Cathy Williams a.k.a. William Cathay: Female Buffalo Soldier
Artist
Georgia Williams
Date2021
MediumAfrican mud cloth, organza, commercial cotton fabric, and batting, printed fabric sheets, fabric paint, button embellishment, raw edge appliqué, machine pieced, quilted by Thomazine Alexander and Dena Miskel
Dimensions44 3/8 × 42 3/4 inches (112.7 × 108.6 cm)
Credit LinePurchase of the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, 2024
Object number2024.1.1
ClassificationsTextiles
DescriptionSquare quilt with background patterning in browns, yellows, and white geometric designs. Central medallion is bordered by an American flag motif and contains a portrait of Cathy Williams in a blue uniform. Surrounding the central medallion are images and dates from Cathy Williams's life and legacy.Label TextCathay (Cathy) Williams, born in 1844, was the first African American woman to join the United States Army. Disguised as a man, she enlisted under the name William Cathay and served as America’s only female Buffalo Soldier from 1866 to 1868. This quilt recognizes this remarkable woman and her mother.
While in the hospital, her identity as a female was finally discovered, and she (as William Cathay) was given a disability discharge in 1868. In the early 1890s, having learned of other females (Caucasian) who received army pensions, she repeatedly filed for a disability pension but was denied in 1892. It is believed that Williams died in 1893. In 2016, Cathay Williams was finally recognized as an American heroine in a bronze monument in Leavenworth, Kansas.
ProvenanceArtist; purchased March 8, 2024 by the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation; accessioned to the Stark Museum of Art
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