tradicion revista fall 2012 - LPD Press & Rio Grande Books

New Mexico’s Navajo Wars, 1836-1839
by Robert J. Tórrez
Relations with hostile frontier
tribes consumed New Mexico
during the Mexican period, 1821
to 1846. A review of the civil and
military records in the Mexican Archives
of New Mexico, 1821-1846,
reveals a tragic and seemingly endless
cycle of raids, retaliatory campaigns,
peace negotiations, and broken
treaties. This cycle of hostilities
is best exemplified by the records of
the little-known Navajo campaigns
that took place between 1836 and
1839.
The late 1830s in New Mexico
were a period of almost constant
warfare with the Navajo. The Mexican
Archives of New Mexico for this
period have an extraordinary number
of reports and correspondence
regarding raids on the settlements
along New Mexico’s vast frontier
and subsequent campaigns against
various tribes. Few of these reports
are more dramatic than those of the
campaigns organized against the
Navajo by Governor Albino Pérez
in the fall of 1836 and winter of
1837 and subsequent conflict that
continued unabated for the remainder
of that decade.
When Governor Pérez submitted
his report on the recently concluded
1836 campaign to the comandante
general in Chihuahua, he
was certain that the campaign had
inflicted so many casualties and so
much damage to the various Navajo
settlements, or rancherías, that they
would be unable to muster any effective
raiding forces for some time
to come. Pérez was wrong. Despite
his optimistic prediction, the Navajo
apparently resumed raiding almost
immediately. By late November
1836, the governor was busy
organizing another campaign. He
hoped to gather at least one thousand
militia for the campaign, despite
the general lack of resources
available to finance and equip such a
large force. His plan was to deliver a
decisive blow when the Navajo least
expected it–in the winter. “I will not
accept peace until I have punished
them severely,” Pérez wrote, “in order
to make them understand that
while New Mexicans are humble
in peace, they can enthusiastically
wage war on their enemies.” 1
Pérez left Santa Fe on 9 December
1836 and marched to Cubero,
where he was joined by forces that
had gathered from throughout the
territory. The force of 750 men who
answered the muster at Cubero was
smaller than Pérez had hoped, but
still significant under the circumstances.
He divided the men into
five companies. The first was placed
under command of Julian Tenorio
of Alburquerque; the second under
Fernando Aragón of Sandia; the
third under José Martínez of Bernalillo;
the fourth under José Francisco
Vigil of San Juan, and the fifth
under José Gonzales of Taos. (One
wonders if this may be the José
Gonzales that assumed the governorship
after Pérez was killed in the
Revolt of 1837.
The expedition left Cubero on
17 December and arrived at Zuñi
on the 24 th . From Zuñi a number
of operations were directed into
the Navajo country that destroyed
several rancherias, took a number
of prisoners and captured several
thousand livestock. Pérez reported
that in these actions, two of his citizen
soldiers were wounded. One of
these, José Sebastián, later died.
By 12 January 1837, the expedition
was sweeping towards the
Navajo encampments at Cañon de
Chelly in eastern Arizona where
Pérez felt he could deliver a decisive
military blow. That night, however, a
severe snowstorm brought the campaign
to an abrupt halt. When the
snow lifted, freezing temperatures
killed a number of livestock. Fearing
they would lose the remaining
horses and pack animals, the
commanders reluctantly decided
to break off the expedition and began
their difficult trek back to the
warmth and safety of their homes.
While the details of the military
aspects of this campaign are interesting,
the most fascinating elements
of the expedition are the
extraordinary hardships suffered
by the troops. Governor Pérez’ report
makes it clear that much of the
campaign was waged in extremely
cold weather and deep snows. Between
Cubero and Zuñi, the horses
were breaking trail in snow up to
their chests so that the pack animals
and the infantry could pass. During
the action in which José Sebastián
was mortally wounded, fifty-four
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