Isaac Payne

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Isaac Payne
1854 – 1904
Image:Replace this image male.svg
Isaac Payne, Medal of Honor recipient
Place of birth Mexico
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Army
Rank Trumpeter
Unit U.S. Army Indian Scouts
Battles/wars Indian Wars
Awards Medal of Honor

Isaac Payne (1854 – 1904) was a Black Seminole who served as a United States Army Indian Scout and received America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Indian Wars of the western United States.

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[edit] Biography

Payne and other Black Seminoles enlisted in the Army and became known as the "Seminole Negro Indian Scouts". On April 25, 1875, he was serving as a trumpeter by the Pecos River in Texas where, "[w]ith 3 other men, he participated in a charge against 25 hostiles while on a scouting patrol." A month later, on May 28, 1875, Payne was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the engagement. Two of the other men who took part in the charge, Pompey Factor and John Ward, both Black Seminoles, also received Medals of Honor.

Payne died at age 49 or 50 and was buried at the Seminole Indian Scout Cemetery in Brackettville, Texas.

[edit] Medal of Honor citation

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

Citation:

With 3 other men, he participated in a charge against 25 hostiles while on a scouting patrol.

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