Old Warriors Speak Out

Sergeant Robert Kibbetts and ex-Sergeant Sampson July, the patriarch of the black Seminoles, expressed a desire to go to San Antonio, Texas, to see the Department Commander. Brevet Major General Persifor Smith, commander of Fort Clark, followed in 1885 with a strong letter of support endorsed by General Stanley, commander of the Department of Texas. General Stanley stated that the Seminole Scouts had rendered good service to the U.S. Government for 12 years and were men of good character. He further declared, “When the question of removal of these people to Indian Territory was up before, a statement was made from the Commissioner of the Indian Bureau that these people were outlaws. This is calumny and very easily refuted” (Swanson 1985b:399-400). Stanley notes the success of the Bowlegs family at relocation in the Seminole nation, a possibility for the remaining scouts if they received some financial assistance to cover moving expenses.

Sergeant Bob Kibbetts, the son of John Kibbetts, and the old patriarch ex-Sergeant Sampson July traveled to Washington to plead the case for relocation in the Indian Territory before the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Influenced by the still-powerful and racist Jim Jumper, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs refused to consider their requests for citizenship since they were citizens of Mexico; they were not “freedmen,” since they had not been residents in the U.S. when slavery was abolished. Furthermore, there was no land available for the would-be immigrants. Thus, the United States Government was able to circumvent the sensitive issue, since the scouts were neither Indian nor black but Mexican (Mulroy 1993:155, 164). Despite Jumper’s protestations, by 1883 some black Seminoles, such as the Bowlegs family, still remained in the Seminole Nation among their kinsmen (Mulroy 1993:155).

Photograph, detail of wall from Fort Clark By 1894 the scouts and their families were literally squatters at Fort Clark, even though some of the men were still in use in small detachments at Fort Davis, Camp Peña Colorado, Camp Nevile Springs, and Camp Ringold in southwest Texas.