Glorieta Pass, Battle of, was an important battle of the American Civil War (1861-1865). It took place from March 26 to March 28, 1862, in the northern part of what is now New Mexico. The battle ended in a Union victory, ending Confederate hopes of taking the western United States. Colonel John Slough and Major John Chivington led the Union forces. Colonel William Scurry and Major Charles Pyron commanded the Confederates. The battle—sometimes called the Battle of La Glorieta Pass—is named after a pass through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
Background.
Early in the war, Confederate leaders hoped to capture the New Mexico Territory. Control of the territory would help the Confederates gain access to western gold fields and ports on the Pacific Ocean.
In February 1862, Confederate General Henry Sibley led about 2,500 soldiers on a march north along the Rio Grande. The group began at an abandoned military post in the southern part of the New Mexico Territory. It aimed to capture Fort Craig, a Union fort about 110 miles (180 kilometers) south of Albuquerque.
Union Colonel Edward Canby had about 3,800 troops under his command at Fort Craig. When Sibley learned of the Union troop strength, he bypassed the fort. Canby then led his troops away from the fort to attack Sibley’s group. On February 21, Sibley’s Confederate troops defeated Canby’s force at Valverde, about 5 miles (8 kilometers) north of the fort. Canby’s Union troops then retreated to Fort Craig. Sibley’s troops marched up the Rio Grande and captured Albuquerque on March 2.
Confederate troops under Major Charles Pyron captured Santa Fe, the territorial capital, on March 10. Pyron’s Confederates then moved to attack the Union troops at Fort Union, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) to the northeast. However, Pyron did not know that Union Colonel John Slough had recently reinforced Fort Union with troops from Colorado. On March 22, Slough led about 1,340 Union troops from Fort Union toward Santa Fe to attack the Confederates.
The battle.
On March 26, about 400 of Slough’s advanced Union troops attacked Pyron’s 300 Confederates near Glorieta Pass. Major Chivington, who led the attacking Union force, divided his troops. He sent some of them up the mountainsides, where they caught the Confederates in a crossfire. The Confederates retreated across a bridge over an arroyo (creek). They then burned the bridge and established a defensive position. Some of Chivington’s men, again, fired at the Confederates from the mountainsides. As Pyron’s men retreated, the Union cavalry (soldiers on horseback) were said to have charged and jumped across the arroyo. The Union force captured numerous Confederates.
The next morning, Colonel Scurry arrived with Confederate reinforcements. He took control of a combined Confederate army of 1,100 soldiers. That night, Slough arrived with Union reinforcements. He took command of a group numbering about 1,300.
On March 28, Slough sent Chivington and about 400 troops into the mountains toward the rear of Scurry’s army. Around 11 a.m., Slough’s remaining 900 troops began fighting the Confederates. After six hours of fierce fighting, Slough retreated. Scurry at that point believed the Confederates had won the battle. However, he soon discovered that Chivington’s soldiers had destroyed the Confederate supply wagons behind the main army and had killed all the horses and mules. The battle had left the Confederates in no condition to survive the deserts of New Mexico.
The aftermath.
Over the course of the Battle of Glorieta Pass, the Union suffered about 150 casualties (people killed, wounded, or captured). The Confederates suffered about 200 casualties. Scurry and the Confederates left the battlefield and retreated to Santa Fe. There they rejoined Sibley, who had been in Albuquerque during the battle.
On April 1, Canby’s Union army left Fort Craig and marched to Albuquerque. Sibley’s army became caught between the Union armies under Canby and Colonel Gabriel Paul. Lacking supplies, Sibley retreated to Texas. Many Confederates died during the march through the desert back to Texas. The New Mexico Territory remained under Union control for the rest of the Civil War.
See also Civil War, American .
