Former Department of Defense historian and award-winning writer Phillip Thomas Tucker, Ph.D., has written extensively on the history of long-forgotten women in the military to reveal their heroism and sacrifices for the first time. Cathy Williams: From Slave to Buffalo Soldier by Phillip Thomas Tucker, Ph.D., focuses on Cathy Williams, a woman who served in the Buffalo Soldiers on the Santa Fe Trail under the name William Cathay. Dr. Tucker's most recent look at the remarkable life of Cathy Williams was published in the summer of 2017, America's Female Buffalo Soldier, A New Look at the Life of Cathy Williams in History and Memory.Cathy Williams was born into slavery in 1944, working as a house servant near Jefferson City. At the age of 17 she was captured by the Union Army and pressed into service as a cook and washerwoman, traveling with infantry regiments and eventually working at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. After the Civil War, when several of her family members enlisted into the army, she decided to enlist at Jefferson Barracks as well, and was assigned to Company A of the 38th United States Infantry, a Buffalo Soldier Regiment, under the name William Cathay.However, her military service from 1866 to 1868 was short-lived, as Cathy spent much of her career in the military dealing with smallpox, though her gender was not discovered through her numerous hospitalizations. Unfortunately, two years after she enlisted a military surgeon discovered her true identity and she was discharged. But she left behind an enduring legacy as America's first and only female Buffalo Soldier, who performed her assigned duties exceptionally well. Cathy then became a pioneer on the western frontier, finding a permanent home in the West.
Phillip Thomas Tucker, Ph.D, studied history to earn a Ph.D. at prestigious St. Louis University and gained more than two decades of experience as a professional military historian with the Department of Defense, including in Washington, D.C. Over the course of his distinguished historian career outside of the DoD, Phillip Thomas Tucker, Ph.D, has published more than 30 books, including Alexander Hamilton’s Revolution: His Vital Role as Washington's Chief of Staff.Alexander Hamilton’s Revolution examines the unique and often overlooked role the revered American politician played during the Revolutionary War. The only notable founding father not born and raised on American soil, Hamilton is best known for his work as Secretary of the Treasury under America’s first political leader, President George Washington. However, as Alexander Hamilton’s Revolution illustrates, this young native West Indian established himself as Washington’s preferred staff officer and spending four years at headquarters as Washington’s Chief of Staff during the nation’s battle for independence.The book additionally chronicles Hamilton’s desire and fierce ambition to make a more distinguished name for himself as a field officer leading troops on the battlefield, which he did in magnificent fashion with a significant victory over General Cornwallis at the Battle of Yorktown in October 1781. Alexander Hamilton’s Revolution (Skyhorse Publishing) can be purchased from most major book distributors.
An internationally acclaimed historian who enjoyed a lengthy career with the Department of Defense mostly in Washington, DC, Phillip Thomas Tucker, PhD, conducted research and undertook writing projects for numerous government and military agencies, while stationed at military bases across the country. Phillip Thomas Tucker, PhD, has written more than 30 books on key turning point moments and important historical figures in American history, such as Alexander Hamilton. His recent Alexander Hamilton's Revolution: His Vital Role as Washington's Chief of Staff was the first book to focus on Hamilton's important position as General George Washington's right-hand man from early 1777 to early 1781. Alexander Hamilton’s Revolution dives into the remarkable life of Hamilton, a key Founding Father and favorite staff officer of George Washington during some of the darkest days of the American Revolution. The ground-breaking book covers the period before Hamilton’s role as Secretary of State during the Washington presidential administration, and closely examines his all-important participation in the Revolutionary War. In great detail and insight, the book explores Hamilton’s critical military contributions and features new information on his friendship with Washington while serving with distinction as Washington's Chief of Staff. Additionally, details surrounding his experiences on the battlefield are unveiled and presented for the first time in full.
