Adam Paine, or Adam Payne, (1843 – January 1, 1877) was a

Black Seminole The Black Seminoles, or Afro-Seminoles are Native American-Africans associated with the Seminole people in Florida and Oklahoma. They are mostly blood descendants of the Seminole people, free Africans, and escaped slaves, who allied with Seminol ...

who served as a

United States Army Indian Scout Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native Americans have made up an integral part of U.S. military conflicts since America's beginning. Colonists recruited Indian allies during such instances as the Pequot War from 1634–1638, the American Rev ...

and received America's highest military decoration—the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

—for his actions in the

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

of the

western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

Biography

Payne enlisted in the Army at

Fort Duncan Fort Duncan was a United States Army base, set up to protect the first U.S. settlement on the Rio Grande near the current town of Eagle Pass, Texas. History A line of seven army posts were established in 1848–49 after the Mexican War to protect ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

in November 1873, and joined other Black Seminoles known as the " Seminole-Negro Indian Scouts".

Medal of Honor actions

Col. R. S. Mackenzie's main group from the

4th U.S. Cavalry The 4th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment, whose lineage is traced back to the mid-19th century. It was one of the most effective units of the Army against American Indians on the Texas frontier. Today, the regiment exi ...

was moving towards the Texas-New Mexico border in the

Staked Plains The Llano Estacado (), sometimes translated into English as the Staked Plains, is a region in the Southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas. One of the largest mesas or tablelands on the North A ...

region on September 4, 1874. A day's march ahead of the group,

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 recorde ...

Payne and three other scouts were ambushed by twenty-five

Comanches The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...

. The horse leading the Comanche's charge was knocked down by Payne's swinging rifle and the scouts began to fight the enemy natives. At one point, Payne fought six Comanches at once. All four scouts broke free and returned to camp. Mackenzie placed the 4th Cavalry on heightened alert. From September 26, to September 27, 1874, near

Palo Duro Canyon Palo Duro Canyon is a canyon system of the Caprock Escarpment located in the Texas Panhandle near the cities of Amarillo, Texas, Amarillo and Canyon, Texas, Canyon. As the second-largest canyon in the United States, it is roughly long and has an ...

, a tributary of the Red River, Payne participated in the

Battle of Palo Duro Canyon The Battle of Palo Duro Canyon was a military confrontation and a significant United States victory during the Red River War. The battle occurred on September 28, 1874, when several U.S. Army regiments under Ranald S. Mackenzie attacked a large ...

. Payne " ndered invaluable service to Col. R. S. Mackenzie, 4th U.S. Cavalry, during this engagement." The scouts had tracked the Comanches to their camp in the Palo Duro Canyon. The 4th cavalry took the Comanches by surprise and captured or destroyed 1,400 horses and other camp equipment and supplies just prior to the onset of winter. Mackenzie recommended seven white soldiers of the 4th cavalry and Payne for the Medal of Honor. A year later, on October 13, 1875, Private Payne was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at Palo Duro Canyon.

Death

Paine was shot to death on

New Year's Day New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...

1877 by a fellow Medal of Honor recipient, Claron A. Windus,

deputy sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

Brackettville, Texas Brackettville is a city in Kinney County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,688 at the 2010 census, down from 1,876 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Kinney County. History Founded in 1852 as "Las Moras" (the name of a nearb ...

, who shot Payne instead of attempting to arrest him as a murder suspect. Paine died at age 33 or 34 and was buried at the Seminole Indian Scout Cemetery in

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Private, Indian Scouts. Place and date: Canyon Blanco tributary of the Red River, Tex., 26-September 27, 1874. Entered service at: Fort Duncan, Texas. Birth: Florida. Date of issue: October 13, 1875. Citation:

Rendered invaluable service to Col. R. S. Mackenzie, 4th U.S. Cavalry, during this engagement.

Notes

References

*Glasrud, ed., Bruce A
''Brothers to the Buffalo Soldiers: Perspectives on the African American Militia and Volunteers, 1865–1917''
Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press, 2011. . *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paine, Adam 1843 births 1877 deaths United States Army Medal of Honor recipients Native American United States military personnel Black Seminoles United States Army soldiers People from Florida United States Army Indian Scouts American Indian Wars recipients of the Medal of Honor 20th-century African-American people 20th-century Native Americans 19th-century Native Americans