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FACTOR, POMPEY (1849-1928). Pompey Factor, one of the Black Seminole scouts^qv and Medal of Honor recipient, was born in Arkansas. He was cited for gallantry in action. Near the Pecos River on April 25, 1875, under the command of Lt. John Lapham Bullis,^qv Twenty-fourth United States Infantry,^qv Private Factor and two other scouts were pursuing a band of twenty-five or thirty Comanche Indians. The scouts dismounted, crept up on the Indians, and opened fire. They killed three, wounded another, and after three-quarters of an hour were in danger of being surrounded. They withdrew to the horses, where Bullis was unable to mount because his horse had broken away. The three scouts turned back into the face of hostile Indian fire, mounted Bullis behind them, and alternately carried him to safety. All three were awarded the Medal of Honor. Factor is buried in the Seminole-Negro Indian Scout cemetery at Brackettville, Texas.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Bishop Powell, "Pioneering in the Concho Country: Rich Coffey," West Texas Historical Association Year Book 50 (1974). Frost Woodhull, "The Seminole Indian Scouts on the Border," Frontier Times, December 1937.

Art Leatherwood

The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article.

Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/FF/ffahp.html (accessed October 7, 2008).

(NOTE: "s.v." stands for sub verbo, "under the word.")

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Last Updated: January 17, 2008
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