Battle of Glorieta Pass

The Battle of Glorieta Pass was fought from 26 to 28 March 1862, was the decisive confrontation of the New Mexico campaign, a survey carried out as part of the American Civil War Confederate military operation. With this battle, Union units successfully stopped the invasion of the Confederate forces in the New Mexico Territory.

Expiration

On March 25, 1862 an advance party of the Confederacy, under the command of Major Charles L. Pyron had a camp near Johnson ` s related Ranch ( Canoncito ), at the end of Glorieta Pass, which at the southern end of the Sangre de Cristo Range, southeast of Santa Fe was on the historic Santa Fe Trail and represented a strategically important position. The 300 to 400 Southerners left their camp early in the morning on the 26th and came across Slough vanguard, 420 men under the command of John M. Chivington, who had already overwhelmed around 12:00 clock a small advance party of the Confederacy. The Confederates now formed a line of battle across the road, were of Chivingtons men who were initially driven back by the artillery of the Southerners, however, outmaneuvered by circumventing this their enemy on the flanks. The Confederates had to retreat and moved to a new defensive position in just west of their position located Apache Canyon, a narrow valley with some cultivated fields. Chivington be repeated here flanking maneuver in conjunction with a massive cavalry attack, which prompted the Confederates to a repeated retreat to previously purchased stock in the nearby Canoncito. Besides, numerous Confederate soldiers were taken prisoner. Chivington made ​​his attacks one now and retreated to the main camp of the Union forces at Kozlowski 's Ranch, a station of the Santa Fe Trail back. From his camp from Pyron sent a message with the request for urgent reinforcement at the not far distant main force of the Confederacy.

The next day there were no hostilities. However, both sides received reinforcements. Lieutenant Colonel William R. Scurrys Confederate troops reached a strength of 1,100 men, arrived while the Northern States as reinforcement Colonel John P. Slough with 900 fresh men from Fort Union. Both sides decided to attack and the early morning of March 28 they put their plan into action. The ensuing battle was marked by attacks and counter- attacks on the defense lines quickly formed by each side, the opponents were trying to outmaneuver each other and to achieve through flank attacks an advantage. The scene of the battle, which began around 11:00 clock, shifted in this way the location of the first meeting first in the near Pigeon 's Ranch, where the Union troops around 14:00 formed a new defensive line after it was Scurrys men succeeded to force through flank attacks to retreat. This position became untenable for the Union troops after it was Scurrys men managed to gain higher terrain to the flanks, so that they again withdrew, and a third line of defense, about half a mile further east at Pigeon 's Ranch, formed.

The fighting ended as Slough's troops had to give up this position in view of the massive Confederate attack and, retreating to Kozlowski Ranch, where they had their camp. Now also Scurry and his men left the battlefield. They were convinced that we have won the battle. Some of Chivingtons men had, however - after they had their commander painstakingly convinced of their projects - during the fighting bypassed the battlefield and the entire supply Scurrys destroyed (80 wagons with provisions and ammunition) on the Johnson Ranch and the 500 found there killed horses and Transportmulis or distributed - one, as it turned out, irreplaceable loss in an operating area that was so barren and dry that so far also feed Scurrys men and animals insufficiently had been able.

Follow

The Battle of Glorieta Pass was ultimately the turning point of the campaign in the New Mexico Territory. Without ammunition, mounts, particularly but without the absolutely necessary in hostile operational area provisions, it was the armed forces of the Southern totally impossible to run their campaign on. Given the presence of strong troops of the Union, to equally strong and well provisioned fixtures - Forts Craig and Union - could support, the retreat was the only option that they did not want the part of the military leadership of Southerners the capture or destruction of the entire force risk. The first step was followed by such further back to San Antonio in Texas. It is also significant that the Confederate Army on the very privations and grueling, 700 -mile return a multiple of the losses suffered, which had demanded all the previous battles. Only about 2,000 of the original 3,700 members of the Confederate Army reached finally alive their rationale. During the return march, it had also come to no more battles, as the commander of the Union and their troops initially kept their distance to avoid unnecessary losses, and the enemy eventually could be drawn. The final destruction of the defeated Southerners prefer they left the inhospitable terrain, which in the case of prosecutions also them would be dangerous even can.