POPS

Cathay Williams was the first documented African American woman to enlist in the U.S. Army. Williams was born in 1844 in Independence, Missouri. During the Civil War, Williams worked as a washerwoman and cook for the Union Army when they were stationed in Missouri and a few other states in the South. After the war, Williams wanted to be independent. In November 1866, she disguised herself as a man, William Cathay, and enlisted in the Thirty-Eighth United States Infantry, Company A (Buffalo Soldiers). Williams did not have to undergo a medical examination at the time of her enlistment, so she was not caught. She served in New Mexico at Fort Cummings, where soldiers in her unit protected travelers and miners from Apache Indian attacks. Williams was frequently ill with smallpox and greatly weakened. In October 1868 she revealed her female identity to an army doctor and was discharged.
Although there are no known photographs or drawings of Williams, here is her enlistment document from 1866. (Credit: National Archives)