After the civil war Essay

There were few job prospects after the civil war, particularly for African Americans living in the South. They were only able to be enlisted in the military. The African American community would receive their regular pay here and use it for pensions, health care, and schooling. However, the US Army only permitted males to enlist. In order to join the US Army as a Buffalo Soldier, Cathay Williams altered her name from Cathay to William. In addition to changing her gender, he also altered her age from 16 to 22. The only people that were privy to her deception were her cousin and friend both who were serving as soldiers. Having reversed her name, she lived and served the army as a male soldier but unfortunately, her secret was revealed. They came to find out her identity because of the frequent disease attacks (Burnes).

Upon enlistment, Cathay was assigned to a unit that was designated and segregated for the African American community. White officers commanded these segregated units. During the period that she was serving in the military, she would march for long distances like other men in her unit. During their free time, they were being drilled, trained and they went to scout. William Cathay never missed performing those duties. However, there is record missing on how she faced the enemies and in the direct combats.

Cathay Williams faced enslavement despite her country being independent. She was born at a time when the country had just achieved independence. Her mother was a slave and her father a free colored man. On the other hand, she being fathered by a free man could have rendered her to be a free person but it is the opposite. Williams served as a house servant in her early years and during that time, they were contraband (Burnes).

Williams was faced with illness after an illness during her 3-year enlistment as a soldier. After signing up for the US Army, it did not take long before she contracted smallpox. She was hospitalized and after a few weeks, she recovered and was fit to rejoin her army unit. Her unit having being moved to New Mexico, she had to relocate to adapt to the new life. This was so unfortunate for her because of the unfavorable weather condition in New Mexico which made her get frequent smallpox attacks. William’s health became worse with frequent hospitalization over the years. It was in her last illness that her identity was revealed to be that of a female soldier by the Army surgeon (Sheldon 6). This made her get an army exit ticket. The problem is, what made the administration to take so long in raveling her identity? Cathay had a record of being in four different hospitals in several occasions and for varying amounts of time. And no doctor ever discovered her identity? The fact that her being in different hospitals without her sex being discovered raises questions on the type of medical care that was being given to the US soldiers. Despite her being discharged, she had already served her 3 years successfully.

Instead of Cathay Williams getting a high paying job, she served as a cook in the Fort Union a few years after leaving the Army. From working in the Fort Union, she went to Pueblo, Colorado where her mother ran an orphanage. Williams was unlucky because she married a man who stole from her and after reporting him, he was arrested making the marriage to end. In the year 1872, Williams went to Trinidad where she lived the rest of her life. She served as a cook, nurse, and seamstress. Cathay Williams never came across his brothers with one of them living in Trinidad at the same time.

Cathay healthy became worse even after she left the US Army. She became ill from neuralgia and diabetes. Diabetes made her undergo toe amputation leaving her to walk by the support of a crutch. Other diseases that she suffered from are deafness and rheumatism. At the age of 47, she saw the way forward was her being given the disability pension for her military service. A few women who had worked with the military had earlier received their pension one of them being Deborah Sampson. Deborah was lucky because she had influential and powerful friends who were in the military; they helped her to fight for the pension. Cathay, however, was denied her disability pension after being examined by a doctor who claimed she was unqualified. The problem here is that Cathay Williams was on her own making her unable to fight for what she deserved (Sheldon 6).

Now, Cathay Williams is recognized and honored by the Army. However, she alongside other blacks underwent mistreatment. Her being denied her pension was a wrong move that the military service did. The right thing to do was to award the pension to the living relatives or dedicate it to charity in Williams honor. William worked as a man to support his life not knowing that she will make history (Blanton 10).

Many American women have defended their nations during the time of war but their efforts usually go unrecognized and unrewarded. The discrimination that they normally face is gender-based but the black women face both gender and racial discrimination. There is no history page that is available taking accounts of the works the African American soldiers have done. The women soldiers were seen either fighting to pursue their rights or participated to defend their nation. Cathy Williams enlisted into the Army at a time where women were discriminated in terms of employment. She changed her gender identity to a man and joined a unit that was segregated for the African American. Today, she is the only woman known to have served the U.S Army as a buffalo soldier. Another issue is the enslavement of African Americans at independence. They were being owned by their masters hence denying them the opportunity to exploit themselves. There were limited employment opportunities for the African American and the only well-paying job was the Army. As a woman who wanted to fend for her needs, Cathay tactic in joining the military was at least than just staying at home.

Works Cited

Blanton, DeAnne. “Cathay Williams Black Woman Soldier 1866-1868.” Minerva 10.3 (1992): 1.

Burnes, Thresa. Contributions of women to US combat operations. ARMY WAR COLL CARLISLE BARRACKS PA, 2008.

Sheldon, Kathryn. “A Brief History Of Black Women In The Military.” Minerva’s Bulletin Board 3.4 (1995): 6.