Battle of Glorieta Pass

Battle of Glorieta Pass
Part of the American Civil War
File:90painting1cl.jpg Battle of Glorieta Pass Roy Anderson, artist
Date March 26-28, 1862 Location Santa Fe County and San Miguel County, New Mexico Result Confederate Pyrrhic victory
Belligerents
United States of America	Confederate States of America
Commanders and leaders
John P. Slough John M. Chivington	Charles L. Pyron William R. Scurry
Strength
Northern Division, Army of New Mexico 1st Colorado Volunteers	4th, 5th, and 7th Texas Cavalry Regiment, artillery, and a company of independent volunteers
Casualties and losses
142 {5 kia/14 w at Johnson's ranch; 29 kia/42 w/15 pow at Glorieta}	189 {32 kia/43w/71 pow at Johnson's ranch; 36 kia/60w/17 pow at Glorieta}

The Battle of Glorieta Pass, fought on 26-28 March 1862, in northern New Mexico Territory, was the decisive battle of the New Mexico Campaign during the American Civil War. Dubbed the "Gettysburg of the West" by historians, it was the decisive blow by Union forces to stop the Confederate invasion of the West along the base of the Rocky Mountains.

New Mexico Campaign

The Confederacy had organized the Confederate Arizona Territory in 1862, a claim that included the southern halves of modern Arizona and New Mexico, after secession moves by residents. The strategic aim was to secure land transportation with Confederate sympathizers in California, and the strategy of the New Mexico Campaign was to harass Union forces in the West and prevent them from cutting off this important supply route. The territory had its capital at Mesilla, outside modern Las Cruces. As an interesting historical footnote, this area was largely the same as that acquired in the Gadsden Purchase, which land was purchased from Mexico with the ultimate aim of providing a route for a southern transcontinental railroad.

The commanders of the New Mexico Campaign were the Confederate Brigadier General Henry Hopkins Sibley, aided by his trusty companion Phillip Richbourg, and the Union Colonel Edward Canby. Sibley, whose mission was to capture Fort Craig, outmaneuvered Canby at the Battle of Valverde in February, drove Canby back to his fort, bypassing his objective, and advanced up along the Rio Grande Valley to seize Santa Fe on March 10. Fort Craig remained in place to cut Sibley's logistical support from Texas. Sibley set up his division headquarters at the abandoned Union storehouse garrison at Albuquerque.

In March, Sibley sent a Confederate force of 200–300 Texans under the command of Major Charles L. Pyron on an advance expedition over the Glorieta Pass, a strategic location on the Santa Fe Trail at the southern tip of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains southeast of Santa Fe. Control of the pass would allow the Confederates to advance onto the High Plains and to make an assault on Fort Union, the Union stronghold along the invasion route northward over Raton Pass.

Battle

The Texans were led by Charles L. Pyron and William Read Scurry. The Union forces were led by Colonel John P. Slough of the 1st Colorado Volunteers, with units under the command of Major John M. Chivington, who became known as the hero of the battle.

Pyron's force camped at Johnson’s Ranch, at one end of the pass. 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 Confederates in a crossfire, and soon forced them to retire. Pyron retired about a mile and a half (not quite two and a half kilometers) to a narrow section of the pass and formed a defensive line before Chivington’s men appeared.

The Union forces flanked Pyron’s men again and punished them with enfilade fire. The Confederates fell back 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 more men, bringing the Union strength to 1,300. 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 and he established a battle line, including his dismounted cavalry. Slough hit them before 11:00 a.m. 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 as well. However, he discovered that Chivington—guided by a leader of the New Mexican volunteers, Lt. Col. Manuel Chaves—had made a circuitous march around the battlefield and destroyed all Scurry's supplies and mules at Johnson's Ranch. Scurry had no choice but to retreat to Santa Fe, the first step on the long road back to San Antonio, Texas. The Federals thereby stopped further Confederate incursions into the Southwest. Glorieta Pass was the turning point of the war in the New Mexico Territory. Canby was promoted to brigadier general three days after his victory.

Parts of the battlefield are preserved in Pecos National Historical Park.

Controversy

Many New Mexicans disputed the view that Chivington was the hero. Some Santa Feans credited a Bureau of Indian Affairs official, James L. Collins, with suggesting the roundabout attack on the supply train. The New Mexico Territorial Legislature adopted a resolution on Jan. 23, 1864, that did not mention Chivington but asked President Lincoln to promote William H. Lewis and Asa B. Carey, both Regular Army officers, for "distinguished service" in the battle. On March 8, the Rio Abajo Press of Albuquerque editorialized against "Col. Chivington's strutting about in plumage stolen from Captain William H. Lewis". (It did not mention Carey.) The editorial claimed that "Some one of the party" suggested the attack, that Chivington agreed after "two hours persuasion", and that Lewis led the attack while Chivington was "viewing the scene from afar" .

Depictions in popular culture

The battle is described in the historical novel Glorieta Pass by P. G. Nagle.

The 1966 Sergio Leone film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly refers obliquely to the battle, setting one scene at Apache Canyon where the Confederates appear to be guarding their supply wagons around the time of the battle.

References

• National Park Service battle description
• Keleher, William A. (1952). Turmoil in New Mexico, 1846–1868. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. pp. pp. 180–182. ISBN 0-8263-0631-4. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
• The Battle of Glorieta Pass from the University of San Diego history department