Name/Title
Black Seminole Scout CommunityContext
On the edge of the Texas Hill Country and West Texas, is Brackettville. Founded in 1852 as a supply depot for the U.S. Army’s newly established Fort Clark, the town grew alongside the expansion of the fort during the Indian Wars. For many years, it was the base of the African American Buffalo Soldiers. In conjunction with this community, were the Seminole Negro Indian Scouts, descendants of escaped slaves and Florida’s Seminole Indians, the Black Seminole Indian Scouts were known as unparalleled trackers and fearless combatants. The U.S. Army organized the scout unit in 1870, and the scouts were stationed at Fort Clark in 1872. When the Indian Wars began to taper, the Buffalo Soldiers moved out of Fort Clark and the Seminole Negro Indian Scouts were disbanded as a unit in 1914, although many servicemen stayed in Brackettville with their families.
The Black Seminole Indian Community is represented at the Old Guardhouse Museum at Fort Clark, which highlights the Buffalo Soldiers and Texas military history, as well as the Black Seminole Indian Scout Cemetery, the final resting place of the legendary trackers, including four Medal of Honor winners.