| |
| |
|
|
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
|
|
|
WHEREAS, Expert trackers and couriers and skilled fighters, |
|
|
the Native American scouts who served with the United States Army |
|
|
during the frontier era of the mid- to late 1800s played an |
|
|
important part in United States history; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The service of these accomplished soldiers began in |
|
|
1866, after Congress passed legislation authorizing the enlistment |
|
|
of American Indians into the United States Army; many of the Native |
|
|
Americans who joined the military over the next three decades |
|
|
served as scouts, and they quickly earned respect for their |
|
|
abilities to track the enemy and guide army forces through |
|
|
wilderness territory; their skills proved especially well-suited |
|
|
during the conflicts between federal forces and American Indian |
|
|
groups that took place in the western states and territories; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, These scouts made a valuable contribution to the |
|
|
settlement of Texas in this era; beginning in 1870, individuals of |
|
|
mixed Seminole and African American heritage who had been living in |
|
|
northern Mexico were recruited as scouts by United States |
|
|
commanders in Texas; based at Fort Duncan, near Eagle Pass, and |
|
|
later at Fort Clark, at present-day Brackettville, the black |
|
|
Seminole soldiers took part in battles with defiant Native American |
|
|
groups in Texas and Mexico and helped tame the turbulent frontier |
|
|
region of the Lone Star State; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Known for their courage and fighting skills, four of |
|
|
the black Seminole troops earned the Medal of Honor for their |
|
|
actions; Private Adam Payne was the first, receiving the |
|
|
commendation for his role in a battle with the Kiowa in 1874; the |
|
|
following year, scouts John Ward, Pompey Factor, and Isaac Payne |
|
|
put their lives at risk to rescue their commander, Lieutenant John |
|
|
Lapham Bullis, during a fight with Comanche raiders at Eagle's Nest |
|
|
Crossing on the Pecos River; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Serving as the forerunners of the Native Americans |
|
|
who fought so gallantly in later wars, the American Indian scouts |
|
|
served the United States military with great distinction and |
|
|
provided vital support for the country's westward expansion; now, |
|
|
therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the 80th Legislature of the State of Texas |
|
|
hereby designate August 2007 as American Indian Scouts Month and |
|
|
celebrate the contributions of these individuals as a meaningful |
|
|
chapter in the saga of this nation. |