Adam Paine

Who was Adam Paine?

Adam Paine, or Adam Payne, 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.

Paine enlisted in the Army at Fort Duncan, Texas in November 1873, and joined other Black Seminoles known as the "Seminole-Negro Indian Scouts". From September 26, to September 27, 1874, he was serving as a private in Texas at Blanco Canyon, a tributary of the Red River, where he participated in an engagement. Paine "[r]endered invaluable service to Col. R. S. Mackenzie, 4th U.S. Cavalry, during this engagement." A year later, on October 13, 1875, Private Paine was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at Blanco Canyon.

Paine was shot to death on New Year's Day by a fellow Medal of Honor recipient, Claron A. Windus, deputy sheriff of Brackettville, Texas, who was attempting to arrest Paine as a murder suspect. Paine died at age 33 or 34 and was buried at the Seminole Indian Scout Cemetery in Brackettville, Texas.