cathay Williams was born in September 1844 in Independence, Missouri to a free man and a woman in slavery, making her legal status that of a slave.

Cathay Williams was assigned to the 38th United States Infantry Regiment after she passed a cursory medical examination.

Cathay Williams is believed to be the first black woman to be awarded the Good Conduct Medal.

Shortly after her enlistment, Cathay Williams contracted smallpox, was hospitalized and later rejoined her unit, which by then was posted in New Mexico.

Cathay Williams was discharged from the Army by her commanding officer, Captain Charles E Clarke, on October 14,1868.

Cathay Williams worked as a cook at Fort Union, New Mexico and later moved to Pueblo, Colorado.

Cathay Williams married, but it ended disastrously when her husband stole her money and a team of horses.

Cathay Williams moved to Trinidad, Colorado, where she worked as a seamstress.

In late 1889 or early 1890, Cathay 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 exact date of Cathay Williams' death is unknown, but it is assumed she died shortly after being denied a pension, probably sometime in 1893.

In 2016, a bronze bust of Cathay Williams, featuring information about her and with a small rose garden around it, was unveiled outside the Richard Allen Cultural Center in Leavenworth, Kansas.