Confederates Eye New Mexico Territory (Article 113)

The ranchers, farmers and miners in the Southern part of the New Mexico Territory (which included the later designated State of Arizona) were an independent lot. They cared little for Federal policies originated in Washington DC and imposed by territorial governors they had not elected. To those settlers, the focus of the Washington bureaucrats seemed to be on the control of some of the more resistant Native-American tribes and protection of commerce in the larger settlements; and to that end, many small several forts had been strategically placed throughout the west. Slavery was not prevalent in those areas and neither was the issue of state’s rights, after all, the “territories” were not states. However, by early 1861, there was some sympathy for the new Confederate States of America, which had recently objected to federal authority and declared their independence. So, Confederate leaders thought they might find a receptive population in the Territory, which might eventually become part of the new Confederate nation.

At the outbreak of Civil War, many of the soldiers of the relatively small U.S. Army were stationed west of the Mississippi and scattered at outposts throughout the western states and the eight vast Territories, including the New Mexico Territory.  But Abraham Lincoln perceived the greatest threat from the Confederacy to be in and around Washington DC, and he and his military leaders ordered most of the western troops back to defend the Capital city from possible attack. In the resulting vacuum in the west, some in the Confederate government saw an opportunity to take control of the New Mexico Territory, which was adjacent to the seceded state of Texas, and, perhaps, offer citizenship to the inhabitants; in effect, expanding the Confederacy westward.

The Confederates were not the only ones watching Union soldiers depart their western forts for duty in the east. Native tribes also began to attempt to reclaim lands west of the Mississippi.  In large part, the Native Americans were thwarted, not by battles, but by Federal government initiatives to flood the west with new immigrants who would largely tend to be Union supporters.  During the Civil War, the Homestead Act and the Transcontinental Railroad and Telegraph programs encouraged settlement west of the Mississippi and, in part, prevented the tribes from regaining control of their ancestral lands.

But the Confederates decided to occupy the New Mexico territory and in early 1862, less than a year after the Civil War started, the Southern Army sent detachments from Texas to bring those western lands under Confederate authority. They hoped to gain control of not only the major settlements, but also of the gold and silver mining camps that extended into what is now Colorado. Their long-term strategic plans even envisioned control of a swath of land across the Mexican and southern California borders to gain access to the Pacific Ocean; and then a possible run at the gold fields in central California.

With the transfer of most of the U.S. Army troops back east, President Abraham Lincoln authorized the raising of volunteers within the western states and territories "to aid in enforcing the laws and protecting public property." Such concerns for security were warranted, particularly in areas with populations sympathetic to the Confederacy, or where restive native tribes might try to regain control, or at forts where stores of weapons and ammunition had been left.

Although the New Mexico territory was a large expanse of land, it was inevitable that the patrolling Confederate troops would encounter the irregular Union forces, which were a combination of a few remaining western based Union soldiers along with volunteers raised from the Territories and California. Two of the better-known engagements were at Glorieta Pass in northern New Mexico and at Picacho Pass (or Picacho Peak), near Tucson, in what is now Arizona.

The first battle, near Glorieta Pass, occurred in March, 1862, after the Confederates had already taken effective control of both Albuquerque and Santa Fe, and decided to march with about 1,000 men northward to the Colorado mining areas. The Union commander still in New Mexico Territory was able to enlist the support of several hundred men from the northern part of the Territory, as well as others from the Colorado mining camps (also about 1,000 in all), to try to halt the Confederate advance. The Union soldiers and volunteers and the Confederate force met in the vicinity Glorieta Pass in late March. In a series of quick engagements and skirmishes, the Confederate advance northward was slowed, but the Southern soldiers began re-gain the advantage. Then, in an extraordinary bit of good luck for the Union (bad luck for the Confederates), a detachment of the Union forces happened upon the large contingent of Confederate supply wagons, necessary for the long trip to Colorado, and destroyed the essential materials. The Confederates had no choice but to abandon the mission and return to Santa Fe and Albuquerque. After assessing the situation, most of the Southern forces later moved back into Texas at San Antonio. To the soldiers on both sides who fought at Glorieta Pass, the words “engagements” or “skirmishes” must have seemed inadequate. Fifty-one Union men died over the few days and 78 were wounded, while others were missing. The Confederates lost forty-six dead and nearly 200 wounded and missing; and they had to bear the additional pain of retreating in defeat.

With some hyperbole, years after the Civil War, some writers of history dubbed the Battle of Glorieta Pass as the "Gettysburg of the West," but there was no legitimate comparison; except that the Union prevailed (barely) as it would on the Pennsylvania battle-ground over a year later in July 1863.

A month before the battle at Glorieta Pass, in February 1862, a Confederate unit of about 120 men had moved farther west from Albuquerque toward Tucson, a small settlement in what is now Arizona, but was then part of the New Mexico Territory. The Confederates were generally welcomed by the citizens, and, in a largely ceremonial event, the commander declared Tucson as the “Confederate Capital of the Western District of the Arizona Territory.” Concerned that Confederate forces might attempt to move even farther west, a “California Column” of over 2,000 men was formed to engage the Confederates before they could reach that Union (non-slave) state. A few weeks after the battle at Glorieta Pass, in April 1862, a group of ten Confederate soldiers were patrolling near Picacho Peak (or Picacho Pass), north of Tucson. A scouting party of thirteen of the California-based Union troops spotted the Confederates and the young Lieutenant in command, James Barrett, ordered his men to charge the enemy camp. It was an unwise decision, perhaps caused by excitement combined with over-confidence, as he had been instructed to report any enemy contact back to the larger force. Within an hour, three of the Californians were killed, including Barrett; however, the survivors managed to capture three of the Confederates. The other seven Southern soldiers returned to Tucson and alerted their commander, who decided to abandon their position in Tucson and return east into Texas. That action likely prevented an attack on Tucson by the much larger California Column, saving the Confederate unit to fight another day; but just not in the New Mexico-Arizona Territory.  And, in fact, scouts from the “California Column” soon confirmed that the Confederates had withdrawn from Tucson, and those men then returned to their homes with their mission accomplished and their war essentially over.

While there were a few more battles west of the Mississippi (primarily in Arkansas and Texas), the Confederate hope for a far western presence effectively ended at Glorieta Pass and Picacho Peak.