Private Cathay's Secret - Paperback

by Rebecca O. Hayes (Author)

Private Cathay's Secret depicts the determination and perseverance of a young slave girl, Cathay Williams. Thrust from her home on a Missouri plantation, she becomes a cook for the Union Army. Little does she realize this servitude throughout much of the Civil War will prepare her for her greatest challenge: impersonating a male soldier in the U. S. Army at the end of the war. Alongside her male companions, Williams endures hardships and performs her duties with them equally, during a time when women are not allowed to serve in the military. No one discovers her gender until she reveals it at the time of her discharge. Much has been written about the Buffalo Soldier 10th Cavalry, but infantry escapades are largely clouded in obscurity.

Author Biography

Rebecca Hayes grew up in East Orange, New Jersey, the daughter of a Baptist minister and elementary school teacher. At an early age, she began creating stories, often entertaining her neighborhood friends as they walked to and from school. She has taught in a number of different arenas from drama in a shelter for homeless children to elementary school curriculum, science and math in her neighboring suburban community of Montclair. After retiring, Rebecca taught on the Salt River Maricopa-Pima Reservation in Scottsdale Arizona. She became a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and published several stories in Heartwarmers Anthologies and Newsletters. She now resides in a suburb of Philadelphia, PA. Private Cathay's Secret is her first novel.