Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: Co-Rux--Te-Chod-Ish, first Native American recipient of Medal of Honor

Co-Rux--Te-Chod-Ish (Mad Dog), born in 1847 in Nebraska in the Pawnee Tribe, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Indian Wars.  He joined the US Army in Columbus, Nebraska as an Indian Scout.  In July 1869, he was thrown from his horse while chasing after a Cheyenne Dog Soldier near the Republican River.  He was badly injured when another member of his own unit shot him by mistake.

He was awarded the Medal of Honor on August 24, 1869.  He passed away in February 1913 and is buried in Oklahoma.

Celebrating Black History Month: Cathay Williams, first African-American woman to enlist in the US Army

Cathay Williams, born September 1844 in Independence, Missouri, was the first black woman to enlist in the US Army, serving in the American Indian Wars.  Her father was a free man but her mother was a slave, meaning Williams' place in the world was a slave.  At the time, the US Army prohibited women from serving, so Williams enlisted under the false name of William Cathay, passing herself as a man, on November 15, 1866.  She was assigned to the 38th US Infantry Regiment.  After a bout of smallpox, she was hospitalized and a surgeon discovered she was a woman.,  She was discharged by her CO Capt. Charles Clarke, October 14, 1868.

She passed away in Trinidad, Colorado in 1893.