Last month, soldiers from New Mexico
and Colorado commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Glorieta Pass. As the furthest advance of Confederate troops in the West - the
high water mark - it is also known as "The
Gettysburg of the West."
It is a shame that so little is known
about this battle, which was fought in response to the Confederate
invasion of New Mexico. While most of the attention goes to the
battlefields in the East, there was also a vast conspiracy to take
over California and control its ports, and a Confederate military
thrust to seize the mineral riches of the West, which, if successful,
would have financed the Southern war effort indefinitely.
It would be a challenge for today's
Civil War re-enactors to follow in the footsteps of the Colorado
troops. They marched 400 miles in 14 days to reinforce the New Mexico
forces, then went almost immediately into battle.
They were sent on a
16-mile flanking movement, but found that they had overshot their
target when the Confederates advanced earlier and faster than
expected. Instead they discovered the supply train left lightly
guarded. So while under fire from the few remaining troops they
descended a 200-foot cliff with ropes and straps, and destroyed all
of the supplies.
This in effect turned a military defeat into a
resounding victory. Though the Confederate forces had gained the
battleground up on the top of the pass, they lost the means to
continue their advance. They were forced to retreat back to Texas.
I discovered an excellent painting by Peter de la Fuente that depicts this key moment in the Civil War,
with an essay underscoring its importance.
With the Glorieta Pass commemoration
behind us, we are now coming up on the sesquicentennial anniversaries
of the many activities of the Third California Volunteers.
John Murray is author of "The War of Constitutional Stewardship: The 2012 Presidential Election and The Civil War in the West."
No comments:
Post a Comment