New Mexico Civil War Battle Glorieta Pass American Civil War

American Civil War
March 26-28, 1862

Glorieta Pass was a strategic location, situated at the southern tip of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, southeast of Santa Fe, and on the Santa Fe Trail. In March 1862, a Confederate force of 200-300 Texans under the command of Major Charles L. Pyron encamped at Johnson's Ranch, at one end of the pass. Union Major John M. Chivington led more than 400 soldiers to the Pass and on the morning of March 26 moved out to attack.
After noon, Chivington's men captured some Rebel advance troops and then found the main force behind them. Chivington advanced on them, but their artillery fire threw him back. He regrouped, split his force to the two sides of the pass, caught the Rebels in a crossfire, and soon forced them to retire. Pyron and his men retired about a mile and a half to a narrow section of the pass and formed a defensive line before Chivington's men appeared.
The Yankees flanked Pyron's men again and punished them with enfilade fire. The Confederates fled again and the Union cavalry charged, capturing the rearguard. Chivington then retired and went into camp at Kozlowski's Ranch. No fighting occurred the next day as reinforcements arrived for both sides. Lt. Col. William R. Scurry's troops swelled the Rebel ranks to about 1,100 while Union Col. John P. Slough arrived with about 900 men.
Both Slough and Scurry decided to attack and set out early on the 28th to do so. As Scurry advanced down the canyon, he saw the Union forces approaching, so he established a battle line, including his dismounted cavalry. Slough hit them before 11:00 am. The Confederates held their ground and then attacked and counterattacked throughout the afternoon.
The fighting then ended as Slough retired first to Pigeon's Ranch and then to Kozlowski's Ranch. Scurry soon left the field also, thinking he had won the battle. Chivington's men, how-ever, had destroyed all Scurry's supplies and animals at Johnson's Ranch, forcing him to retreat to Santa Fe, the first step on the long road back to San Antonio, Texas.
The Federals had won and, thereby, stopped Confederate incursions into the Southwest. Glorieta Pass was the turning point of the war in the New Mexico Territory.
Result(s): Union victory
Location: Santa Fe County and San Miguel County
Campaign: Sibley's New Mexico Campaign (1862)
Date(s): March 26-28, 1862
Principal Commanders: Maj. John C. Chivington and Col. John P. Slough [US]; Maj. Charles L. Pyron and Lt. Col. William R. Scurry [CS]
Forces Engaged: Northern Division, Army of New Mexico [US]; 4th, 5th, and 7th Texas Cavalry Regiment, artillery, and a company of independent volunteers [CS]

Estimated Casualties: 331 total (US 142; CS 189)

The Battle of Glorieta Pass
by Thomas S. Edrington, John Taylor
A Gettysburg in the West, March 26-28, 1862

Following the third day of the Battle of Glorieta Pass, the Texans found themselves surrounded without provisions. Thomas Edrington and John Taylor combine data from records and documents with their firsthand inspections of the battlefield to reconstruct what happened on both sides of the line before, during, and after this controversial Civil War engagement. 35 photos. 14 maps.

New Mexico State Battle Map
State Battle Maps
American Civil War Exhibits
Civil War Timeline
Women in the War

American Civil War Book Titles

The Civil War in Arizona: The Story of the California Volunteers, 1861-1865
History of the California Column in wartime Arizona and a rare compilation of letters written by the volunteer soldiers who served in the U.S. Army from 1861 to 1866. These letters provide testimony of the grueling desert conditions the soldiers endured as they fought on many fronts
Confederate Armies: Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, the Confederate Units and the Indian Units
This volume is arranged by state; units organized directly by the Confederate authorities from various state companies; and those units from the Indian nations allied with the Confederacy. Chapters are included for artillery, cavalry and infantry units that are broken down by size: battalions, batteries, companies and regiments
Civil War in the American West
An accurate and detailed history of the Western Theater of the Civil War, which was largely forgotten by history. He was one of the first historians to fully understand the impact that California had on the war as he gives an accounting of the Federal raid on the Dan Showalter Ranch in San Bernadino on October 5, 1861.
The American Indian in the Civil War, 1862-1865
The 1862 Battle of Pea Ridge, a bloody disaster for the confederates but a glorious moment for Colonel Stand Watie and his Cherokee Mounted Rifles. The Indians were soon enough swept by the war into a vortex of confusion and chaos.

The Confederate War Bonnet: A Novel of the Civil War in Indian Territory
An evocative historical novel that helps to answer how Indians became involved in the Civil War, why they joined Confederate forces, and how the experience shaped their future in America.
The American Indian and the End of the Confederacy, 1863-1866
The vulnerability of the Indians caught between two warring sides. The failure of the US government to afford to the southern Indians the protection solemnly guaranteed by treaty stipulations was the great cause of their entering into an alliance with The Confederacy
General Stand Watie's Confederate Indians
The Confederacy pioneered the idea of giving blacks and women positions of authority [the Matron Law], placed Jews in positions of power, put General's stars on a Mexican and the first American Indian General. This book is his story
Sam Bell Maxey and the Confederate Indians
Accompanying photos, clear maps. This book will leave you wanting to learn more about this rather neglected region of the war. No less important in many regards for the defining of the nation's future than the more well-known battlefields of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Highly recommended

Sources:

U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress.

The Civil War in Arizona: The Story of the California Volunteers, 1861-1865 History of the California Column in wartime Arizona and a rare compilation of letters written by the volunteer soldiers who served in the U.S. Army from 1861 to 1866. These letters provide testimony of the grueling desert conditions the soldiers endured as they fought on many fronts	Confederate Armies: Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, the Confederate Units and the Indian Units This volume is arranged by state; units organized directly by the Confederate authorities from various state companies; and those units from the Indian nations allied with the Confederacy. Chapters are included for artillery, cavalry and infantry units that are broken down by size: battalions, batteries, companies and regiments	Civil War in the American West An accurate and detailed history of the Western Theater of the Civil War, which was largely forgotten by history. He was one of the first historians to fully understand the impact that California had on the war as he gives an accounting of the Federal raid on the Dan Showalter Ranch in San Bernadino on October 5, 1861.	The American Indian in the Civil War, 1862-1865 The 1862 Battle of Pea Ridge, a bloody disaster for the confederates but a glorious moment for Colonel Stand Watie and his Cherokee Mounted Rifles. The Indians were soon enough swept by the war into a vortex of confusion and chaos.
The Confederate War Bonnet: A Novel of the Civil War in Indian Territory An evocative historical novel that helps to answer how Indians became involved in the Civil War, why they joined Confederate forces, and how the experience shaped their future in America.	The American Indian and the End of the Confederacy, 1863-1866 The vulnerability of the Indians caught between two warring sides. The failure of the US government to afford to the southern Indians the protection solemnly guaranteed by treaty stipulations was the great cause of their entering into an alliance with The Confederacy	General Stand Watie's Confederate Indians The Confederacy pioneered the idea of giving blacks and women positions of authority [the Matron Law], placed Jews in positions of power, put General's stars on a Mexican and the first American Indian General. This book is his story	Sam Bell Maxey and the Confederate Indians Accompanying photos, clear maps. This book will leave you wanting to learn more about this rather neglected region of the war. No less important in many regards for the defining of the nation's future than the more well-known battlefields of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Highly recommended

Glorieta Pass New Mexico

American Civil War March 26-28, 1862

American Civil War
March 26-28, 1862