I want to look at the life and decisions of Cathay Williams.
She was born into slavery and in order to achieve some sense of freedom, she
enlisted in the US army. She enlisted as a man under a false name and served in
at least two battles during the Civil War. I will use a newspaper article from
January 1876 which has quotes from Williams about her life experiences as my
primary source. The article contains the history of Williams prior to her
enlisting and the events that lead up to her decision to pose as a man and
serve in the military. The sources I have found is not complete and I want to
look for the entire newspaper to get more context. I want to explore the ideas of femininity and identity,
and also look at the transition from slavery to freedom through this source and
the life of Cathay Williams.
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