Cathay Williams

Cathay Williams enlisted at St. Louis on November 15, 1866, and served in Company A of the 38th U.S. Infantry. The company marched more than 500 miles to Fort Union in the summer of 1867, then spent eight months at Fort Cummings before moving to Fort Bayard. She was discharged there on October 14, 1868, on a surgeon's certificate. In 1876 she told her story to a St. Louis reporter from Trinidad, Colorado, where she worked as a seamstress. Her pension claim was refused in 1891, and no one knows when she died.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker Cathay Williams (c 1850-Death Date Unknown) Born into slavery, Cathay was liberated in 1861 and worked as a cook for the Union army during the Civil War. In 1866 she enlisted in the U.S. Army as Private William Cathey serving with the Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Cummings and Fort Bayard until 1868. She is the only documented woman to serve as an enlisted soldier in the Regular U.S. Army during the 19th century. Official Scenic Historic Marker New Mexico Historic Women Marker Initiative The New Mexico Historic Women Marker Initiative was founded in 2005 by members of the New Mexico Women's Forum in a statewide effort to recognize women's contributions to New Mexico history on the state's Official Scenic Historic Markers. The Initiative ensures that women's diverse histories will be remembered and told, and will inspire and provide a guide for future generations. The 2006 Legislature funded the project.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• City of Rocks State Park — 26 mi
  Pinnacles of volcanic tuff up to forty feet high standing in the grassland between Deming and Silver City, worn out of an eruption 34.9 million years ago.

More markers nearby

• Deming — 10 mi
• Mary Ann Deming Crocker — 10 mi
• Rockhound State Park — 12 mi
• Carlotta Thompkins Thurmond — 23 mi