U.S. Civil War Campaign In New Mexico Territory 1862 EL PALACIO MAGAZINE Vol. 96, No. 2 Spring 1991

8/14/2019 U.S. Civil War Campaign In New Mexico Territory 1862 EL PALACIO MAGAZINE Vol. 96, No. 2 Spring 1991

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,}IBLEY CONVINCED DAVIS THAT ITwas possible to raise an army in Texasand lead it on a victorious march throughNew Mexico. His ambitions. however.extended far beyond New Mexico.Whether he confided the scope of hisplans to Davis is uncertain. But once inthe field, he let his men know he wantedto conquer mineral-rich Colorado and toextend the Confederate boundaries toCalifornia's blockade -free ports.AIl this could be accomolished -claimed Sibley - with littlecost to thecash-poor Confederate treasury. Sibley'smen would be able to live off the land asthey won the hearts and provisions of asympathetic populace along the way.Sibley's assumptions regarding the loyal-ties of the residents of New Mexico,Colorado, Utah, and California can bedismissed as the wishful projections ofan ambitious man. But, as a former U.S.Army officer in New Mexico, he shouldhave seen the flaws in his New Mexicostrategy.

***BpronE THE ouTBREAK oF THECivil War, most New Mexicans wereapathetic about the conflict that wasdeveloping.l People were, for the mostpart, more concerned about the details ofdaily life than national affairs, particu-Iarly those that were somewhat remotefrom New Mexico's interests.Howeve4 the slavery issue did affectthe course of affairs in New Mexico. Theregion had made its first bid to become astate in 184$ following the end of theMexican War. At that time, New Mexicowent on record opposing slavery. A fac-tion of prominent New Mexicans - act-ing upon a suggestion made by SenatorThomas Hart Benton, the influential Mis-souri politician who was an advocate ofthe West * drew up a memorial to Con-gress requesting a territorial form of gov-ernment and protection from theintroduction of slavery. In addition, anunratified constitution drafted in 1850banned slavery in New Mexico. Becauseof these actions, the Southern bloc inCongress wouldn't support New Mex-ico's bid for statehood, effectively killingthe territory's efforts to be included inthe Union. Instead, New Mexico wasadmitted to the United States as a terri-tory under the Compromise of 1850 anagreement that attempted to stem theIO SPRINC I99I

growing breach between the North andSouth on issues of states' rights and theexpansion of slavery. Under the com-promise - actually a series of bills -California became a free state, the NewMexico and Utah territories were admit-ted to the Union without restriction onslavery, and the long-standing Texas-New Mexico boundary dispute wasresolved.Until the Compromise of 1850 NewMexico's sentiments tended to lie morewith the North than with the South.2 Butin the next few years, a gradual shift inattitude took place. In 1856, the territory

passed a law curtailing the rights of freeblacks. Three years later, the territoriallegislature passed the New Mexico slavecode, which provided punishment forthose who helped slaves escape. In addi-tion, the code also spelled out how slaveswere to be treated and punished. By186O as a result of these laws, manyobservers believed New Mexico wouldside with the Southern states.In the winter of 1861., Congressdebated the Crittenden Compromise,which would have extended siavery tothe Pacific. Under that compromise, NewMexico would have been in the slaveryextension zone. Miguel A. Otero, NewMexico's delegate to Congress, indicatedthat this was acceptable to the territory.3Otero, who was married to a Southernwoman, had aligned himself with theSouth while serving in Washington, D.C.

He had, for example, supported the ter-ritorial legislature's passage of the slavecode of 1859 in an effort to win favor fromSouthern congressmen and thusinfluence legislation favorable to NewMexico.Howeveq, except for a handful ofprominent political figures, most NewMexicans remained at least passivelyloyal to the Union, and many served asvolunteer troops, militia, and scouts forthe regular army during the Civil War.

Some of that loyalty might be traced toNew Mexicds antipathy for neighboringTexas, which was part of the Confeder-acy. When Texas declared its independ-ence from Mexico in 1836, it claimed all oNew Mexico to the Rio Grande. In addition, Texans thought New Mexicans hadmistreated the men captured during thedisastrous Texas-Santa Fe Expedition of1841. An objective of that expedition -dispatched by Mirabeau Lamar, presi-dent of the new Republic of Texas - wasto seize the trade caravans on the SantaFe Trail. New Mexico forces caotured theremnant of the Texas expedition thatmanaged to reach New Mexicq and thosewho were not executed were sent inchains to Mexico City. Subsequent Texasreprisals only added fuel to the fire.Nevertheless, when the Civil Warbegan, the southern portion of the NewMexico Territory defected to the South.By the 1850s, the fertile Mesilla Valleyhad become the principal agriculturaland population center for the area. Theregion, obtained from Mexico in 1853through the Gadsden Purchase, hadbeen settled mostly by Texans. Isolatedfrom the territorial government in SantaFe, these southern New Mexicans hadtried unsuccessfully in the 1850s tobecome a separate territory. In March186'1,, after learning Texas had secededfrom the Union, residents organized aconvention and announced the forma-tion of the Arizona Territory. The areaincluded all the land below the 34thdegree of latitude in present New Mexicoand Arizona and extended west toCalifornia. The residents organized agovernment and unsuccessfully peti-tioned the Confederacy to admit it as aterritory. Gradually, Federal authority insouthern New Mexico waned.aUnidentified slover, Borker lexos HisloryCenler, Generul [ibrcriec, Universily of lerorcl Austin.


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"WE Sptro Tnt ABs AcomtilG..."lltAs R. BotEs wAs A illlttrEElt-YEAR.otDthird rorporol in Conrpony D of fhe 4th Regi-menl lexoe fflounted Yolunteerc when hefoughl in lhe Boftle of Volverde, lhe firrlnoior Civil Wor engogenent in theSouthwest.

Bolel's rompony, originolly rolled lheSon Andres light Horee (ompony, wos roicedin llilom County, Terur, by Chorles llluionlesueur, who berome o roptoin ol fhe rom-pony. The unil, romposed of men fron tlilomCounly os well os neighboring Williomron(ounly, wos enrclled on Septernber 7, | 861,in ltlilon County. ll wcs nuslered into Con-federole servire for the wor nine doys loler otConp Sibley, neor tcn Anlonio, cr (onpcnyD, 4th Reginrenf feroc tlounled Volunleers.Cornpony D look porl in lhe bdlles of Yol-verde ond Glorieto ond the skirmish d Per-olto. 0f the e:ghty-nine nren on lhe ronponyroll, lhree were rnedirrlly dischorged, lwoioined rhe Regimentol Artillery, ond one whotrunclerred in wos promoled fo regimenfcl rer.geonl ncior prior lo the norrh lo llew Mex-ico. One lrooper wor lelt behind sirk ot furtBliss ond loler died, leoving eighty-two sold-ierr in lhe ronpony for the invorion. Du:inglhe ronrpcign, one nrn died of direme, eightwere killed {three ot Volverde ond fiye otOloriefo), eight were wounded (two ot Yol.verde ond six ot Gloriefo|, ond eleven weretoken prisoner, induding four of lhosewounded ot Glorielo. Iwo nen died ol dis-eose ol lhe end of the conpoign. lfith lherelurn ol lhe fwo men fron lhe RegimenfolAdillery, Compony D orrived botk in SonAnlonio following the llew llexiro ronpoignwith sixly-fwo nen fif for duty. Elios Boleswos one of lhese.

Boles'c leller to his pcrenfr, writlenshorfly ofter the Boltle of Volverde, ronfoinrthe thoughts of o leror-fornboy-turned-lenporory.soldier who is in the midct of thegreolesl udvenlure ol his life - co ftr. Hisyouthful exdtenenl over lhe boflle ond hicenlhusiocn in reloting itr detoils to hir por.enls ore lourhing.

Chorler Bennell, orsislonl direrlor ondrurotor of rollerlions, Polore of the Governore,lronsrribed Boler'r leller, whirh ic in the tol-lertion of fhe History librory ot the Polore ollhe Oovernors. The letler hos been ediled forepelling, gmmmdl, ond eoee in reoding. lheinfornolion ir porenlheeer wos odded by theedifor.12 SPRINC I99I

New Mexico Tbritory, Feb. 28, 1862Dear Mother and Father,

It is with pleasure that I embrace the present opportunity of z.vriting to you. I haoesotne oery good news. . .We haae had a oery hard battle. It utas called the Battle ofValaerde, zahich by being interpreted, is Green Valley. It is situated fiae miles abooeFt. Craig on the Rio Grande. On Sunday the 16th, roe zuas to march up the RioGrande from 12 miles belozo Ft. Craig. We hail marched within three miles of the fofiwhen a large force of caoalry and infantry came to meet us. We only had afew men, Isuppose about 1,000. . .The Abs (Abolitionists) came toward us and we showed fight tothem and they backed off, we suppose to try to get us to follow them to the fort, but zuezuas a little too bold for them. We did not return and started off and they charged(Lieutenant Colonel lohn R.) Baylor's men and fired on them but did no harm. The bogsreturned the compliment and killed one man and utounded one, We all zoentback 1lz miles and camped and stayed. The next day and the nerct u)e crossed the iaerand camped on the other side. . .The next day zoe trazteled about 4 miles, and aboutsundown, zne spied the Abs acoming. . .We run and formed ourseloes on the hill front-ing them antl commenced firing on them with our artillery. We killed tu:o men anil (theFederal troops) fought back to their whole. We then camped, and next morningzrte started on. . . About 8 o'clock they attacked us . . .The first regiment was inadztance and zuas exposed to the fire of the Yanks sometime before we got any help. ThenCol. (Thomas lefferson) Green came to our assistance. Our compafly lr,as on the rightwing zaith 3 others. We was in a aery strong natural position with that noble man(Lieutenant Colonel William R.) Scuny in command. We lay there with our horsesexposed to the fire of the cannon. We held that position for t hour when we lr)as ordercdto the left rning to the relief of Maj. (Samuel A.) Lockridge. We then mounted our horsesand proceeded, and just as we got there rt)e Tnere ordered to take a position in a gullythat gaae us great shelter from the fire of their cannon and small arms. Wewasunder a heaay fire for 4 hours, but you must recollect that zoe zaere doing some shootingtoo. Col. Green z.oas the commanding offieer; he was znhipped nt the time, but the men othe first regiment tolil him that they was not whipped and then feel faulted. Hisartillery (was) right in front of our company. He said he zoanted to be zohere there zaasmen that would stand up to (them) anil he zoould giae (the Federals) some hard pills toswallozu, so lDe commenced firing. Then the Yankees planted their battery 600yards from us; there znere three 12 pounders, one 8 pounder and tzoo 6 pounders, Westood there 15 minutes and a charge znas ordered. Then our eompany zoent in front of thebattery and 4 companies (were) on the left. We fioe companies took the cannon, all sixpieces, and turned them on the Yankees. Good gracious the Abs does run, . , Wgained a complete oictory, run the Yankees anil kept the field. There was 4,500 Yankeeson the field and 1,500 of us. We killed and mortally znounded 400 men. We lost - killedor mortally usounded - between 40 (anil) 50; 120 (zoere) slightly wounded. There weretuto killed in our company. They was Daniel Gilleland and Sim Slaughter. There zaasoery many wounded. They zoere killed dead in the charge on the battery. They died asbraoe as Caesar. lack Gove says, and fohn Sadler, and (lohn M.) Strailer and famesStephens, and all the boys say they zuant you to tell their folks that they are well andthat they did not get hurt in the Battle. I haoe not got time to zorite any more ofimportance, My candle is glimmeilng. I hazte not told you half I could but we hazte tosend our letters through the mountains for zoe are 40 miles aboae Craig and the Yankeesare there and our mails cannot get belozo. We will starve them out after zohile.Write soon,Yottr son,E.R. Boles

P.S.: The battle lasted t hours.E.R.B


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After the outbreak of the Civil Wat,territorial officials in New Mexico feareda Confederate force from Texas mightinvade the territory. In fact, an unsignedand undated letter, attributed to Nicol6sPino, a Galisteo resident who had been aleading participant in numerous com-mercial, military, and political events inNew Mexicg expressed that fear.s Theletter, written in code, was recentlydeciphered by Los Alamos National Lab-oratory:SE]TOR, POR ESTE PAIS CORRENRUMORES QUE LOS CONFEDERADOSESTAN ORGANISANDO UNA FUERSAQUE MARCHARA SOBRE N.M. ESTONECISITA CONFIRMASION I SI ES QUE LAHAIA I LLEGUE A MI NOTISIA, POR SERAQUI TAN REMOTAS ESTAS, U SERAINFORMADO. UN SERBIDORDE USIR, RUMORS ARE THAT THE CONFEDER-ATES ARE ORGANIZING A FORCE THATWILL MARCH THROUGH NEW MEXICO.THIS WILL NEED CONFIRMATION. IFSUCH NEWS EXISTS AND GETS TO THISREMOTE AREA OF MINE, YOU SHALL BEINFORMED. YOUR SERVANT.

Actually, the future of the entireAmerican Southwest was much in doubtwith the beginning of the Civil War. TheConfederate government wanted theregion and was planning to seize it. Withgold from Western mines, the Southcould purchase arms and other materi6labroad. And California ports would givethe South an outlet on the Pacific thatwasn t subject to Federal naval blockadesas were those on the Atlantic and Gulf ofMexico. The federal government alsorealized the importance of the South-west. The Union's treasury needed thegold and silver resources; additionally,the North did not want the Southwest,especially the Pacific coast, to fall to theSouth and become a slave-holdinq area.

***Tsn crvn waR BATTLES IN NEwMexico pitted against each other twomen who had been cadets together at theUnited States Military Academy at WestPoint and fellow officers in the U.S.Army. Henry Hopkins Sibley was a Mex-ican War hero who was commissioned abrigadier general when he joined theConfederate Army. Sibley had becomefamiliar with New Mexico while cam-paigning against the Navajo Indians in

the 1850s while serving under EdwardR.S. Canby, the Federal officer he wouldoppose in the invasion of the territory.Canby had also been best man at Sibley'swedding and was married to Mrs.Sibley's cousin. The Federal command ofthe Military Department of New Mexicohad been given to Canby, then a colonel,just before the Confederate invasion.As the first shots were fired on FortSumter, Southern sympathizers in Texaswere already raising troops to secure thesouthern tier of the American West, run-ning through Arkansas to the Pacificcoast. Sibley, who had convinced Jeffer-

son Davis to let him lead a force to drivethe Union soldiers out of New Mexico,arrived in San Antonio, Texas, in thesummer of 1861., and immediately beganrecruiting the Confederate Army of NewMexico, a brigade of three mounted regi-ments. Volunteer soldiers - as opposedto regulars or professional army soldiers- were paid, nonprofessional troopsrecruited by both sides in the Civil Warfor a specific purpose/ such as Sibley'scampaign, and for a set period of time.Sibley's army was to subsist off theland in New Mexico, obtaining local sup-port and seizing Federal supplies, espe-cially those at Fort Union, an importantmilitary supply depot on the Santa FeTrail near Las Vegas. Fort Union was aprincipal supply depot that providedfood, furniture, and weapons to all themilitary posts in the Southwest. Once

Fort Union had been captured and thetroops resupplied, the Confederateswould proceed north, seize the mines oColorado, turn west, pick up the supporof the Mormons in Utah, and then takesouthern California, giving the South atleast one port on the Pacific.

tk**Tun crvn wAR BATTLES IN THEtrans-Mississippi West turned out to bewarfare in its rawest state. Ill-equippedand poorly trained armies trudged hun-dred of miles across inhospitable moun-tains and deserts to fight the enemy, andupon defeat they would fall back acrossdistances half the breadth of Texas. TheWestern Civil War campaign would haveshocked the soldiers who fought in themajor Eastern battles such as Gettysburgand Shiloh.In the spring of1861,, Confederatetroops seized Fort Bliss in El Paso, andthe residents of Mesilla, near present LaCruces, were flying the Confederate flagExpecting a Confederate invasion ofsouthern New Mexico, Canby immedi-ately strengthened Fort Fillmore on theRio Crande near Mesilla.On July 23, a 254-man detachmentof Lieutenant Colonel John R. Baylor'sbattalion of 2nd Regiment Texas MounteRifles crossed into present-day NewMexico from El Paso and seized FortFillmore, effectively clearing southernNew Mexico of Union control. However,the detachment was too small to con-tinue its offensive. Nevertheless, onAugust 1, Baylor issued a proclamationestablishing the Confederate Territory oArizona with Mesilla as its capital. Nobashful fellow, Baylor also seihimself upas governor.The recruitment of volunteers inNew Mexico to bolster the Union troopsin the territory had begun in the summeof 1861., but the response had been tor-pid. On September 9, territorial Gover-nor Henry Connelly issued a proclama-tion in both English and Spanish urgingthe people to arms. This time theresponse was good: five regiments of vounteers, a regiment of militia, a battalionof militia, and three independent cavalrycompanies were raised. Ninety-seven

tloior Oenercl Edword R. S. Conby, UnitedStotee Arny {librory ol Congress}.

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percent of these volunteers wereHispanic.Sibley and his Confederate Army ofNew Mexico left San Antonio on October22.The force numbered about 9700 men.After marching across Texas, the armyregrouped in late January 1862nearMesilla and prepared to march up theRio Grande into the heart of New Mex-

ico. Ninety miles to the north was FortCraig, a complex of adobe and stonebuildings where Canby had gathered aforce of 4,000. These troops were regularFederal soldiers, New Mexico volunteersincluding a regiment commanded byChristopher "Kit" Carson, some militia,and a company of Colorado infantry vol-unteers.When Sibley's Confederate armyarrived in the vicinity of Fort Craig onFebruary 16, Canby refused to be drawninto battle. Instead, he remained at thefort, awaiting attack. Sibley decided tobypass the fort, crossing the Rio Grandebelow the fort and fording the river againsix miles north at Valverde. Sibley's plan,if it worked, would isolate the Uniontroops, cut their supply route and renderthem ineffectual. But Union troons weredispatched from Fort Craig to stop theConfederates as they prepared to recrossthe Rio Grande. The result was the firstmajor clash of the Civil War in the South-west, the Battle of Valverde, on February21.,1862.Confederates engaged Union troopsearly in the day, and a Confederatecharge nearly succeeded. But it wasrepulsed by the Colorado infantry, whichrallied when its commanding officershouted, "They are Texans; give themhell!" Several Union attacks were beatenoff by the Confederates before they madea rush of their own. Canby arrived at thebattlefield to take personal command ofthe Union troops late in the afternoon.He ordered an assault, but before hecould mobilize his men, the Confeder-ates attacked, throwing the Federal ranksinto disorder. Confederate soldierscharged again, overrunning the Unionartillery battery. Canby soon ordered histroops to withdraw to Fort Craig. TheConfederates pursued, inflicting addi-tional Union losses.The Union reported 68 killed, 160wounded, and 25 taken prisoner, whilethe Confederates reported 36 dead and150 wounded. The Confederates also losthalf their cavalry mounts and had to con-14 SPRINC I99I

vert one regiment to infantry. "It's truly asad day - to hear the groans of thewounded and witness the burial of thelamented dead wrapped in a blanket as acoffin!" Private William R. Howell, atwenty-year-old Confederate soldierwrote after the battle. The Battle o{ Val-verde was a Confederate victory, and theroute to the interior of New Mexico wasopened for the Confederate advance.Two days later the Confederate armycontinued its forward movement uo theRio Grande Valley. Within a week,advance units covered the 100 miles toAlbuquerque, seizing Federal supplies

that had not been burned or removed.The Confederates then moved to SantaFe, entering the capital on March 10. Theterritorial governor had already departedto establish a temporary seat of govern-ment in Las Vegas, New Mexicq and a120-wagon army train, escorted by all theFederal troops in Santa Fe, had removedthe remaining military supplies fromSanta Fe to Fort Union. With the caDtureof Santa Fe, the Confederate conqu-est ofNew Mexico was almost complete; onlyFort Union remained before the Con-federates could move on to the ColoradoTerritory.After taking Santa Fe, Sibley pre-pared to march on Fort Union. Accordingto his spies, Fort Union was garrisonedwith 800 men. Sibley believed his numer-ically superior force could easily defeatthose troops. Siblev had been Fort

Union's commander the year before, andhe was familiar with the post's defenses.He was not aware, however, that a new,stronger earthwork fortification had beeconstructed the previous fall. Sibley alsodid not know that Federal troops fromColorado and California had begunheading for New Mexico to counter theConfederate invasion. In late Februaryand early March, companies of the lstRegiment Colorado Volunteer Infantryhad set out for New Mexico. Most of theColorado volunteers were miners andfrontiersmen eager for adventure. Freez,ing temperatures and snow made theirmarch difficult. When they learned ofthe Union defeat at Valverde, they quick-ened their pace to a remarkable 40 milesa day. They learned while crossing RatonPass that Albuquerque had fallen. The1,300-man force that arrived at FortUnion had marched 172miles throughdeep snow and over high mountainpasses in only five days.The commander of the Colorado Vounteers, Colonel John P. Slough, ignoredCanby's orders to remain and defendFort Union. Instead, he assumed chargeof the post by virtue of his rank andmade immediate plans to march againstthe Confederates. On March22, 1,348men - the Fort Union troops, theColorado volunteers, and a company ofthe 4th Regiment New Mexico Volunteer- departed the fort and marched southon the Santa Fe Trail toward Santa Fe.6Meanwhile, Sibley and his troops weremoving up the Santa Fe Trail toward FortUnion.On March 26, near the narrowmouth of Apache Canyon, about 15miles from Santa Fe, forward units of thetwo armies clashed. The Colorado volunteers charged the Confederate ranks andforced a retreat. Thirty-two Confederatesoldiers were killed, forty-threewounded, and seventy taken prisoner;Union casualties were five killed andfourteen wounded. Although small inscale, the Battle of Apache Canyon wasthe first Federal victory in New Mexico.

Two days lateq, Union and Confeder-ate troops fought again, this time in thepartially wooded depression calledPigeons Ranch, a hostelry on the SantaFe Trail consisting of a series of adobe

Chrislopher "Kil" Corson, lrt Regiment llewtlexiro Volunteers. flllllUl lleg. llo. 58388.


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buildings on the east side of GlorietaPass. The Battle of Glorieta lasted sixhours, included 850 Union and 1,200Confederate troops, and consisted ofartillery strikes, cavalry and infantrycharges, sharpshooters, bayonet assaults,and hand-to-hand combat with pistolsand knives. Sharpshooter's Ridge, a highrock outcrop was a strategic objectiveduring the battle. Federal troops firstheld the ridge, but the Confederates laterwon the position. From it, they were ableto fire down upon the Federal artillery,forcing the Union soldiers to withdraweastward to the final battle line. Whenthe fight was ovel, the Confederates wereholding the field. An estimated thirty-eight Union soldiers had been killed,sixty-four wounded, and twenty cap-tured, while thirty-six Confederates hadbeen killed, sixty wounded, and twenty-five captured. Many Federal soldiersassumed they had lost.

However, during the battle, a contin-gent of 400 to 450 Union troops circledthrough the mountains around the bat-tlefield and destroyed the Confederatesupply train, which had been left behindso it wouldnlt restrict the force's move-ments. The Union troops were led byColorado Volunteers Major fohn M.Chivington and guided by LieutenantColonel Manuel Chaves, a New Mexicanfamiliar with the area. The destruction ofthe supplies necessary to continue theinvasion forced the Confederates to fallback to Santa Fe. In addition, Uniontroops were marching north from FortCraig to attack Sibley's army. These com-bined factors left the Confederates nochoice but to abandon their advance.The Battle of Glorieta has beendescribed as the "Gettysburg of theWest" because it turned the tide of Con-federate intentions in the West, much asthe 1863 Battle of Gettysburg stopped theConfederate thrust into the Union states.In a last attempt to save the campaign,Sibley wrote the governor of Texas fromSanta Fe requesting reinforcements, butto no avail.

Canby, who set out from Fort Craigwith 1,200 Federal troops, learned theoutcome of the Battle of Glorieta whenhe reached Socorro. There, he devised astrategy to force the Confederates fromSanta Fe, then Albuquerque, and finallyall of New Mexico.Canby ordered troops from FortUnion to march toward Santa Fe while

his men continued their march northfrom Fort Craig toward Albuquerque. Hehoped these movements would force theConfederates to abandon Santa Fe andconcentrate their strength at Albuquer-que to protect the remaining Confederatesupplies stored there. As expected, theConfederates abandoned Santa Fe forAlbuquerque on April 7 and 8. Uniontroops entered the capital soon after-ward, and immediately marched southto join Canby's force near Albuquerque.Although a major clash in or nearAlbuquerque seemed imminent, theConfederates decided to abandon the

campaign and withdraw from New Mex-ico. Low on supplies, with no reinforce-ments forthcoming, and without thesupport of New Mexico residents thatSibley had been counting on, the Con-federates evacuated Albuquerque onAprtl12 and began the long march backto Texas.Canby has been criticized for notengaging the Confederates with hisnumerically superior and betterequipped force. However, manyhistorians believe Canby's objective wasto harry the Confederate retreat andavoid a battle in which he would captureConfederate soldiers and incur responsi-bility for the care of a large number ofprisoners.TUnion troops did fight the Confeder-ates in a skirmish sometimes referred toas the Battle of Peralta a few miles south

of Albuquerque, but this is viewed asfurther Union encouragement for theConfederates to depart New Mexico Ter-ritory. Sibley and the Confederate armycontinued their retreat, making a brutal100-mile, eight-day detour around FortCraig though deserts and mountains. Bythe first week of May, most of the Con-federate army had left New Mexico; onlya few rear guard detachments remained.By the second week of July 1862, all Confederate troops had vacated New MexicoTerritory. Sibley's original force of 3,700men had been reduced - throughdeath, wounds, illness, capture, anddesertion - to slightly more than 1,500during the six-month Confederate cam-paign in New Mexico.The collapse of Sibley's New Mexicocampaign ended the Confederacy'sgrand scheme of expansion to the PacificFor the duration of the Civil Wat, NewMexico Territory remained firmly inUnion hands. *l. Bancroft, Hubert Howe, Arizona and Nm Muico,1530-1888 (San Francisco: The History Co., 1889) p. 682. For the story of New Mexico's pursuit of state-hood, see Larson, Robert W, Nm Muico's Quest forStatehood, 1846-1912 (Albuquerque: University ofNew Mexico Press, 1968).3. Beck, Warren, New Mexico: A History in Four Centries (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1968).4. Hall, Martin Hardwick, SiblE's Nau Mexico Cam-paign, (Arstin: University of Texas Press, "1962), pp.145-147.5. This document is in Miscellaneous Records: Per-sons, Pino, Nicolds, July 1857, New Mexico StateRecords Center and Archives. Marian F. Love {oundthe letter while conducting research for a biographyof Pino. The letter was deciphered by Louise Carlsoand Clara Chavez, PA-3 Volunteer Services in theCommunity Relations Department, Los AlamosNational Laboratory Los Alamos, New Mexico.5. A complete list of the troops who fought in theBattle of Glorieta isinthe Santa Fe Gazette, Apr1l26,1862.7. For a detailed story of the battles and personalitieof the campaign, see: Alberts, DonE., Rebels on theRio Grande: The Ciail War Joumal of A.B. Peticolas(Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press,1984); Whitford, William Clarke, Colorado Volunteersin the Ciuil War: The Nao Mexico Campaign in 1862(Denver: the State Historical and Natural HistorySociety, 1905, republished in 1963 by Pruett Press,Boulder, Colorado); and Hall, Martin Hardwick,Sibley's New Mexicl Campaign (Atstin: University ofTexas Press, 1960) and The Confederate Amy of NmMexlco (Austin: Presidial Press, 19Z8).

Colonel llonuel Chovee, 2nd Reginent llewllleriro Yolunteers. lt|llfll lleg. llo. 9833.EL PALACIO

Documents

U.S. Civil War Campaign In New Mexico Territory 1862 EL PALACIO MAGAZINE Vol. 96, No. 2 Spring 1991