Cathy Williams: From Slave to Buffalo Soldier

by Philip Thomas Tucker

Overview

Women in the United States military have received more recognition than ever in recent years, but women also played vital roles in battles and campaigns of previous generations. Cathy Williams served as Pvt. William Cathay from 1866 to 1868 with the famed Buffalo Soldiers who patrolled the 900-mile Santa Fe Trail. Tucker traces her life from her birth as a slave near Independence, Missouri, to her service in Company A, 38th U.S. Infantry, one of the six black units formed following the Civil War. Cathy Williams remains the only known African American woman to have served as a Buffalo Soldier in the Indian Wars. Her remarkable story continues to represent a triumph of the human spirit.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780811749633
Publisher:	Stackpole Books
Publication date:	01/15/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	900,151
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Phillip Thomas Tucker is the author or editor of more than 20 books on the Civil War and African American, women's, and Irish history. He is a United States Air Force historian at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, DC.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Paperback Edition v

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction ix

Chapter 1 A Young Slave Named Cathy Williams 1

Chapter 2 The Civil War Descends upon the Land 30

Chapter 3 New Challenge in the Eastern Theater 59

Chapter 4 Triumph of the Spirit: First Female Buffalo Soldier 66

Chapter 5 A Distinguished Legacy Perpetuated 80

Chapter 6 The Buffalo Soldiers 89

Chapter 7 Racial Clash at Fort Cummings 141

Chapter 8 Winter Campaign against the Apache 156

Chapter 9 Final Service in the Southwest 171

Chapter 10 On Her Own Once Again 184

Appendix "Cathy Williams' Story" as published in the January 2, 1876 St. Louis Daily Times 222

Notes 224

Bibliography 241

Index 252