Seminole-Negro Scouts

The scouts' families came to Texas from Mexico. Black Seminoles had migrated to northeastern Mexico in 1849 and 1850 to escape American slave hunters, and the Mexican government employed them as militia against Comanche and Lipan Apache raiders. On August 16, 1870, Maj. Zenas R. Bliss enlisted thirteen of them at Fort Duncan. Despite lobbying by Bullis, Mackenzie and even Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, they never received title to land near Fort Clark. The last sixteen scouts were mustered out in August 1912, and many families moved to Del Rio, Eagle Pass and other border towns to work.

What the plaque says

Seminole-Negro Scouts Serving with the U. S. Army at Forts Duncan and Clark and Camp Del Rio (1870-1881). The Scouts were key figures in ridding Texas of hostile Indians. The 100 Scouts were mainly descendants of runaway slaves who had intermarried with the Florida Seminoles, later moved to Oklahoma Indian Territory. They were invaluable because of their uncanny trailing skill, bravery, and ability to survive on meager rations (including rattlesnakes) during months of tracking. During an 8-year span of fighting under Lt. J. L. Bullis, not one scout was killed. (1968)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Whitehead Memorial Museum — steps away
  A village of old Del Rio buildings set along a working irrigation canal, from an 1870 store to a 1925 doctor's office, with Judge Roy Bean buried on the grounds.
• Val Verde Winery — 0.4 mi
  The family winery an Italian immigrant founded on Del Rio's irrigated land in 1883, which outlasted Prohibition by selling table grapes and kept Texas wine alive into the 1970s.
• San Felipe Creek — 1.0 mi
  The spring-fed creek that made Del Rio, rising from the third largest springs in Texas and running past swimming holes and a hike-and-bike trail through town.
• Amistad National Recreation Area — 9.6 mi
  The American side of the reservoir the United States and Mexico finished in 1969 where three rivers meet, with painted shelters still reachable by boat when the water allows.

More markers nearby

• Roy Bean C. S. A. — steps away
• Taylor-Rivers House — steps away
• Brown Plaza — 0.4 mi
• Val Verde Winery — 0.4 mi