Pompey Factor (c. 1849 – March 29, 1928) was a

Black Seminole The Black Seminoles, or Afro-Seminoles, are an ethnic group of mixed Native American and African origin associated with the Seminole people in Florida and Oklahoma. They are mostly blood descendants of the Seminole people, free Africans, and e ...

who served as a United States Army Indian Scout and received America's highest military decoration—the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

—for his actions in the

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, was a conflict initially fought by European colonial empires, the United States, and briefly the Confederate States of America and Republic of Texas agains ...

of the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

Biography

After having lived in

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for the previous two decades, Factor and other Black Seminoles joined the US Army as Seminole-Negro Indian Scouts in August 1870 and served in the

Red River War The Red River War was a military campaign launched by the United States Army in 1874 to displace the Comanche, Kiowa, Southern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes from the Southern Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of flatland in Nort ...

. On April 25, 1875, he was serving as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

by the

Pecos River The Pecos River ( ; ) originates in north-central New Mexico and flows into Texas, emptying into the Rio Grande. Its headwaters are on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County north of Pecos, New Mexico, at an elev ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

where, " th 3 other men, he participated in a charge against 25 hostiles while on a scouting patrol." A month later, on May 28, 1875, Factor was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the engagement. Two of the other men who took part in the charge, Isaac Payne and John Ward, both Black Seminoles, also received Medals of Honor. Following the fatal shooting of his former fellow scout and Medal of Honor recipient Adam Paine on New Years Day 1877, by another Medal of Honor recipient, Claron A. Windus, deputy sheriff of Brackettville, Texas, who was attempting to arrest Paine as a murder suspect, Factor deserted from the Army and fled back to Mexico. Later, he surrendered and rejoined the Army, eventually being discharged in November 1880.Texas State Cemetery Profile
/ref> Factor died at age 78 or 79 and was buried at the Seminole Indian Scout Cemetery in

Brackettville, Texas Brackettville is a city in Kinney County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,341 at the 2020 census, down from 1,688 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Kinney County. History Founded in 1852 as "Las Moras" (the name of a ne ...

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Private, Indian Scouts. Place and date: At Pecos River, Tex., April 25, 1875. Entered service at:------. Birth: Arkansas. Date of issue: May 28, 1875. Citation:

With three other men, he participated in a charge against 25 hostiles while on a scouting patrol.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Factor, Pompey 1840s births 1928 deaths American people of the Indian Wars United States Army Medal of Honor recipients Black Seminole people Native American United States military personnel United States Army soldiers United States Army Indian Scouts American Indian Wars recipients of the Medal of Honor 20th-century African-American military personnel 20th-century Native American people

Biography

Medal of Honor citation

See also

References

External links