TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – This Black History Month, a new exhibit at the African American Museum of Southern Arizona reveals the remarkable story of Cathay Williams, the only woman known and documented to serve as a Buffalo Soldier.
Born into slavery in Missouri, Williams’ military life began long before she donned a uniform.
During the Civil War, she was seized by Union forces as “contraband”—essentially property of war —and was forced to serve as a cook and laundress. She marched across the South, witnessing the Red River Campaign and the Battle of Pea Ridge…