February 27, 2007

On May 28, 1875, Pompey Factor, a part Seminole and part African-American army scout, became one of the twenty-five Arkansas soldiers to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. Factor, who enlisted as a scout in 1870, was awarded the medal due to his efforts in assisting his comrades in saving the life of their commanding officer while engaged in heavy fire with the Comanche and Kiowa at Eagle’s Nest Crossing in Texas. Factor left the scouts about two years later, returning briefly in 1879.