BLACK WOMAN SOLDIER 1866-1868

An Analysis Of Cathay Williams' Medical Condition and Efforts
     To Gain Pension And Disability Allowances

NOTE: Since the publication of this article, facts concerning Cathay Williams' life and military service have come to light, answering some of the questions presented in this article.

On November 15, 1866 Cathay  Williams became a soldier. She enlisted with the United States Regular Army in St. Louis, Missouri, intending on a three year tour of duty. She had never been in the army before. She informed the recruiting officer that she  was 22 years old and by occupation a cook. She named Independence, Missouri  the place of her birth.

When asked her name, she must have replied William Cathay. As she was illiterate, her papers read William Cathey, and by that name and spelling she would be known the rest of her army career. The recruiting officer described William Cathey that day as 5'9", with black eyes, black hair, and black complexion.

An army surgeon examined William Cathey upon enlistment, and determined that the recruit was fit for duty. We can assume the exam was cursory, only checking for obvious and superficial impairments or abnormalities. If either the surgeon or the recruiting officer realized that William Cathey was female they kept the fact to themselves. It seems highly unlikely they knew the truth, because 19th century U.S. Army regulations forbade the regular enlistment or commissioning of women.

Other than the place of her birth, nothing is known of this woman prior to her enlistment in the U.S. Army. Information about her family life and  circumstances prior to enlistment, including whether she was born slave or free, has not been found.(1) Even her age at the time of enlistment is  uncertain.

She might have been only 16 years old and lied about her age, a notuncommon ploy among her male counterparts. The army in the 19th century hardly ever checked the veracity of age claims, or asked for proof of  identity.

Her reasons for becoming a soldier are a matter of conjecture, as she never stated them. Was she fleeing an unhappy life with family or other relations?  Was she an orphan? She might have had compelling reasons to change her  identity, such as running from something or someone. Perhaps she viewed the army as a way to get out of Missouri, or get away from home. Maybe she found cooking for a living unsatisfactory. Or did she simply want the adventure of  being a soldier?

It seems reasonable that she viewed the army as a job open to African-Americans, with prospects for a decent livelihood and a semblance of respect. We can presume Cathay Williams had no substantial means of support other than herself. There is no evidence she ever married.)She was uneducated, and therefore consigned to laboring for her wages. As a black woman in 1866, her prospects were dim and low-paying. As a black man in the army she would earn more money than a black female cook.

Whatever her motivations in joining the army, she may not have realized she was setting a precedent. While she was not the first woman to enlist in the  army -- women disguised as men fought in the volunteer armies of the Revolution and the Civil War -- Cathay Williams may be the first to have  served in the United States Regular Army in the 19th century. To date, she is the only documented African-American woman who served in the U.S. Army prior to the official introduction of women.

  Very little is known about the details of William Cathey's service because  personnel records were not kept for Regular Army enlisted soldiers during the 19th century. The unit muster rolls, compiled every two months, rated  the company as a whole, listed its members, and occasionally included comments regarding the individual soldier. The muster rolls reveal that  William Cathey did not have an illustrious, or even an exciting army career.  She was an average soldier. She neither distinguished herself nor disgraced  her uniform while in the service. She was never singled out for praise or punishment. The opinions held of William Cathey by peers and officers is  unknown. Whether she was congenial or aloof, outspoken or retiring is a mystery.

Furthermore, the records cannot tell us if she faced difficulties concealing  the fact she was female. It may have been easy for her. She was one of the tallest privates in her company, and she probably never experienced close physical scrutiny during her service, despite hospital visits. The mechanics of how she successfully concealed her femininity are left to speculation. We  do not know whether or not she found the necessary deception stressful.

Upon enlistment, William Cathey was assigned to the 38th U.S. Infantry. The 38th Infantry was officially established in August 1866 as a designated,  segregated African-American unit. (The 39th, 40th, and 41st Infantries were also designated black units that year.) The officers of the segregated  African-American regiments were white, and the regimental headquarters of  the 38th was located at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. The 38th through 41st Infantries were short-lived, however. In March 1869, after William Cathey's  discharge, they were consolidated into the historically familiar  African-American 24th and 25th Infantries.(2)

From her enlistment date until February 1867, William Cathey was stationed at Jefferson Barracks. Her time there would have been spent in training and  the daily routine of army camp life. It is uncertain, though, just how long  she actually was present at the installation. On February 13, Company A of  the 38th Infantry was officially organized, and William Cathey, along with75 other black privates, was mustered into that company. At the time of this  organization, however, she was in an unnamed St. Louis hospital, suffering an undocumented illness. How long she was hospitalized also is not recorded.

By April 1867 William Cathey and Company A had marched to Fort Riley, Kansas .  On the 10th of that month, William Cathey went to the post hospital complaining of "itch"; (Army itch was usually scabies, eczema, lice, or a combination thereof, the perceived result of the filth of camp life.(3)) On  April 30, she was described as ill in quarters, along with 15 othe privates. Because they were sick, their pay was docked 10 dollars per month for three months, so we can presume William Cathey was not malingering. She did not return to duty until May 14, which indicates that something other than itch bothered her. In June 1867 the company was at Fort Harker, Kansas .

Indeed, the company was destined to travel. On July 20, 1867, it arrived at Fort Union, New Mexico, after a march of 536 miles. On September 7, Company A began the march to Fort Cummings, New Mexico , arriving October 1. The unit was stationed there for eight months.

It appears that William Cathey withstood the marches as well as any man in her unit. When the company was not on the march, the privates did garrison duty, drilled and trained, and went scouting for signs of hostile Native Americans. William Cathey participated in her share of the obligations  facing Company A. There is no record that the company ever engaged the enemy or saw any form of direct combat while William Cathey was a member.

   In January 1868 her health began deteriorating, after about eight months off  the sick list. On the 27th of that month, she was admitted to the post hospital at Fort Cummings, citing rheumatism. She returned to duty three days later. On March 20, she went back to that hospital with the same complaint. Again, she returned to duty within three days.

On June 6, the company marched for Fort Bayard, New Mexico, completing the 47 mile trek the next day. This was the last fort at which William Cathey lived during her army stint. On July 13, she was admitted into the hospital  at Fort Bayard, and diagnosed with neuralgia. (Neuralgia was a catch-all term for any acute pain caused by a nerve, or parts of the nervous system.  It could be a symptom of a wide range of diseases.(4)) She did not report back to duty for a month. This was the last recorded medical treatment of William Cathey while in the military.

During her military career, she was in four hospitals, on five separate occasions, for varying amounts of time, and apparently, no one discovered  that William Cathey was a woman living as a man. It seems fairly certain in the Victorian age, in an army hospital, even out West, that the masquerade would have been noted had it been uncovered. It is a foregone conclusion  that she would have been discharged from the army immediately had that.

The fact that five hospital visits failed to reveal that William Cathey was a woman raises questions about the quality of medical care, even by mid-l9th century standards, available to the soldiers of the U.S. Army, or at least to the African-American soldiers. Clearly, she never fully undressed during  her hospital stays. Perhaps she objected to any potentially intrusive procedures out of fear of discovery. There is no record of the treatment given her at the hospitals. There is every indication that whatever treatments she received, they did not work.