New Mexico Minuteman - Summer 2012

150th anniversary of historic Civil War battle celebrated;
Battle of Glorieta Pass known to many as the Gettysburg of the West
By Maj. Adam Morgan
Historian, Colorado National Guard
March 28, 2012, fell upon a sunny
Wednesday in the historic city of Santa Fe,
New Mexico. While many rushed to work
via the traffi c-riddled Cerrillos and St. Francis
roads, a small contingent of Colorado
and New Mexico National Guardsmen
paused to refl ect on a very little known, yet
crucial battle of the Civil War. As the 101st
Army Band of the Colorado Army National
Guard played “American Anthem,” the
national anthem and Civil War tunes, several
civilians, Airmen, and Soldiers listened
to remarks from historians, chaplains, and
leaders memorializing the 150th Anniversary
of the heroic efforts of two small
armies determining the future of the West
and of America.
It all began just over 150 years ago with
a Confederate plan for Western conquest.
Brig. Gen. Henry Hopkins Sibley’s plan to
dominate the western portion of the continent
had Texas Confederates marching
from Texas through New Mexico, Colorado
and Dakota Territories and establishing a
western front. The coal, gold, and mineral
reserves nestled beneath the Rocky Mountains
would then fi nance a march eastward
to fl ank Union forces and link up with Confederate
Forces in Virginia. Extending the
concept of slavery to the mining industry
could produce unimaginable wealth. Control
of the West Coast would pique the military
interest of Europe and perhaps Asia,
while establishing trade with countries on
those continents.
Operating in the cold month of February,
Sibley’s brigade would travel up the west
bank of the Rio Grande, along which many
Union forts were aligned. His idea was to
pack lightly and resupply at each captured
fort. Speed was paramount in order to gain
the most ground before the Union could
discover their intent. Sibley had spent a
signifi cant portion of his career at posts
along the Rio Grande and at Fort Union, so
he knew the environment well.
Sibley’s lack of decisive and immediate
action allowed reports of the Texans’ northward
movement to reach Denver, and before
long, Col. John Slough and the unproven
First Colorado Volunteers were ordered
from their newly formed Camp Weld in
south Denver to Fort Union, N.M., in order
to stop the rebel advance. Marching southward
through the Colorado countryside, the
Volunteers made upward of 40 miles a day
in near-blizzard conditions, reaching Fort
Union several days before Sibley’s Texans.
Hardly taking the time to rest, the Colorado
“Pikes Peakers” immediately began
to exhibit the type of initiative and ambition
that would come to defi ne them in
this and several future campaigns. Slough
took command of Fort Union and sent Maj.
John Chivington, with three companies of
foot Soldiers and one mounted company,
on a reconnaissance mission to locate Sibley’s
advancing men.
While camped for the night in Bernal
Springs, N.M., a security detachment from
the mounted company captured a small
contingent of Sibley’s scouts – including two
Coloradans who had changed sides. These
scouts provided enough information on the
whereabouts and intentions of the rebel
force for Chivington to initiate movement.
Over the next three days, March 26-28,
1862, several Colorado units and individuals
distinguished themselves. On the 26th,
a few companies of sharpshooters took to
the high ground offered by Apache Canyon,
and after hundreds of well aimed shots
covering a devastating cavalry charge, the
counterattacking rebels retreated. After a
day of consolidation and reorganization on
both sides, the First Colorado displayed a
“bend but not break” defensive action, in
which the Colorado Soldiers ceded most
of the fi eld to the Texans over the course of
an entire hard day’s fi ght.
Meanwhile, Chivington maneuvered
a 400-man force through the steep terrain
and surprised the Texan supply train,
destroyed it, and freed several Union prisoners
while capturing Confederate ones.
This lethal strike turned out to be the decisive
action, as it crippled the Texans. At
the end of the day, the Texans were forced
to take a long, disastrous journey back to
Texas, facing starvation the entire way.
Painting (Above): Roy Anderson, artist; Courtesy of Pecos National Historical Park, National Park Service
A century and a half later, these amazing
feats of human and military capabilities
were remembered. At the Santa Fe National
Cemetery, Colorado and New Mexico
National Guardsmen folded Civil War era
and current American fl ags and presented
them to relevant representatives of the
Soldiers who fought in that battle. A fl yover
by the 120th Fighter Squadron punctuated
a fi tting ceremony honoring the Civil War
dead buried in the cemetery, known or
unknown. A recital of a poem called “Dash
Between the Dates” gave credence to the
purpose and the meaning behind the sacrifi
ces made by the Soldiers who didn’t go
home with their comrades:
Dash Between the Dates
Grave side services were over now.
Everyone had left and I was alone.
I began to read the names and dates
Chiseled here and there on every stone.
The name showed whether it was Mom or Dad,
Or daughter or baby son.
The dates were different, the amount the same,
There were two dates on every one.
It was then that I noticed something
Just a simple line.
It was the dash between the dates,
And placed there, it stood for time.
All at once it dawned on me,
How important that little line!
The dates placed there belong to God,
But the line is yours and mine.
It’s God who gives this precious life,
And it’s He who takes away;
But the line between He gives to us
To do with what we may.
We know He’s written the fi rst date down
Of each and every one;
And we’re sure the hands will write again,
For the last date has to come.
The hands will write the last date down
Quite soon, perhaps, for some;
But upon the line between my dates and yours,
I trust He’d write, “Well done, well done!”
–Anonymous
Summer 2012 / NEW MEXICO National Guard 23