March is National Women’s History Month, and this year’s theme is “Weaving the Stories of Women’s Lives.” As we celebrate the 35th anniversary of Women’s History Month, it is appropriate for us to honor one of America’s first female Soldiers.

Women have not always been able to serve in the military full time as they do now. In fact, women were not allowed to join the military until 1917-1918, the last two years of World War I. Prior to World War I, women provided behind-the-scenes support to the military dating as far back as the Revolutionary War.

But there was one exception: Cathy Williams. She was the only woman to serve in the United States Regular Army as a Buffalo Soldier. She served for three years at a time when women were prohibited from serving in the U.S. military, and she is the only documented woman known to have served during this period.

In 1844, Williams was born a slave in Independence, Missouri. Her mother was also a slave, but her father was free. In 1848, Williams and her mother were sold to the Johnson Plantation to work as house servants. Williams never saw her father again.

In the fall of 1861, Union Soldiers rode into the Johnson Plantation and freed all of the slaves. Williams and her mother left for Jefferson City, Mo. During this time, freed slaves were treated as contraband of war, so Williams and her mother were separated and forced to serve Union units. Unfortunately, Williams would never see her mother again either.

Williams was 17 years old at the time she was assigned to do laundry for the officers of the Eighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. For 3.5 years, she walked alongside the infantry Soldiers, as they marched hundreds of miles across the South.

When the Civil War ended in 1865, Williams returned to Missouri in search of her mother. She met her cousin who told her he was going to join the Army and earn $13 per month. Williams decided she wanted to join, also. She cut her hair short and donned men’s clothing. She enlisted into the United States Regular Army as a male Soldier on Nov. 15, 1866, in St. Louis, Mo., under the name Pvt. William Cathay.

Pvt. Cathay served for three years in the 38th United States Infantry during the American Indian Wars, assigned mostly to garrison duties with no documented evidence that she saw combat. Due to the harsh living conditions and lack of proper nutrition and sanitation, Pvt. Cathay fell ill frequently. Period documents show that she was admitted into four different hospitals on five different occasions for a variety of medical issues during her military career.

Soldiers were placed on the “sick list” during long periods of illness at that time and had $10 per month docked from their pay. It is unlikely that Pvt. Cathay was malingering. During her last hospitalization in the fall of 1868, the Army surgeon conducting a medical examination discovered that Pvt. Cathay was actually a woman and reported this to her unit chain of command. Having served undetected as a woman for three years despite her frequent illnesses, she was discharged from service Oct. 14, 1868.

In April 1891, Williams applied for disability from the Army. She was in poor health with some deafness, diabetes, neuralgia and amputation of several toes, and she was walking with two canes. However, her requested pension was denied in 1892, since the Army did not acknowledge the service of this female Soldier.

After her military service, Williams moved to Colorado and started a laundry business. Some sources say she died at 82, although this is not documented.

Historically, she prevailed, despite whatever illness, hardship, discrimination and anonymity she faced during the course of her life. She carved a small, but symbolically important place in the history of American women, in the history of African-Americans and in the history of the United States Army. The importance of Cathy Williams does not lie just in the recognition that she is the only documented black woman who served in the United States Regular Army Infantry during the 19th century, but also that she was an improbable pioneer setting a precedent against the odds.

On May 15, 1942, the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps was created as an auxiliary unit, to establish the women’s branch of the United States Army. On July 1, 1943, the WAAC was converted to full status as the Women’s Army Corps. In 1948, Congress passed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act, granting women permanent status in the military, subject to military authority and regulations with entitlement to veteran’s benefits. In 1978, the WAC was disbanded with the integration of male and female units.

The stories of women, like Cathy Williams, encourage girls and young women to think larger and bolder and give boys and men a fuller understanding of the female experience. While some may say that Cathy Williams’ contribution to our military history was insignificant, they would fail to grasp her role as a pioneer, paving the way for a proud history of service to our nation by today’s female Soldiers.