Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen by Sarah Bird

Sarah Bird presents a historical novel of epic proportions - the portrait of a fierce African American woman whose lineage was a line of proud African queens. Cathy Williams is liberated at the end of the war by Yankee soldiers and separated from her sister she joins them in various roles until she sees her chance - joining the Buffalo Soldiers and heading out West. She disguises herself and Cathy Williams becomes Bill Cathey. As a man, Cathy has all the freedom and adventure she was denied as a woman but it is a daily struggle to remain in her disguise. Prejudice, racial hatred, violence follows Cathy in her travels but what she yearns for are acceptance, kinship, and love.
This book has it all - great characters, an authentic voice and the amazing adventures of a black woman in a white man's world.