The Civil War in the Southwest

Sibley’s Arrival, The Battle at Valverde, & The Confederate’s Hollow Victory

This is the sixth episode in the series over the Civil War in the American Southwest.

If the Confederates succeeded in occupying California, New Mexico, and Arizona, negotiations to secure Chihuahua, Sonora, and Lower California, either by purchase or by conquest, would be opened. Sibley thought that he would have little difficulty in consummating the ends so devoutly wished by the Confederate Government.

Confederate Major in New Mexico, Trevanion Theodore Teel

Express messengers sent by Canby to Denver arrived in that Colorado town on January 2nd, 1862. In the message was a call to arms requesting all mounted troops hurry up and head to New Mexico, specifically, Santa Fe to be used in the defense of that Territory against the Texans who had taken over the southern portion and declared the Territory of Arizona for the Confederacy.

After the dispatch was received, two companies of miners and frontiersmen, hardy men who had been toiling away in the Rockies, two companies were formed composing of these men near Cañon City, Colorado. Cañon City is southwest of Colorado Springs on modern day Highway 50.

Late in the year, as winter approached, was the perfect time to recruit in Colorado. Once the mountains became impassible with snow and the rivers and creeks froze over, prospecting and mining became impossible tasks. These men, already prepared to wait out the winters in the towns of the front range, were excited at the prospect of spending the winter in warmer New Mexico on a little adventure of war. They figured, heck, they’d be back before next season anyways.

At Cañon City, these frontiersmen with long hair and beards, men who would have been mountain men in eras passed, they were recruited and drilled under two Fedral Commanders named Dodd and Ford. The men called themselves the Dodd and Ford companies but the Union designated them Companies A and B. B was soon sent to Fort Union where Kit Carson and his New Mexican Volunteers were stationed. Canby felt like Fort Union, if it came to it, would be the Union’s last stand in New Mexico. The Fort was easily defensible and it could easily receive supplies and men on the trail from Kansas.

Company A, was sent to the far south to Fort Craig. Their journey, in the middle of winter took them over the icy Sangre de Cristo Mountains north of the Great Sand Dunes, probably by way of the pass near modern day Salida. They then marched down the windy and haunting San Luis Valley. A place that has seen strange lights in the sky since the times of the Ancient Ones. And a place that is today beautiful and quiet… albeit somewhat dangerous. The march was long, cold, and boring. One member of Company A wrote that if he and his friends had known the Army would have been this much work, they’d have stayed in the mines.

At this time, early in the war, Canby, like Baylor, was having quite a few of his own problems. Mainly, Canby and the Union hadn’t paid the Fedral regulars in a year… by this point. And the volunteers? They hadn’t been paid at all. And because of this, a few mutinies occurred at Fort Union and another camp which saw the mutineers flee for the mountains after the small revolts.

Canby, like Baylor, also didn’t have the equipment to supply his men. And like the southerners, the horses were in bad shape. And on top of all that, Canby wrote to his superiors about the increasing harassment from Kiowa, Utes, Apaches, Comanches, and Navajos. All of them, like the Apaches in the south, were taking advantage of the White man’s brother war. It turns out, much to Canby’s distress, that Washington was still hesitant about the necessity of the Intermountain Western campaign.

Even still, Canby did indeed have an estimated 4,000 New Mexican Volunteers, and 1,500 Regular Fedral troops throughout the territory. By 1862, he really did far outnumber the Confederates. But both sides thought the other had far more superior numbers.

Baylor was clueless to all of this disUnion among the Union troops. If you’ll remember, at the end of 1861, he felt like a three pronged attack by enormous Fedral forces was imminent on his little corner of the Confederate Empire. And he knew he was toast if the promised reinforcements didn’t arrive post haste.

Sibley though, was on the way. And Sibley with his Brigade, he had a plan. He shared this plan with Jeff Davis who agreed and signed off on it. First, Sibley would take Fort Craig, and then Santa Fe and then the rest of New Mexico with Fort Union being the prize. He’d then march north to Denver, take the mines and the Confederate sympathizers before heading west to the disaffected and anti United States Mormons who would welcome the Confederacy. He’d then march southwest to southern California and take it before securing all of the state for the Rebels. Easy as one two three, right?

Except, the Hispanics of New Mexico, especially after Baylor’s disastrous retreat, they were no longer excited to be in Rebellion. Not to mention, you simply, at the time, couldn’t grow enough food in New Mexico to support that many troops. Just listen to the episodes over the invasion of New Mexico by the Spanish. And the Anasazi episodes that outlined their hardships with drought and the necessity to keep granaries. In Colorado, the sympathizers had already left or they were keeping their head down until the war blew over and until they could go back in their mines. But most everyone still in Colorado were pretty strongly for the Union. If they cared at all about anything other than finding wealth in the streams and mountainsides of the Rockies.

And the Mormons? I should know, while they were furious at their treatment by Americans and the Union government, they were strongly anti-slavery. Many of the NEW members, the ones not from England, were somewhat wealthy and from the south. Once they’d arrived at Deseret, or Utah, they had given up their slaves and most of their wealth to the Church. They weren’t about to fight for Slavery.

Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church and its first Prophet had prophesied on Christmas Day in 1832 that the US would be torn asunder by a Civil War over slavery. He also chastised the church members to stay out of the coming conflict.

He wrote 29 years before the war between the states, quote, Verily, thus saith the Lord concerning the wars that will shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls… he continues… For behold, the Southern States shall be divided against the Northern States… the scripture continues… and then war shall be poured out upon all nations. And it shall come to pass, after many days, slaves shall rise up against their masters, who shall be marshaled and disciplined for war. End quote. At the end of the chapter he admonishes the Saints and wrote, quote, Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly, saith the Lord. Amen. End quote.

The Mormons, the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, were NOT going to join the Confederacy in her plan of an empire of slavery in what the members of the church thought was God’s chosen land. Even if they were privy to Jefferson Davis’ plan to eventually give up the South’s slaves to French ships, I doubt the Members, even knowing slavery would soon end, i doubt they would have fought for the Confederacy even then. The Mormons were not led by the sword. In fact, they had fled from bloodshed in Missouri and Illinois. And apart from a few raids on Missouri and Arkansas caravans, they were a surprisingly peaceful group of Anglos in the American west. Their prophet, before being martyred, had told them to stand tight and to avoid the war over slavery, and that's what they were going to do.

And California? Pretty much the same as Colorado. But actually in California, support for the Union was pretty high and growing. As you’ll hear when I introduce the California Column. Not to mention the Pacific ports were being securely guarded by both British and Russian warships.

Then there was Mexico. Their Civil War had now led to an invasion by Continental Powers that would culminate in the instillation of Maximillian the First. While this would initially be good news for the Confederacy, eventually the British and Union backed Juarista Rebels would make the combination of the Confederacy and the Empire of Mexico an impossibility. France and Napoleon the Third, simply could not provoke a war with England… again. Not with Prussia breathing down the Emperor’s neck to his east.

Lastly, Sibley, although he marshaled and drilled his ragtag force of Texans into an army, he himself… was less dependable. He was described at the time as being a heavy drinker and a quote, walking whiskey keg. End quote. And after the war, his bravery would be called into question on account of him somehow managing to miss every single battle in the Territory that he’d send his men to fight in. Battles I will describe in this episode and the coming episodes.

But! All dreams start somewhere. And Sibley’s dream began in Texas but soon, he and his brigades would be in the Confederate Territory of Arizona.

At Fort Bliss, on December 14th, Sibley took command of quote, all the forces of the Confederate States on the Rio Grande at and above Fort Quitman, and all territory of New Mexico and Arizona. End quote. In Ray Colton’s The Civil War in the Western Territories, he quotes Sibley’s address and I will quote Colton.

An Army under my command enters New Mexico to take possession of it, in the name of the Confederate States of America. Colton added that last bit. Continuing with Sibley, By geographical position, by similarity of institutions, by commercial interests, and by future destinies, New Mexico pertains to the Confederacy. End quote.

He would then tell the Hispanics of New Mexico, quote, The existing war is one most wickedly waged by the United States upon the Confederate States for the subjugation and oppression of the latter by force of arms. Victory has crowned the arms of the Confederate States wherever an encounter worthy of being called a battle has been joined. The army under my command is ample to seize and to maintain possession of New Mexico.... It is my purpose to accomplish this object without injury to the peaceful people of the country. End quote. He then told them that once the Confederate forces had won that the will of the people will be returned to them, the New Mexicans. He said, quote, A government of your best men ... will be inaugurated. Your religious, civil, and political rights and liberties will be ... sacred and intact. End quote. He then reassured them before warning them. He said, quote, Follow ... your peaceful avocations, and from my forces you have nothing to fear. Your persons, your families, and your property shall be secure and safe. Those who co-operate with the enemy will be treated accordingly, and must be prepared to share their fate. Persist in [their] service, and you are lost. End quote.

Sibley called his force the Army of New Mexico. It consisted of his three brigades, Baylor’s Texas Forces, the Arizona Guards, the various recruits from New Mexico, and one group of ten Mesilla gamblers simply known as the Brigands. He now commanded around 3,200 Confederate Rebel Soldiers. And they were ready for a fight. They were ready to enlarge the Imperial Confederacy.

Immediately though, Sibley ran into trouble. Along the Rio Grande days after he assumed command, Apaches raided the Confederate horse herd and took off with quite a few badly needed horses and mules. The Apaches had come from all over the territory. These raids consisted of Mescaleros, Chiricahuas, and Mimbrenos. At first they stole just a few animals, but eventually they began taking off with hundreds. Hundreds of severely needed mounts and team animals. The Apaches would often herd them to their mountain strongholds but sometimes they’d drive them down into Mexico. Sibley’s brigade with its massive amounts of animals proved too tantalizing of a target for the Apaches. Occasionally, the warriors would even burn wagons. In Donald Frazier’s Blood and Treasure: Confederate Empire in the southwest, he writes that the Apaches quote, by camouflaging themselves with oil, dirt, and grass, the raiders remained undetected at night, waiting for the pickets to walk to the farthest points of their beats. Then, the Indians slipped into the remuda, cut halters and ropes, and made off with the animals. End quote. Sometimes the Rebels would shoot and kill an Apache warrior to much excitement but nearly every time the raiders would slip away.

At one point, the Rebels even mounted up and chased a group of marauders who had stolen 160 horses and mules, they chased them 20 miles east, all the way to the Organ Mountains. The place where Lynde had surrendered in what now seemed like ages ago.

Winter had soured the excitement of summer. And winter in New Mexico was just getting started.

The Local Mexicans and Hispanics also plagued the men of Sibley’s brigade. Not because they stole or pestered them or caused trouble. But the Texans just didn’t care for them. They called them of low civilization and made fun of their crude homes and tools. These soldiers, far outnumbering the New Mexican hispanics, they treated the locals a full 180° from how Baylor’s forces had treated them.

Then, Sibley’s soldiers, once it got cold, often ran the locals out of their own homes and worse, let their horses eat the local’s fields of carefully planted corn and wheat. Then there was the looting by quite a few unsavory Confederates. Mostly the loot carried off to camp were pigs, chickens, turkeys, goats, just all manner of meat for food. All of this caused harsh tensions between the newly arrived Rebels and the locals who were souring on the idea of joining any Confederacy. At least the Union had left them alone.

Frazier sums this up nicely when he wrote, quote:

Despite Sibley's promises, the world as the citizens of Confederate Arizona knew it had changed dramatically during those last two weeks of 1861 and the first two of 1862. Into their midst had come an army, in reality an undisciplined, ravenous horde, causing hardship and grief on a scale unimagined. For months the residents of the towns along the Rio Grande had looked east, eagerly anticipating the arrival of Sibley's Texans. Now many hoped they would never return. End quote.

Sibley’s arrival also began the tension between Sibley and the Governor of the Confederate Territory of Arizona, Baylor.

Donald Frazier writes of this growing tension between the two men.

Quote: All of the achievements made since the previous summer were rapidly coming undone. Baylor, not surprisingly, was furious. While traveling through Dona Ana, he had an informal conversation with Sgt. Morgan Wolfe Merrick, an orderly at the hospital. Quoting Merrick now, He told me that ... the good will of the people of the territory he had gained was being destroyed by Sibley's troops," Merrick recorded in his journal. "The higher authorities had not treated him fairly there was no doubt, and he was sensitive on that point, and I don't blame him. End all quotes.

Once Sibley had arrived he had stripped Baylor of his troops, thereby destroying Baylor’s hopes of enlarging the Confederate Empire through his own plan of conquest. The plan I outlined in the last episode. Sibley and Baylor’s feud would only worsen as time progressed.

Sibley’s brigade also faced a cold and harsh December tempest that ended with a dust storm quote, so thick it is impossible to see a horse fifty yards away. End quote. That Christmas was rough and their introduction to New Mexico was unkind. A few officers even wrote home to complain in disgust.

A Captain Shropshire, a man I will quote from a bit in the coming episodes, he would write to his wife after he arrived to the cold desert of southern New Mexico and told her, quote, if I had the Yankees at my disposal I would give them this country and force them to live in it. Nations fight for principle-the U.S.A. spent millions of money to buy this country ... and spent money and life to whip it from Mexico. Our people .. . got cheated. End quote.

Another Confederate, a Private Smith wrote home and said of the land, quote, this country will be a tax to any government to which it may belong. It is one of the roughest countries that ever I saw or ever expect to see. End quote.

By January it had started snowing and as I discussed at the end of the previous episode, sickness was spreading through the various camps and forts the reinforcements had occupied. By this time Fillmore, Doña Ana, Mesilla, and the forward operating base 70 miles south of Craig, a place known as Fort Thorn, they’d all been filled with Sibley’s brigades. And with the reinforcements, came whiskey. Whiskey and boredom. A near lethal combination for soldiers.

At Thorn the men attempted to find more supplies, any supplies at all, but especially shoes and hats. Many of the men had worn out their boots on the incredibly long march from san Antonio and their hats had blown away. A lot of the men actually lost everything they owned when a brushfire burned a good amount of wagons along the trail. Some of the soldiers at Thorn upgraded their weapons and most upgraded their raggedy and torn clothing. Others bought tents and sleeping bags. Much like the Spaniards who invaded hundreds of years before, the Texans found New Mexico’s climate cold, dusty, windy, harsh, and devoid of life, or at least an easy life. And a lot of snow fell that January on the exposed Rebels.

Thorn had actually been abandoned by the US on account of its quote unquote unhealthy climate, and the Rebels were finding that out the hard way as soldier after soldier succumbed to disease. It was probably due to the bad quality of the River at this part of its journey.

And a lot of soldiers while… practicing with their weapon… shot themselves in the leg, foot, and hand. Boredom was taking its toll.

It wasn’t just the soldiers suffering though. The animals were in a bad shape as well. Many of them had been rendered useless by poor diet which caused the wagon loads of supplies to be delayed or left behind. Waiting around was taking its toll.

But the march north was about to begin. The end of boredom was coming with the beginning of hostilities.

Up at Fort Craig, Canby knew the battle was coming so he, Kit Carson, and Carson’s New Mexican Volunteers all joined the now 3,800 Fedrals waiting at the Fort that sat on the Rio Grande between the Rebels and Santa Fe. Also at the Fort was Dodd’s Company A from Colorado.

Once Canby had arrived, he had ordered all the family out of the fort and made sure they headed north to Santa Fe or Albuquerque or anywhere other than where fighting just might take place. He wasn’t going to repeat Lynde’s mistake at Fillmore.

The Fort itself was built on a high bluff above the Rio Grande and it overlooked the black lava rocks and the sandy valley which surrounded it. Fort Craig had seven foot walls and the Union forces had dug trenches around them. The place felt impenetrable. Four cannons also protected the fort and they were all aimed towards the south; the direction the Rebels would approach from. Although the place was built to house only 200 men, it now had nearly 4,000 crammed in and around it.

Canby had actually named the entire Union camp and the fort within it Camp Carson after the dime novel hero himself. And soon, Carson would play a major role in the battle to come. The battle of Valverde.

In mid November of 2024, I packed up the truck and headed three hours south from my home with my dog and we camped in a mountain range known as the San Mateo Mountains. They are small range that towers over Fort Craig to the west. After we woke up with the sunrise, my dog Elvis and I wound our way down the beautiful mountains, which were once an Apache stronghold, and we visited Fort Craig. There ain’t much left of it today. By the 1980s, it had been looted and the desert had taken its toll on her walls and fortifications. Elvis and I walked amongst the ruins and what little still stands. I took a look at the river, the surrounding landscape I’m about to describe to y’all and even though little evidence of its fortifications still exist, I could tell that the Fort was in a good defensive position. And I couldn’t imagine marching up to it and wanting to take it. I will have pictures up at the site, the American southwest dot com.

In the first week of February with supplies running out and the weather turning more nasty by the day, Sibley finally gave the order to advance north to Fort Craig. First Sergeant Hart, would write in his journal before mailing it off, that quote, dangers thick and imminent crowd upon us. But yet, I fear not. End quote.

Captain Shopshire, the man who I quoted earlier who was not overly fond of the Confederate Territory of Arizona, he would write to his wife of the battle he knew was coming. It’s a touching letter and I’ll read some exerts from it now. If I can get through it.

You expressed a hope ... that I might return in the spring. I fear not ... the war ... to me now appears but just begun. The deeds of heroism and acts of sacrifice will be but nothing to those that will yet [occur] before peace and quietude are restored to us. But Darling, let us hope for the better and pray that we will soon be reunited. I am no soldier, and am [longing] for a release. My home with my wife and little one are more to me than all the flags and pomp and circumstance of the military. I would not forgo them to be generalisamo of the American continent. My mind has been idle and allowed to roam at will. Many are the fancy castles I have built you and I and our little ones. I have once been happy beyond my most vain expectations and can see no cause why I should not [be] again. Yours affectionately, Shrop."

On February 16th, 1862, after marching through a howling snowstorm, Sibley’s Brigades stopped within a few thousand yards of Fort Craig. During the previous days marched, one Confederate soldier remarked that the wind blew, quote, so hard as to almost pull the face off a man. End quote.

It hadn’t been an easy march or an easy time in New Mexico thus far. Many of the Rebel soldiers were sick, the one month rest at Fort Thorn hadn’t been long enough after their incredible and long march from San Antonio to Fort Bliss. Smallpox and measles were rampant and many of the men were suffering from pneumonia. The Rebels were in bad shape. Yet as one soldier wrote, they were still in good spirits. Quote, the men are all in fine spirits, around the campfire, they crack their jokes and sing as merrily as if they were home. End quote. The Rebels were ready for a fight.

As they halted their march less than a mile from the Fort they hoped to take, thousands of cold and tired Texans lined up in a show of strength.

At the same time, Canby lined up his nearly four thousand Yankees just outside the walls of the Fort. The two sides were facing off, daring the other to fight.

One Rebel soldier said to his weary compatriots, quote, Gee Whilikens captain, I ain’t half as mad at them fellows as I was before they showed up so many men… lets go home to mother! End quote. That seemed to lighten the mood for the Texans as laughter trickled out of their cold cheeks.

On the Yankee side, the commanders ran up the stars and stripes and the men, upon seeing it behind them, quote, cheered like they were trying to split their throats. End quote.

The Rebels replied by waving their own Confederate flag, a red background with a white star in the center, and the men gave ‘em a resounding Rebel Yell in response.

On the south side of the battlefield were 2,500 Confederates. On the north side, below the walls of the fort and the cannons were 3,800 Yankees.

During the entire war, in nearly every battle, in every theater, the Confederates were outnumbered but the Southerners, more used to fighting and being more possessed of the fighting spirits, were only strengthened in their resolve when the odds were against ‘em.

For two hours the two armies maneuvered in front of the other. Small skirmishes broke out as small units came a bit too close to each other’s sides. Mules and men were shot from great distances. Canby was a little leery of Carson’s Hispanic New Mexicans as well as the other non-White soldiers. He was also not sure how his Colorado Company A would do, so he stayed put in his strong defensive position and dared the Confederates to charge.

Sibley felt the same as Canby and figured the New Mexicans and the irregulars would be of little use if and when he stormed the fort but he did fear the Fedral regulars, all 1,500 of them. He had previously commanded some of these very same men he now faced off against. Sibley knew taking the Fort now would be suicide. So, he sent an offer to Canby to meet him in the open field. Fight it out like the legions of old.

Canby, declined the Southern General’s offer. He knew the strength of his position. He knew the weakness of nearly half his soldiers. He was going to force Sibley to charge the fort where he had the advantage.

At nightfall, both armies withdrew from their positions. A Confederate Surgeon deemed the whole day a quote unquote, perfect farce.

Back at the main Rebel camp, some seven miles south of Fort Craig, Sibley was disappointed that Canby hadn’t come out and fought on the open plane, but you can’t blame him, really. So Sibley devised a plan. He would move his entire army across the Rio Grande, through the tall dunes, and come out above Fort Craig which would separate Canby and the fort from the road to Santa Fe. He could then force them out of the Fort and onto a battlefield of Sibley’s choosing.

Sibley already had the battlefield of his choosing in mind too, remember he served for quite some time in New Mexico, and he had commanded many of the regulars at the Fort, which is why he knew they would fight. And fight well. But the place that Sibley chose was a spot he remembered as having a large field of silt and sand on account of the Rio Grande changing course there quite a few times in recent epochs. There was also at this spot the ruins of an old pueblo and a large Spanish hacienda. The place was known as Valverde.

After visiting Fort Craig I took the gravel road that leads to the Rio Grande and drove north, the 6 miles or so to very near the battlefield. I crossed the man-made canal on one of the few bridges in the area, crossed some railroad tracks, and followed another raised gravel road towards the actual battlefield of Valverde. All around me were cottonwood trees that had either lost all their leaves already or were in the process of dropping the few remaining yellow and orange ones that still clung to their branches despite the strong winds that swept through the Rio Grande Valley. The ground on both sides of the raised one lane road was a mess of flood-plain strewn limbs, trees, and black silt. I had planned on hiking to the river, which was only a few hundred yards away and viewing the battlefield myself, up close… but the ground looked like too much of a hassle for Elvis and I to cross with a camera slung over my shoulders. Also, the entire battleground is private property now… so, I opted to stay in the truck and view the scene from within the confines of my Tacoma. But the place Sibley chose and the place Canby would fight the Rebels in is not an ideal battlefield. It looked like hell. And with the towering mesa de la Contadera, which I will talk about a lot, the whole scene reminded me of a cottonwood strewn moonscape. The coming Battle at Valverde would not be an easy engagement. For either side…

Two mornings later on the 19th of February, 1862, the Rebels packed up, crossed the freezing Rio Grande, and began their secret march north in the hopes of leaving behind Canby’s and Craig’s walls, cannons, and strength of numbers.

  Most of the going was on hard black volcanic rocks but that made the going easier than sand. Although there was plenty of sand as well. As they marched north they also marched higher in elevation until the troops in the lead crested a large shard of lava that jutted out almost to the River itself. It was here that Canby and his Yankees realized what was going on.

Immediately, Canby sent Carson and his New Mexican’s, Dodd’s Company A from Colorado, and some other New Mexicans who had arrived just the day before to fight. They rushed across the freezing Rio Grande as quickly as they could but they were bogged down in the sand, silt, and mud.

Once Sibley noticed the movement, he had his howitzers open fire on the charging New Mexicans and Coloradans. Unable to return fire on account of their position below the Rebels, most of the New Mexican volunteers, the ones not killed in the skirmish, broke and ran. They didn’t sign up for this, being taken out from above while being stuck in thick mud, countless broken limbs, and cold sand.

After the volunteers ran back across the river, the Confederates let out a Rebel yell that quote, must have sent a chill to the hearts of the boys in blue. End quote.

After the small show of force, as night approached, Sibley had his men bed down for the evening on this elevated perch. As they were sitting by fires of mesquite trees and driftwood, the commander of the Fifth, Col. Tom Green said to some boys who recorded it in their journals, quote, boys you’ve come too far from home hunting a fight to lose. You must win tomorrow or die on the battlefield. End quote.

It was around this time, on the night of the 20th of February, that the almost unbelievable story of the Exploding IED Mules took place.

On that night, the swashbuckling reckless daredevil that was the Union Captain James Paddy Graydon, a man listeners may remember, he was the one who shotgunned at point blank the head of the Mescalero Apache leader Manuelito before getting into the wild west shootout with Dr. Marmaduke Whitlock… those stories were in the It Takes A Strong Man To Kill A Friend episode, anyways, this coming story is one of those stories that made him, Graydon, beloved by his men and gave him that reckless daredevil persona.

Paddy Graydon had been sent out on a spy mission by Canby to see what Sibley was up to on the other side of the river. Once Graydon had spotted the Rebs camping out for the night, he devised a plan to send confusion through the Confederate side. So with three or four men, Graydon led two old mules from the Fort, across the river, and near the Confederate side in the dead of night. Graydon then tied up some boxes filled with Howitzer shells to the two old mules, before lighting the fuses, slapping the back of the mules, sending them towards the Confederate camp, and then running like heck back to the Rio Grande. Unfortunately for Graydon, and in typical mule fashion, they wanted nothing to do with this plot, so they turned around and started trotting back to Camp in the wake of Graydon and his spies. Once the mules noticed their handlers were running, they too took off in hurried gallop. Horrified that the mules might blow Graydon and his men to pieces they put their heads down and ran as fast as they could before the two poor mules and the shells attached to them exploded, sending charred mule meat in every direction.

Alarmed, the Rebels manned their guns and prepared for a battle which never came.

But in the confusion, nearly two hundred Confederate horses broke away and ran to the river. They were also, just like the Rebel soldiers, dying of thirst. When the Union forces saw the many horses at the river, they sent men out to collect them. Colton in his the Civil War in the Western Territories writes that this loss, quote, forced the Texas Fourth Regiment to abandon a number of wagons with supplies, blankets, and records. End quote. Supplies that the Rebels desperately needed.

Dr. Conrad Crane, of the U. S. Army Military History Institute wrote for the US Army that, quote, while this saga of the mule bombs was reported by Mark Twain and in the postwar Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, historical evidence for it is sketchy at best. But the exploit is very much in keeping with Graydon’s independent and impulsive reputation. End quote. Wether it happened or not, the story is a somewhat darkly humorous one in an episode that is about to be filled with harrowing stories.

Canby wasn’t 100% sure what Sibley was up to but he figured he would soon be fighting the Rebs at that place known as Valverde. He too knew the land well and he knew that’s where the old Whiskey keg would entrench.

On the one hand, the fort could survive a siege. Just that very day they had received seventy wagons full of ammo, food, and other supplies. But on the other hand, Canby couldn’t let the Rebels cut him and his men off from Santa Fe. And… his boys, the regulars and the volunteers were all spoiling for a fight. They’d mutiny if a battle didn’t commence soon.

So, on the morning of February 21st, Canby decided he would stay behind at the fort with a small garrison while he would send his second in command, Benjamin Roberts with some 500 Regulars, some volunteers, and some pieces of artillery to intercept or even take Valverde before Sibley and the Confederates could. At the same time, The Coloradans and Carson’s men would cross the river back to where they’d attempted to go earlier and impede the enemy if they decided to head back south to attack or if the Confederates retreated. The thing was, on that morning, the Confederates were still at camp, so these men had to quietly wait in the sand hills until the Rebels decided to move.

By that morning, the Confederates and their animals were as parched and dry as the New Mexican sand. Except a few brave stragglers who rushed down in the dead of night to fill as many canteens as they could, the Rebels hadn’t had a drink of water since they’d crossed the River the day before. One soldier would write quote, if one of us coughed, you could see the dust fly. End quote. They’d also been on half rations for the entirety of the march and since many of the animals were in horrible condition they had to leave their tents and finer things behind. They’d been using dead animal hides as coats and blankets and they’d been fashioning sandals out of whatever scraps of hide they could find. The Rebels needed to take the fort and its supplies or they’d wither away in the wilderness. They simply couldn’t sit on the lava and in the sand forever. They had to get going.

The first to abandon the Rebel camp and ride to the place known as Valverde on the Rio Grande to the north was Major Charles Pyron and his 180 men of the 2nd Texas Mounted Rifles, Baylor’s old regiment. They and their animals were dry as a bone and they were spoilin’ for a fight.

Shortly after Pyron’s 2nd left, five companies of the Fourth Texas followed suit. The remainder of the Confederates stayed at camp. Frazier writes of that morning, quote, The rest of the brigade remained idle, disinterested observers of the daily routine that had started anew. There was no sense of urgency. The damp, gray morning seemed unremarkable. End quote.

Down at the river, Pyron’s Confederates watered their horses before noticing a few tents and some New Mexican Volunteers. A few of the riders raced after them before cresting a sand hill near the bank of the river and coming into view of hundreds of Yankee troops. One soldier with Pyron remarked later, quote, It was soon apparent that we had . . . over cropped ourselves. In short, bit off more than we could chew. End quote. The Texans immediately wheeled around and began taking up positions behind sand dunes and a large row of cottonwood trees. Right when they were in position, about 350 Fedrals Canby had sent under Roberts came over the low hill they’d just left. The Rebels commenced to fire and the Yankees returned it. But the Rebels were outgunned and eventually they fled to a position behind them which allowed the Yanks to set up their six pieces of artillery… these guns would prove to be the key to the battle.

It was two whole hours, after Pyron had sprinted with his men to the battlefield, before the remaining Confederates at camp heard the distinct sound of rifle and cannon fire to their north. Immediately, the Rebels sprang to action, grabbed their guns, and began to mount their rides. But for some reason, their superior officers told them to stand down and wait for orders. Perplexed, one Texan yelled, quote, by god! Are you going to let Pyron whip them before we get there?! End quote.

Finally, Thomas Green gave the order for the Confederates to race to the battlefield below them at the river. He also ordered a contingent of men and artillery to approach the fort in a strong show of force.

Carson witnessed all this and sent a runner back to Canby. Canby then told Carson to leave a few of his men there and the rest of his volunteers with the Coloradans needed to race the six miles north to Valverde. The battle had begun.

An hour after the initial volley, the Fourth arrived and took up their own positions among the cottonwoods and behind the sand dunes and all the while they were quote, in high spirits and singing songs. End quote. That is until the battle became real. One soldier named Nunn later wrote in his journal quote, As we came into line the balls greeted us with the viper's hiss. End quote. Once reaching cover at the line of trees, Nunn wrote quote, Now, for the first time, did I fully realize the terror of the battlefield! End quote.

A half hour later, the Texan Fifth and a company known as Lange’s Lancers raced down the ravine that ended in a small canyon which poured out at the banks of the Rio Grande just north of the all important black mesa de la contadera. When Lange and his men arrived, they realized in horror that they were way right of the Confederate line and in front of them… were one thousand Fedrals. Their rifles pointing directly at them. Many of the Fifth were shot off their horses as they exited the tight canyon. But they were able to reach those sand dunes and cottonwoods their Confederate brethren were also using as cover. This row of trees was now nearly devoid of limbs from two hours of cannon fire like some photograph from a WWI Battlefield. One Texan would later write, quote, it did look awhile as if the Yanks had taken a contract to bark and limb all the cottonwood trees in our vicinity. The ping and spud of their bullets, the roll and thunder of their bursting bombs and the crash of falling timber about us, had no comfort in them. End quote.

As the Texans arrived, the Fedrals made another blunder by having a good portion of their men cross the Rio Grande at the northern and left end of the Union battlefield. While they did pin down much of the Fourth, they now had their back to the river.

At the same time, Dodd’s Coloradans had waded the river towards this same left Union side of the battlefield and had stopped to fix bayonets amongst those same Cottonwoods. They then began to ease towards the Confederate line.

Seeing this movement, head of the Fourth, Dirty Shirt Scurry ordered the men with the accurate French Minnie rifles that Jeff Davis had procured them, he ordered them to take out officers and as many men as they could and when the enemy got close enough, the shotgunners would do the rest. And if the sharpshooters were wounded or killed, Dirty Shirt Scurry told his men that the rifle must then be quote, given to one of the shotgun men, who was put in his place. End quote.

As the Coloradans advanced through the sniper fire, they managed to take out a few of the Rebels. I will now read to you a passage from Megan Kate Nelson’s the Three Cornered War about this particular scene… it’s graphic. But awesome.

As the Coloradans advanced, quote, they fired, sending hundreds of bullets, quote unquote, as thick as bees, thunking into the sandbank, and into the bodies of the 4th Texas sharpshooters. They caught one as he leaned out too far from behind a tree, and he fell to the ground quote unquote with heart-rending groans. Bright red drops of blood spattered the sand as another Texan was quote, shot through the mouth and his tongue nearly shot out. End quote. He impressed his fellow soldiers by pulling out a part of his tongue quote, which was hanging ragged to the edge, end quote, and cutting it off with his knife. End all quotes.

That… is hardcore. If I was a miner on a little adventure in war and I saw that, I would no doubt say to heck with this and march back off to the dark caves I was used to.

But what happened next in this battle is even more harrowing and… brave. Foolish but brave. It sounds like something out of a Napoleonic battle or the Crimean War, not a scene from the American Civil War. I will again quote Nelson’s telling of this charge by Lange’s Lancers… she does a great job.

Her book personalizes the Civil War in the Southwest by following certain individuals. Sometimes it works like when she follows the men I’m about to read the names of, like Ickis, but sometimes it doesn’t work like when she follows Canby’s wife and various other adjacent characters during the war. I suppose if you’re not reading just for research, it’s a great book. Anyways, this telling of Lange’s Lancer charge is a great read…

To preface it, Lange and his mounted lancers show up to the chaotic battle with the Rebs broken up into units taking cover against a strong and solid Union line. Lange wanted to be of some use so he asked Dirty Shirt Scurry if he could charge at a weak spot he noticed to the north on the right side of the Rebel line. The left side of the Union line. The side where the Coloradans had fixed bayonets after crossing the river. Scurry refused this ask by Lange. But Lange didn’t let up, so eventually, Scurry relented and allowed the man to lead his 50 brave mounted lancers into battle against impossible odds.

At Lange’s signal, the men rode through the smoke of guns & the grass fire which’d spread throughout the battlefield. They were headin’ directly for Dodd’s Coloradan Volunteers.

The blades of their long lances were held low as they charged the Yankees, who were beginning to notice the danger. Theodore Dodd, remembering his training formed his men into two rows with one row on their knees and the other above them. He told them to wait & hold their fire for his signal. The horses were still bearing down upon them.

"Steady there my brave mountaineers!" Dodd yelled. "Waste not a single shot. Do not let your passions run off with your judgment.” Lange and his men were closing the gap. “Steady men steady, do not fire until I command,” Dodd said coolly.

Colorado soldier Ickis later wrote that the horsemen and their lances were, "each tipped with a small Secesh flag" from Texas: red with a white star.

"Steady men," ordered Dodd. "Guns to faces but wait for the command to fire.”

When Lange & his lancers were within forty yards, Dodd gave the command: "Fire!" he ordered. "They're Texans! Give 'em Hell!”

Now For Megan Kate Nelson’s summary:

Ickis, in the second row, fired his gun. Then came the dull thud of the impact of bullets in flesh, the terrified bleats of horses, the screams of men. When the smoke dissipated, Ickis could see that "many brave Texans [had] bit the dust, many horses were riderless." The rest of the Lancers wavered for a few moments and then "on they came and fierce fellows they were with their long lances raised."

The Coloradans had reloaded their guns and "we gave them a second volley." Then they rushed upon the Lancers with their bayonets.

"They appeared bewildered, did not appear to know how or what to do," he said. Ickis and the boys took advantage of the Texans' confusion and leapt upon them, stabbing and bludgeoning the Confederates with their bayonets. One of Ickiss comrades ran his bayonet through one Texan "and then shot the top of his head off" for good measure.

The Lancers "were soon butchered," Ickis wrote. "I cannot call it else."

Captain Lang staggered back to the Confederate lines, mortally wounded.

He did not know how many soldiers he had lost. Half of them at least, maybe more, and almost all of the horses. The men of the 4th and 5th Texas looked on, temporarily stunned. It had been a gallant charge, but a doomed one.  End all quotes.

Absolutely harrowing… but an incredible story, nonetheless. It’s hard to imagine being on either side of that small fight. It’s even harder to imagine witnessing it from a distance. Only three lancers escaped death and Lang had been shot seven times. He would not survive his wounds.

Two Confederate officers did witness it though, and they later wrote about it. Col. Dirty Shirt Scurry would write that the quote, desperate courage of the lancers was ineffectual against great odds and superior arms. End quote. And Col. Thomas Green would write that it was quote, one of the most gallant and furious charges ever witnessed in the annals of battles. End quote.

The charge, in the open field and witnessed by many Confederates, weakened their spirit. One Rebel soldier would later write, quote, Those men went into the very jaws of death. I looked on as those lances went down to rise no more.... This threw a gloom over our entire line. End quote.

The Colorado Company now had to get back to their own lines. They’d advanced, taken out some snipers, and then took out the lancers. Now the Rebel shotgunners were opening up on the Mountaineers. The shotguns did real damage to the Fedrals, dropping anyone that got too close. The Coloradans and the rest of the advancing Union troops quickly retreated to their own lines as snow began to fall. Behind thundering cannons, they rested and regrouped.

In the afternoon Trevonian Theodore Teel arrived with his artillery but the confederate range was shorter and before long, he was reduced to only 5 gunners and three of their cannons had been blown to bits. One of the shells from the Union cannons actually exploded under the Confederate guns and caught the grass on fire which enveloped the battlefield in even more smoke than was produced by the muskets, shotguns, and artillery.

The Rebel artillery were far out gunned by the Union’s cannons and eventually they would dominate the battlefield. The Rebel guns were really only useful when the Fedrals advanced too far forward. During the entire battle, the Union got off six shells to the Rebel’s one.

The all important Mesa de la Contadera played a key role in the beginning of the battle as well. It towers to the east of the battlefield and whoever occupied it had a good line of sight to snipe the enemy from. At first the Fedrals took it but they were ran off by a group of Rebels who were then blasted with cannon to pieces. The ones who survived the shelling eventually ran back off the mesa.

The mesa has next to no cover. It’s just a black volcanic very steep raised piece of hellish earth. Unless you summited it from behind, you were in view of whomever glanced at it’s face.

Eventually, after five hours of fighting, the mesa lay bare except for its blown to bits boulders. This Union shelling of the mesa though, had allowed a brief respite for the Rebels down at the banks when the constant shelling took a pause. Many of them began digging for water, gathering ammo from fallen soldiers, eating what jerky they carried, and wrapped themselves with whatever they could find to protect against the cold and falling snow.

The Union were also exhausted. The battle was calming down, and a lull occurred for about an hour. A lull except for the continued cannon blasts from both sides. Although there was a break, the battle wasn’t over.

I’ll take a minute here to read a humorous story about a slave named Bob who had accompanied his master, Capt. Sam Shrop to war. This is from Frazier’s Blood and Treasure. Quote:

Confederate slaves accompanied their masters into battle, sharing their fates under fire. As the men of Capt. Samuel Shropshire's Company A, Fifth Texas, took their places behind the sand bank, his servant Bob coolly kept by his side amid the incoming Federal bullets. Quote, Bob did not seem to mind these at all," Pvt. Bill Davidson remembered, "but walked about joking with the boys. End quote. When the Union artillery began shelling that portion of the Rebel line, the bondsman quickly, and prudently, sought shelter to the rear. "The first shell went beyond us and exploded among some horses," Davidson wrote. "Bob's eyes got a foot wide. [He] put out and as far as we could see him he was making good time, the boys cheering him as he went.” End all quotes. Can’t blame the man for leapin’ up outta there.

By 2:45pm, Canby had left a few troops at Craig and he had joined the battle. He surveyed the scene and realized he needed to move some men and cannons to the right side of the line and possibly take the then currently unoccupied high ground of the Mesa de la Contadera. Remember, he had not been at the battle which had been raging nearly all day by now. His commands and his troop maneuvering would end up costing the Yanks the battle…

At the Union’s right flank, near the mesa a courageous and ill-fated Confederate cavalry charge had made it to within 100 yards of the Union lines before they were scattered. Canby wanted to press that advantage. So, he sent Kit Carson, some New Mexico Volunteers, and a few Fedral regulars with two cannons to take the right Union flank of the field that had just opened up near the mesa. The problem was, many of these New Mexican Volunteers simply refused to cross the river. Eventually, they would prove useless in the coming crescendo of violence.

Moving a large part of his force from the center and from the guns, ended up opening a hole in Canby’s center with only cannons and three hundred men, most of them refusing to advance, refusing to defend the artillery pieces. This would prove disastrous for the Fedrals.

Over on the Confederate lines, the battle was looking rough. A Rebel I’ve quoted from quite a bit now without giving him credit, Bill Davidson, he later wrote that as he hunkered down, shivering in the freezing weather with his shotgun behind the sand hills while the cannon’s shot flew overhead and ripped through the falling snow and the cottonwood trees, he grabbed a Texas Confederate Flag and wrapped it around his cold head. He also wrote about the battle and said, quote, under all military rules and science we were whipped. Out flanked on our right, outnumbered more than two to one in the center and an enfilading fire on our left that threatened our entire line. End quote.

The Rebel commanders were thinking the same thing. They either needed to retreat or surrender or as Tom Green had said, they would all die on the battlefield.

For this battle at Valverde, Tom Green, Col. of the Fifth, he was in charge. Sibley was… sick… and had to sit this one out. Meaning, the Whiskey Keg General was nursing his daily hangover and or already drunk. Tom Green would not surrender. And unfortunately, even if he wanted to, there was really no means of retreating. They couldn’t go north since the Fedrals were beginning to occupy that position on their right and they couldn’t go south for the same reason. The Fedral cannons were now taking out the men, especially on the Confederate left with increasing accuracy. Soon they would all be shot to pieces. They had to fight…

And then the opening of the Fedral’s center presented itself. Col Green sprang into action, he first sent a small detachment of men to go engage Kit Carson and his unit on their left near the mesa. Then, he ordered a man to run to every company commander with word to charge the middle, take those cannons, and break the Yankee’s line. It was now or never. Green said, quote, at this critical moment, we must charge that battery boys! End quote.

The entire Rebel line then prepared for the heroic stampede. Their movements were all concealed by the tall sand hills. Guns were loaded, boots were laced, bayonets, those that had them, were fixed, lancers were at the ready, and the men waited for the signal to charge on foot. It came when two commanders, Lockridge and Scurry rose to the top of the sand hills for all to see and yelled, charge boys, charge! Shropshire followed suite with, Come on my boys!

A Rebel Yell roared from the Confederate Line as 750 of the men leapt over their defensive sand hills and raced towards the Union soldiers. After the yell, the men fell silent and their feet pounded the soft earth as they closed the 600 yard gap between themselves and the Yanks. The run must of have seemed like a lifetime. Their only cover were the few battered cottonwoods left standing and the thick smoke that hung in the air and mixed with the snow.

Halfway during the gallant race towards the cannons, the Yankees turned them towards the charging men. Davidson writes that he could only keep running and hope he would survive as his brothers in arms were quote, falling, bleeding, dying at every step. End quote. One Yankee commented that even though pieces of Rebel men were flying through the air, the men still ran full speed towards the hole in the line and the cannons. When the cannons would fire, most of the shells went overhead but the Rebels would all in unison throw themselves to the ground until the whooshing balls flew by. They then bolted again upright and commenced their charge.

Once they’d reached their target, the Rebels opened fire with their shotguns. With the Rebel volleys, the Fedral line melted away.

As soon as the Rebel yell had sounded and the Fedrals saw the Confederates charging them… most of the New Mexican volunteers took off running for the Rio Grande. One of the Yankee soldiers, the man I quoted from earlier, Ickis from Colorado he wrote that at the first sight of such a very large body of Texans, the militia dropped their guns and went running towards the river, quote, leaving us white men only to hold the section or let it go. End quote. But the Volunteers weren’t alone in their retreat. Quite a few Fedral regulars also left the fight at the roar of the Rebels and the sight of their charge. It was reported later that Kit Carson actually shot and killed a few of the volunteers when they began to flee in an effort to hold the line. He was not successful.

One of the Rebel officers, the filibuster scalawag Lockridge, who had fought with Walker in Nicaragua, and who had signaled the beginning of the charge, he would meet his maker during the battle. Here’s the ending of his story on earth as told by Colton in Civil War in the Western Territories. Quote:

Major S. A. Lockridge led the charge. As they neared the guns, a Confederate officer shouted, "Surrender, McRae, we don't want to kill you!" In response, this gallant officer, with one arm shattered, leaning against the breech of one of the guns, replied, "I shall never forsake my guns." Lockridge placed his hand on the muzzle of the same gun. Both raised their revolvers, fired at each other, and fell dead across the gun, their blood flowing along its surface. End quote.

While that’s a great story of heroism and courage, Trevanion Theodore Teel would later claim that he witnessed the charge from his position near the Confederate artillery and no such duel took place. And when McRae’s body was removed it was discovered his revolver had not discharged a shot. Regardless, both McRae and Lockridge would perish in the battle.

Frazier though, has Lockridge reaching the cannons, screaming, this is mine! And then falling from a fatal shot. He was last heard saying, go on my boys, don’t stop here.

The entire charge, the ensuing battle, and the confiscation of the guns took only eight minutes.

After a ferocious hand to hand battle with swords, revolvers, machetes, lances, and rifles as clubs the Rebels soon overtook the Fedrals and before long, the Union soldiers began their retreat back across the river. But they couldn’t very well drag their cannons with them. The few that thought about it sabotaged their artillery, a few left them intact, but one Union man, a man who had been firing the artillery, jumped up on the pile of shells, shells filled with gunpowder and death, he leapt up on the ammunition yelled, victory or death! Before firing his pistol into the shells and vaporizing himself, a few of his comrades, and quite a number of the Confederates. Just as Ickis from Colorado had witnessed and participated in the defeat of the Lancers, he also witnessed this kamikaze Yankee. He wrote, quote, the explosion must have killed several of the enemy, who were thick as they could stand. End quote.

Before the Confederates could recover from the enormous blast, they began taking rifle fire from the Fedrals. It was to their left and rear. It was Kit Carson and his men near the mesa. What few hadn’t fled the field, never to return. Some of the Texans dispersed but most of them stayed put. And behind them and to the right, more Texans were arriving. Kit Carson was forced to retreat.

The Rebels, untrained and unsure of how to use the cannons, left them there before charging after the retreating Fedrals. The retreat was in disarray as men splashed across the Rio Grande. Some of them getting run over by their own cavalry, others abandoning the heavy cannons they were trying to drag through the mud in the middle of the river. Then, the Confederate’s rifle fire began to take them out. And lastly, the Rebel artillerists had arrived at the Fedral cannons, they turned them on the fleeing men, and opened fire. The Rebel Cavalry then charged into the river’s current that now carried the bodies of soldiers from both sides. The men on foot followed the men on horse. They Rebels were going to get their victory.

Seeing the chaos, Canby ordered a counterattack from his forces on the mesa. Many men pulled their swords and charged on horseback towards the Confederates who were crossing the river. The fedral cannons opened fire.

The Rebels below the mesa began to be pelted with shells and musket balls. Water splashed into the sky and black smoke filled the air. One Confederate would remark, quote, the smoke was so thick that you could scarcely tell one man from another, and our faces so black with powder and dirt that we looked more like negroes than white men. End quote.

By now though, Teel and his artillery, as well as McRae’s confiscated guns, had turned the tide of battle. The advancing Fedrals halted before the river when they realized they were getting raked by fire from friends and foe alike. A separate counter attack against the confiscated guns halted when the cannons were turned on them. One Yankee commander got his leg blown off and with that, the Fedrals retreated to the sounds of the Rebel yell.

Green would write, quote, A few volleys of small arms and the old Texas war shout completely dispersed them, many of them dropping their guns to lighten their heels. End quote.

Many Rebels went in hot pursuit of the Fedrals who were now scrambling across the river but Green called them all back. The battle was over. The Rebel commander allowed the Union troops to retreat in peace.

Peticolas would write in his journal, quote, Never before have I felt such perfect happiness as I did when we took the battery from our enemy. End quote.

As darkness fell and the guns were quieted, a Union cavalrymen raced up and down the opposite bank of the river waving a white flag. Canby was asking for a period of cease-fire so that the dead and wounded could be gathered. Canby had effectively waved a flag of surrender.

Green talked over the cease-fire with his officers as they surveyed the field and their thirsty, tired, ragged men and Green decided to honor the truce. Both sides then began collecting their dead as the Confederates set up camp and the Fedrals retreated to Fort Craig.

The Battle of Valverde was over and the Confederate States of America had won. But as Frazier notes, it was a hollow conquest.

That night troops from both armies searched the battlefield together for their dead or dying comrades. Fires were lit around the limb strewn field. Limbs from both trees and men. Dying and injured Rebels and Fedrals alike were dragged together, side by side, to the warmth of the fires. The groans of the injured were heard all night. Heartbroken, Peticolas would write, quote, It was a sad sight to see these young men, so lately in all the strength and vigor of manhood, now lying pale and weak around these fires, suffering. End quote.

After the injured were collected, the dead were next. Gathering the bodies of the slain lasted until morning.

As the sun rose on February 22nd, the Rebels buried their over thirty dead at the spot near the cannons that they captured. They had a funeral service, they said a prayer, and they threw dirt over the bodies of their comrades. The cottonwood trees, it was noted, those, quote grand shapely old monarchs of the plains, end quote, would stand as their gravestones. Forty more would die from their wounds over the coming days. The final toll was 79 Confederates killed, one hundred and fifty wounded, and one missing. The Rebels lost nearly 10% of their entire fighting force in New Mexico in the battle. Also importantly and sadly, the Rebels lost over a thousand horses and mules. A factor that would contribute to the ultimate outcome of the war for New Mexico.

The Union Forces also suffered immensely. The final toll was one hundred and ten killed, two hundred and forty wounded, and thirty-five missing.

One in every five man had been hit by Confederate arms. They lost nearly 16% of their fighting force. One hundred and ten of those killed were around the battery, the Valverde guns as they’d come to be known. One casualty was Lt. George Bascom who had died while retreating across the Rio Grande. They had pulled his body from an eddy. If you’ll remember, it was Bascom’s actions that had caused the cutting of the tent which had started Cochise and Mangas’ war against the White Eyes at Apache Pass… a war which will continue against Baylor in the next episode.

The Union forces would bury their dead on February 23rd in the graveyard at Fort Craig.

Colton writes that quote, in proportion to the number of troops engaged, the casualties in the battle of Valverde were unusually high. Col. Roberts reported they were unexampled in any battle fought on this continent. End quote.

Col Steele, the leader of the Seventh Texas Mounted Volunteers, with a similar flag of truce would ride to Fort Craig during the cease-fire and ask Canby personally for medical and hospital supplies for the wounded men. Canby immediately agreed and offered them to the Rebels.

After the battle, the Confederates looted the field for anything and everything that was useful. Hundreds of rifles and tons of ammo had been collected. Overcoats, blankets, watches, knives, anything of value to the war effort was taken. And quite importantly, food was found and stored. The Fedrals had three days of rations in their packs, the Rebels discovered, much to their relief. Sugar, coffee, bacon, bread… these were welcome for the starving Confederates who had been on half rations for days.

Later that afternoon, on the 23rd of February, 1862, Sibley would send a delegate to the Fort and order them to surrender. But Canby would refuse. Some of Sibley’s officers wanted to take the fort right there through battle but many of the men knew that would be suicide and the plan was shut down. With food and supplies running low, only three days worth, the Confederates couldn’t very well stick around. So eventually, Sibley’s Brigade would break camp and march up the Rio Grande towards Santa Fe with their Valverde guns, which is what they called the cannons they had so bravely taken from McRae.

Canby and Fort Craig were essentially surrounded. Cut off. Baylor’s men were to the south of him and Sibley’s men were to his north. Sibley, although he had wanted to take the Fort, instead rendered it useless. Canby, although defeated, was not finished. He decided to send what remained of his New Mexican Volunteers and the militia forces north, ahead of the marching Confederates in an attempt to impede or obstruct their movements. And then Canby would wait for reinforcements.

Canby would fully place the blame for the Union’s loss on the Native New Mexican Volunteers which one of his Captains claimed were, quote, worse than worthless. End quote. Many of them had deserted and the ones that didn’t had refused to advance or fight. A Union Major James L Donaldson would write that these men simply wouldn’t fight because of their quote, traditional fear of the Texans. End quote. At one point before the battle, when the Rebels were marching northward they had captured a group of 20 New Mexican Volunteers who claimed they had been forced to join by the Union and the Yankee officers had told them that quote, the Texians were coming to murder all-both men, women, and children. End quote.

Canby also blamed the loss on the fact that the Confederates had superior mobility since nearly all of their forces were mounted.

But not all of Canby’s subordinates agreed with this assessment. Many of them blamed Canby himself who they say should have stayed at the Fort and left the command to Col. Roberts who was managing just fine, thank you very much. It was, after all, Canby who had opened up the hole in the center of their forces which allowed the Texans to break the Union line and take their artillery.

With Fort Fillmore taken, and now Fort Craig rendered useless after the stunning Confederate Victory at the Battle of Valverde, the Rebels were on the march north.

I would like to close this episode with a few lines from a poem one of the Texan veterans wrote later in life about the Battle of Valverde.

We heeded not their great renown,

We charged them with a yell,

We turned their tactics upside down,

And gave the regulars hell.

In the next episode, the Confederates will take Albuquerque and Santa Fe before they begin their march northeastward towards Fort Union. Meanwhile, Coloradan Volunteers will march south from Denver to join the beleaguered Yankees in the final defense of New Mexico by the Fedrals.

Thank y’all for listening, and I’ll see you again soon in the American Southwest.