THE WESTERNMOST CAMPAIGN OF THE CIVIL WAR
NEW MEXICO TERRITORY 1861-1862
NEW MEXICO TERRITORY 1861-1862
Eleven states seceded from the Union in 1861 and formed the Confederate States of America. The Confederacy was desperately short of raw materials for war production. Those materials had to be imported from abroad and often paid for in gold. Gold and seaports became very important to the South.
California and the Western part of North America held both seaports and gold, and the South wanted them. In the summer of 1861, the 2nd Texas Regiment, Mounted Rifles, led by Lt. Col. John Baylor seized control of the Mesilla Valley (near present day Las Cruces) and declared New Mexico a Confederate territory. In the winter of 1861 a Confederate brigade invaded New Mexico with the hope of fulfilling the South's ambitions in the west.
The brigade was commanded by General Henry H. Sibley, formerly of the United States Army. It was comprised of three regiments of cavalry - the 4th, 5th, and 7th Texas Mounted Volunteers - and independent battery of artillery, totaling almost 3000 men and at least 18 cannons.
Opposing the Sibley Brigade were a few companies of the 5th and 7th US Infantry, a few companies of the 2nd Cavalry, a battalion of the 3rd Cavalry, a few batteries of artillery, one company of Colorado Volunteers, several regiments of New Mexico Volunteers, and some untrained militia. The overall commander of the U.S. forces was Col. Edward Canby.
The first battle of the campaign was south of Socorro, near Ft. Craig, at Val Verde ford. The Texans drove the Federal forces from the field and captured a battery of cannons in the savage encounter that saw the only documented use of lancers in the War Between the States. Canby retreated into Ft. Craig though, and Sibley could not get him out. The Texans lost many supply wagons to a surprise cavalry charge by the New Mexico Volunteers. Short on supplies, Sibley chose to bypass Ft. Craig and continue north toward Albuquerque.
Albuquerque was occupied on March 2, 1862 and Santa Fe five days later. The Confederates were critically short of food and other supplies, and needed the Federal stores at Ft. Union on the Santa Fe Trail north of Las Vegas. At Ft. Union there were about 1300 Federal troops, including several companies of Regulars and New Mexico Volunteers, but mainly the newly organized 1st Colorado Volunteers, known as "Pike's Peakers". The 1st Colorado had arrived at Ft. Union after a Herculean effort, including a march through a blizzard. The fort and its troops were commanded by Col. John Slough. Slough's orders from Canby were to protect Ft. Union at all costs, but not to start a major battle. Slough thought the best place from which to defend Ft. Union was on the road to Santa Fe, so he started down the road toward Glorieta Pass.
On the 26th of March, a force of about 400 Confederates under the command of Maj. Charles Pyron was scouting the western end of Glorieta Pass, called Apache Canyon. They came around a bend and ran into Slough's advanced party of about 415 men under the command of Maj. Chivington. Chivington attacked at once and drove the Confederates down the canyon in a wild running fight and captured dozens of Texans. Fearing the entire Confederate brigade was nearby he halted his men and withdrew to Kozlowski's Ranch near Pecos. Maj. Pyron fell back to "wood and water", two critical items in New Mexico during the early spring and sent for help. His courier found Lt. Col. William Scurry at Galisteo, just going into camp with two battalions of the brigade. Within minutes Scurry put his men on the road to Apache Canyon. An all night march through bitter cold brought them to Pyron's position about dawn. The Texans prepared for a Federal Assault and waited throughout the 27th.
At Kozlowski's, Slough and Chivington decided on their plan of attack. Slough would take about 2/3rd of th trooopps' including all the artillery, down the pass toward Santa Fe. Chivington would take his battalion of 113, guided by Lt. Col. J. Francisco Chaves of the New Mexico Volunteers over the shoulder of Glorieta Mesa and fall upon the Confederate flank. The plan was set in motion on the morning of the 28th.
Scurry had decided not to wait at Apache Canyon. He started almost all of his force, including Pyron's men, eastward through the pass. He left his supply wagons with a small guard at Johnson's Ranch at the junction of Glorieta pass and Apache Canyon. Around mid morning he hit Slough's lead elements near Pigeon's Ranch, located on the Santa Fe Trail. Scurry deployed his men in a long line and set his artillery up on a low hill. Slough did the same though his line was shorter than Scurry's, he having about 300 fewer men.
Scurry's battalions attacked with great vigor but were met with equal vigor by teh Coloradans. Slough's position was not strong, but the attack was stopped long enough to give his men time to fall back to a better one. Slough tried to send men to his right around Scurry's flank but a detachment of Texans met his men head on and stopped them. Scurry kept pressure on Slough's line while organizing his own force in a three pronged assault. Late in the afternoon the Confederates attacked Slough's entire front driving in the flanks and threatening the center. The outnumbered Federal infantry held the Texans at bay long enough for the artillery to pull back to a third line. Scurry's men pursued, but were exhausted from the six hour battle. Slough soon abandoned this line leaving the Confederates in undisputed possession of the field.
While all this was going on at Pigeon's Ranch Chivington had completely missed Scurry's flank falling instead on the Confederate suppply train parked at Apache Canyon. Lightly guarded the train was captured and destroyed leaving Scurry with no ammunition, food blankets, or other supplies. Chivington returned to Kozlowski's and Slough's reunited command continued in withdrawal toward Ft. Union. Unbable to sustain his men in the fieldScurry was forced to go back to Santa Fe where Sibley joined him.
Canby had left Ft. Craig early in April and had come north threatening Albuquerque and drawing Sibley's entire force back from Santa Fe. Canby and Slough united their forces east of the Sandia Mountains and now outnumbered the Texans. Sibley faced with superior numbers and even more destitute than before knew that to stay and fight would mean destruction of his brigade. He decided to retreat from New Mexico. The Confederacy never again seriously threatened the far west.
These few lines can not convey the hardships endured by men on both sides in New Mexico. Sibley's campaign covered 2000 miles and his men originally equiped as cavalry walked more than half the route. The Colorado Volunteers on their march from Colorado City to Ft. Union set the standard for endurance by troops anywhere. Starvation, thirst, cold heat and disease killed more men on both sides than did bullets. The battles of Val Verde an Glorieta though tiny by eastern standards were as viciously and brutally contested as Gettysburg. The men who faced the bullets were as brave, hurt as badly and were as morned as deeply as their comrades elsewhere.
