Santa Fe New Mexican
August 13,1906 Vol. 43

Incidents of Glorieta Battle
Recalled to Veteran Seay's Memory By Story
Fought At Valverde Then Became Ill and was Left at Albuquerque

(Bill Manley - Researcher)

Some Reminiscences:

"I read with intent the articles descriptive of the Battle of Glorieta which were published recently in the New Mexican. I would probably have to be in that fight if it had not been for sickness."
The speaker was Robert T. Seay, of Dallas, Texas, who was in the city a few days ago, having stopped off here between trains while enroute to Washington. He was accompanied by younger brother, J. Brown Seay, of___________-well who was only a baby at the outbreak of the Civil War. The Texan still remembers vividly those troublesome times when the country was split in twain and talked interest story of his experiences to a reporter of the New Mexican. He was a soldier of the Confederacy, serving under General Sibley and later under General Green.
I was a member of Texas Regiment. I enlisted in the Seventh Texas Company, which became part of Sibley's Brigade, he said when asked to write what he knew of the desperate and ill fated raid of New Mexico. "My baptism of fire was in the battle of Valverde near old Fort Craig, on January 21,1862. I was not in the battle of Glorieta. It was probably better for me that I wasn't too. I was taken sick upon arrival at Albuquerque. I contracted a bad cold from crossing the river and sleeping in my wet clothes, and the first thing I knew, I was ill with pneumonia. I was recovering from my sickness when my companies came marching back after having been routed in the fight at Glorieta. They had lost all their horses and their wagon train had been burned. Our command was forced to walk all the way back from Santa Fe to San Antonio where we were ordered home on furloughs to remount.
Some people wonder what was the reason of this raid on New Mexico. The purpose of the campaign was to garrison all of the army posts and Arizona, then go up through Colorado and across Kansas to _____________Prince in Missouri. We would probably have carried out our plan if it hadn't been for the unexpected demise at Glorieta Pass.
The Confederates captured Indian Blankets at Santa Fe our boys made a raid on the store and when they came marching back to Albuquerque they had a great collection of Indian blankets. All of their baggage had been takened while they were busy fighting.
The Federals upon spying the wagon train which had been left guarded only by a handful of sick men slipped by and unknown to us and set it on fire.
After rejoining the army at the conclusion of the enforce furlough__________ operated on the coast of Texas and Louisiana. The Enemy during the __________ at one time had possession of __________teston, but we recaptured it on New Year's Day, 1863. The most notorieties in which I engaged were at Mitchell and Pleasant Hill. They were fought on the same day, being only a short distance apart.
I was only slightly wounded once during the entire war, and that was received by a fragment of a bursted shell striking my thigh. I was pressed on to Red River when General Green was killed. His head was shot off by a shell from a gun boat as clean if cut by a Knife.
Mr. Seay said that he was never so embarrassed in his life as he was in Convalescing from his siege of____________ at Albuquerque. During his illness his hair fell out with the exception of a row at the base of the skull. He was then only a beardless man and to be bald-headed so early in his life was Chagrining.
He kept his hat on as much as possible to conceal the absence of hair until it was returned to nature.
Seay, Robert T.
Private, C.S.A.