Medal of Honor Fight, 1875

Lt. John Lapham Bullis came to the scouts from a hard war. Born in Macedon, New York, in 1841 to a Quaker family, he was wounded and captured at Harper's Ferry in 1862, wounded and captured again at Gettysburg, and spent ten months in Libby Prison. After his exchange he became a captain in the 118th United States Colored Infantry. In 1869 he transferred to the new Twenty-fourth Infantry, Black enlisted men under White officers, and in 1873 at Fort Clark he took command of the Black Seminole scouts, earning their respect by sharing their hardships in the field.

What the plaque says

Medal of Honor Fight, 1875 In the 1870s, the U.S. Army relied on Black Seminole (Seminole-Negro) Indian scouts in campaigns against raiding Native Americans along the Texas-Mexico border. In April 1875, Lt. John L. Bullis and three scouts -- Sergeant John Ward, Private Pompey Factor and Trumpeter Isaac Payne -- left Fort Clark to scout for raiders in this area. After four days, they found a fresh trail and on April 25, within a half-mile of this site, they engaged a party of about 30 Comanche Indians with dozens of horses. Outgunned and outnumbered, the scouts withdrew, but Bullis' horse bolted, stranding him. Factor and Payne provided cover fire, and Ward rescued his Lieutenant. The three Seminole scouts later received Medals of Honor for their gallantry. (2006)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Pecos River Overlook — steps away
  A roadside pullout at the east end of the US-90 bridge, looking down into the gorge that made the Pecos a barrier for travelers and a byword for the edge of the law.
• Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site — 2.5 mi
  The state park west of Comstock where rangers lead visitors down to Fate Bell Shelter and its Pecos River-style paintings, some three to four thousand years old.
• Shumla Archaeological Research and Education Center — 11 mi
  The Comstock research center that documents the Lower Pecos murals, which it calls the oldest books in North America, and opens its headquarters to visitors four days a week.
• Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center — 15 mi
  The state travel center at Langtry, built around the saloon where Roy Bean held court as justice of the peace for twenty years, in a town named for a railroad foreman.

More markers nearby

• Railroad Bridges Over the Pecos — steps away
• The Pecos River in Literature and Folklore — steps away
• Pecos River High Bridge — steps away
• Site of Vinegarroon — 4.6 mi