een used to aid the Confederacy in any way. If found to be "contraband," they were declared free. Cathy was told to cook for the troops, but became a laundress for the officers instead because she could not cook. Cathy would receive rations such as food and clothes for her service. Life as Contraband was not as harsh as slave life. Cathy would go wherever the 8th Indiana went. She would also have to carry the supplies she needed such as soap and wash tubs, wherever she went.
             Cathy traveled throughout several Southern states with he Union soldiers. Cathy was at the Battle of Pea Ridge. She could have even worked as an assistant in the hospitals after the battle. Cathy was given orders to go to Little Rock, Arkansas to learn how to cook. She learned to cook and did so for the troops. She would follow the 8th Indiana Regiment throughout Arkansas and Louisiana. She was with the troops on the Red River, where the troops confiscated or burned cotton. The cotton was "white gold" to the Confederacy, used to purchase weapons and supplies.
             On August 12, 1864, Cathy was sent to Washington to become a cook for General Sheridan and his troops. She traveled with General Sheridan on raids such as the ones in the Shenandoah Valley. She would later leave General Sheridan and would follow the 8th Indiana Regiment to Savannah, Georgia. She would serve the Union Soldiers for over 3 years and march more than 1000 miles.
             At the end of the Civil War, she was a freed person. She traveled back to Missouri. She lived somewhere around the Jefferson Barracks just outside of St. Louis. She had a cousin and a friend, who were members of the 38th Regiment, one of 4 units set up for African American soldiers to remain in the Army after the Civil War. They could receive pay and other benefits. The soldiers of these regiments were later called "Buffalo Soldiers," by the Indians because o...