Hispanics and the Civil War:

From Battlefield to Homefront

National Park Service 

U.S. Department of the Interior

INSTITUTE OF TEXAN CULTURES, HELEN YTURRI

COURTESY PALACE OF GOVERNORS 

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More than 20,000 Hispanics fought in the Civil War: 

some for the Union and some for the Confederacy. 

Thousands of Hispanic civilians lent hearts and hands

on the homefront.

NPS/FORT UNION 

NPS/ANTIETAM 
NATIONAL ARCHIVES

Hispanics of 

the aristocracy often 

served as officers 

in the war. 

Hispanic men of moderate 

and lesser means often enlisted 

to earn a better wage, improve 

their way of life, or escape 

indentured servitude.

NPS/GIL COHEN

Context for Conflict

The Civil War. For many Americans this conflict evokes images of the 

storied battlefields of North and South and of dramatic changes in the lives 

of Americans of African and Anglo descent. Lesser known is the story of the 

people of Spanish ancestry who participated in this epic conflict and of the 

many battles that took place in the West, in areas of large Hispanic 

populations and strong Spanish heritage. 

Like all Americans, Hispanics were deeply affected by the Civil War. 

When the conflict erupted, they lived in all parts of the country. Some 

traced their ancestry to explorers who settled in North America 

generations ahead of the English. Many had suddenly found themselves 

classified as Americans when the United States expanded its boundaries. 

Others were recent immigrants from Spain and Latin America, drawn 

to the United States to improve their lives. When the nation split in two, 

many were forced to choose whether to support the Union or the 

Confederacy. Some had little choice as they were swept into the maelstrom.

From the first shots at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, in 1861 to the last 

action at Palmito Ranch, Texas, in 1865, many Hispanics made a conscious 

decision to join the fight: some for the Union and some for the 

Confederacy. They responded to a variety of motives, public and private. 

They represented all socio-economic levels, from wealthy aristocrats 

fighting to preserve a way of life to impoverished laborers seeking to 

improve their fortunes. Patriotism, personal gain, regional conditions, 

and history all played a role in their decisions. By the close of the war, 

more than 20,000 Hispanics had participated in the bloody conflict 

and thousands of Hispanic civilians had lent hearts and hands on 

the homefront, weaving their own individual stories into 

this important national fabric. 

1
Spanish Roots in American Soil 

People of Spanish heritage established roots in North America centuries 

before the Civil War. Following the arrival of Columbus in 1492, many 

explorers rushed to claim the “New World” for Spain, including the mainland 

of North America. As early as 1526, Spanish settlers attempted to colonize 

the shores of what is now South Carolina. This effort failed, but in 1565 Spain 

established St. Augustine, Florida, the first permanent European settlement 

in the present-day United States. Other explorers pushed inland. In 1539, 

Hernando de Soto landed on the coast of Florida and began a winding 

journey that would carry him across the Mississippi River. In 1540, Francisco 

Vásquez de Coronado marched from Mexico to explore much of the land that 

comprises the modern US Southwest. Two years later, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo 

set foot on California’s coast. This push north- and westward continued with 

the establishment of trading posts, missions, colonies, and towns. By the 1700s, 

Spain claimed ownership of much of the continent. On July 4, 1776, while 

the American colonies in the East boldly declared independence from 

Britain, the Spanish were celebrating the founding of San Francisco on the 

other side of the continent. 

Imperial rivalries and the emergence of the United States of America 

would carve away this huge empire. By the mid-1800s most of the Spanish 

lands in North America were gone, now occupied as states and territories 

of the United States. But a Hispanic population remained, most notably in 

the Southeast and the Southwest, and these citizens were drawn into

the conflict that swept the nation in 1861.

Explorer Francisco 

Vásquez de Coronado 

reaches the interior of 

the Southwest in 1540. 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

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A living historian portrays 

explorer Juan Rodríguez 

Cabrillo who arrived on the 

west coast of the continent 

in what is today California 

in 1542. 

Columbus leaves Spain 

in 1492 seeking a trade route to 

the East Indies. He encounters 

the “New World” instead. 

 

Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer 

Adm.Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, St. Augustine, 

Florida, was the first permanent European 

settlement in the continental United States. 

Completed in 1672, Castillo de San Marcos 

symbolizes the Spanish heritage of this 

city and the nation.

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NPS/CABRILLO

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Soldiers in the Southeast 

In the Southeast, Hispanics commonly supported the Confederate 

cause. Many of Spanish ancestry lived in the Gulf Coast region of 

Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana—lands that had once been 

Spanish West Florida and Louisiana. This population represented a 

rich mixture of cultures and languages: French, Spanish, Caribbean, 

American Indian, African, German, and Anglo American. These 

“Creoles” were often well-to-do planters with plantations or 

NPS/JEAN LAFITTE

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Descendants of 

Spanish explorers 

and settlers made their 

homes along the bayous, 

on large plantations, 

and in the port cities 

of the Gulf Coast.

established merchants with homes in the bustling ports of New Orleans 

and Mobile. Many held slaves. Others made their money through the cotton 

trade that relied on the “peculiar institution” of slavery. Part of the aristocracy 

of the region, these citizens joined their like-minded southern neighbors 

and actively fought to preserve their way of life. 

In Louisiana, Hispanics lent their arms to actions both nearby and far afield. 

Many Hispanics in Louisiana had immigrated from the Canary Islands in 

the late 1700s. New Orleans mustered nearly 800 Hispanics as part of the 

“European Brigade,” a home guard of 4,500 to keep order and defend 

the city. The brigades of Brigadier General Harry T. Hays’s and Brigadier 

General William E. Starke, popularly known as the “Louisiana Tigers,” 

included native Louisianans of Anglo and Creole descent, plus men from 

Spain, Cuba, Mexico, and other Latin American countries. Both brigades 

campaigned with Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and fought at battles 

such as Antietam and Gettysburg.

NPS/CANE RIVER CREOLE

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Other Gulf Coast states also mustered Hispanics into the military. 

One Alabama company, the Spanish Guards, was made up exclusively of 

men of Spanish ancestry and served as a home guard for the city of Mobile. 

Alabama’s 55th Infantry, which served in the Vicksburg, Atlanta, and Nashville 

campaigns, and Florida’s 2nd Infantry, which fought at Antietam and 

Gettysburg, included significant numbers of Hispanic soldiers as well. 

Confederate sympathizers included Hispanic women like Lola Sánchez, 

from a large Cuban family living near St. Augustine, Florida. Angered that her 

father had been accused of being a Confederate spy, Sánchez took on that role 

herself. When Union troops occupied her Florida home, she overheard their 

plans and informed nearby Confederates of a pending raid. Forewarned, 

Confederate forces turned the tables and captured the Union troops. 

The Minorcans, a Hispanic group from the Balearic Islands in the 

Mediterranean, colonized parts of Florida in the mid- to late 1760s 

under British auspices. A century later, a number of their descendants 

served in the Confederate Army and Navy. Some also served 

for the Union. One of the most notable was Stephen Vincent 

Benét. Born in St. Augustine, he graduated from West Point 

in 1849. During the war, he taught the science of gunnery 

there. In 1874, he was appointed Brigadier General, Chief 

of US Army Ordnance. His grandson, named for him, went 

on to write significant prose and poetry about the Civil War. 

In her memoirs, 

Cuban immigrant 

Loreta Janeta 

Velázquez wrote of 

enlisting in the 

Confederate Army 

against her soldierhusband’s wishes and 

fighting in several 

battles disguised as a 

man. As “Lt. Harry 

Buford,” she claimed 

to have fought at 

First Manassas, 

Ball’s Bluff, and 

Fort Donelson. 

When her gender 

was discovered in 

New Orleans, 

Velázquez was 

discharged. 

Undaunted, she 

reenlisted and fought 

at Shiloh until 

unmasked again. 

She then became a 

spy, dressed in male 

or female guise. 

Like others who 

wrote about their 

experiences at war, 

many parts of her 

account appear 

sensationalized 

but others may be 

based on fact. US ARMY NPS/GIL COHEN

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Hispanic soldiers fought 

here at Antietam, and at 

Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and 

in other epic battles. 

NPS/ANTIETAM

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BILL DOWLING PHOTOGRAPHY 

c/o GETTYSBURG FOUNDATION

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Soldiers in the North 

Not all Americans of Spanish ancestry lived in the South. Northern states also 

had significant Hispanic communities, and many of their members supported 

the Union cause. Most came from large urban centers like Philadelphia, New 

York, and Boston. In addition to large populations of Germans, Irish, and 

Eastern Europeans, these cities attracted immigrants from Spain, Portugal, 

Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. Many of these newcomers sought to integrate 

themselves into the society of their new homeland but faced daunting racial 

prejudices. Serving in the uniform of a US soldier was the quickest and best 

way to reach their goal of becoming an “American.” 

Puerto Rican immigrant Lt. Augusto Rodríguez served in the 

15th Connecticut Regiment. He protected the Union capital in the defenses of 

Washington, D.C., and courageously led his men in battle at Fredericksburg. 

At the close of the war Rodriguez left the army but continued his life 

of service fighting fire in the city of New Haven. 

Born in Cuba but raised in the United States, Lt. Col. Julius Peter Garesché

was educated at West Point. His contribution to the war was the ultimate one. 

While serving as Chief of Staff to Lt. Gen. William S. Rosecrans during the 

battle at Stones River, Garesché was decapitated by Confederate cannon fire—

a great personal loss for Rosecrans, whose friendship with Garesché 

was magnified by a deeply shared faith.

To escape their exposed position outside of Petersburg, Virginia, 

Lt. Col. Henry Pleasants devised an unusual plan to break the Confederate

stranglehold on the city. Born in Argentina to a Hispanic mother and an 

American father from Pennsylvania, Pleasants came to the United States at 

age 13 and later became a mining engineer. He proposed digging a mine shaft 

under the Confederate line and blowing up the fortifications on the other 

side with four tons of gunpowder. The well-conceived but poorly executed 

“Battle of the Crater” failed, resulting in another eight months of fighting. 

For his ingenuity, Pleasants was promoted to Brevet Brigadier General, 

while the commanding officer was relieved of duty.

Lt. Joseph De Castro, 

the flag bearer of the 

19th Massachusetts 

Infantry, fought at 

Gettysburg. On 

July 3, 1863, the third 

and last day of the 

battle, he and his 

regiment faced the fury 

of “Pickett’s Charge”—

the bloody Confederate 

infantry assault against 

the Union positions on 

Cemetery Ridge. 

Under intense fire, 

De Castro charged 

forward and captured 

the enemy flag. He then 

broke through the lines 

and without saying a 

word handed the prize 

over to Col. Arthur 

Devereux before 

rushing back into the 

fight. It was an 

emblematic moment 

in one of America’s 

most epic battles. 

On December 1, 1864, 

De Castro became 

the first Hispanic to 

be awarded the 

Medal of Honor. 

NPS/COMM. ART COLL.

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Capturing the Flag 

at Gettysburg
Anxious to fight, Luis F. Emilio, the 16-year-old son of a Spanish immigrant, 

lied about his age in order to enlist with the 23rd Massachusetts Volunteer 

Infantry. His bravery quickly earned him a promotion to sergeant. Selected 

as one of the officers of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment—one of the first 

African American units—Emilio soon rose to the rank of captain. In that 

role, he helped lead the 54th in its ferocious assault on Fort Wagner, South 

Carolina. The attack failed but was successful in demonstrating the bravery 

and ability of African American troops. 

Like Rodriguez, Garesché, Pleasants, and Emilio, many men enlisted by 

individual initiative. In other cases whole groups of Hispanics signed up 

together. A prime example is the 39th New York Infantry. This regiment, 

called the “Garibaldi Guard” in honor of the famed Italian freedom fighter 

Giuseppe Garibaldi, was formed entirely of European immigrants. In addition 

to companies of Italians, Hungarians, Swiss, German, and French immigrants, 

the regiment included a company wholly composed of Spanish 

and Portuguese soldiers. Easily recognized 

in their distinctive European-style uniforms, 

the unit engaged in dozens of clashes, 

including Gettysburg and the major 

campaigns of the Army of the Potomac. 

Recognized by their 

European-style uniforms, 

a living historian

portrays the “Garibaldi 

Guard” which included 

a company of Spanish 

and Portuguese soldiers. 

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Hispanic Capt. Luis Emilio 

helped lead the heroic charge of 

the African American unit, the 

54th Massachusetts, on 

Fort Wagner. He later published a 

book about their accomplishments, 

Brave Black Regiment. 

 

 

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MASS. HIST. SOC.

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Sailors: North and South 

Some of the most dramatic fighting of the Civil War occurred on the high 

seas where Hispanics fought with valor in the navies of both sides. Dozens 

of Hispanic sailors served on Confederate vessels, helping in the dangerous 

task of breaking the Union blockade of southern ports. One of the most 

daring officers in the Confederate Navy was Capt. Michael Usina. Born in 

St. Augustine, Florida, to Spanish parents, Usina started the war as a private 

in the 8th Georgia Volunteer Infantry. After suffering serious wounds in the 

battle at Manassas, he joined the Confederate Navy. As captain of a 

blockade runner, Usina made several harrowing escapes, always 

managing to avoid capture on his many successful missions. 

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Seaman Philip Bazaar was one 

of only six men to breach enemy 

fortifications in the assault on 

Fort Fisher. “For conspicuous 

gallantry... while engaged in an 

action against an enemy of the 

United States” he was awarded 

the Medal of Honor.

Hispanic sailors served the 

Union with equal bravery and 

distinction. Spanish immigrant 

John Ortega enlisted in 

Pennsylvania and served as a 

seaman on the USS Saratoga. 

He risked his life on two 

occasions as he fought to 

maintain the Union blockade 

against the efforts of men like 

Usina. Philip Bazaar, of Chilean 

origin, faced a different danger. 

As a seaman on board the USS 

Santiago de Cuba, he was one 

of only six men to breach the 

Confederate works during the 

assault on Fort Fisher, North 

Carolina. Under heavy fire, he 

courageously delivered critical 

dispatches during the battle. 

For their valor “above and 

beyond the call of duty,” both 

Ortega and Bazaar were 

awarded the Medal of Honor.

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From the rigging 

of the ship during the 

capture of Mobile Bay, 

Adm. David Farragut 

ordered, “Damn 

the torpedoes, 

full speed ahead!” 

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One of the most famous naval commanders in American history is 

David Farragut. Born to a Spanish father and an American mother, 

Farragut was raised in Tennessee and began his naval career when only 

nine years old. He served in the War of 1812 and the Mexican War and was 

60 when the Civil War broke out. Though he lived in the southern state 

of Virginia at the time, he remained loyal to the Union. Farragut soon 

earned praise for commanding a successful naval expedition against 

Confederate New Orleans. This venture reestablished Union access to 

the strategically important Mississippi River Valley and Farragut was 

rewarded with the newly established rank of vice admiral. Farragut is 

perhaps most celebrated for his capture of Mobile Bay in 1864. There, in 

the midst of battle, Farragut showed his disdain for the opposing fire by 

uttering the order that has been famously paraphrased as “Damn the 

torpedoes, full speed ahead!” In 1866, Farragut was promoted to full 

admiral, a rank the US Navy again created especially for this national hero. 

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FEDERICO CAVADA

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Immigrants Fighting under Different Flags 

For Hispanics, like all other Americans, the decision of which side to 

support in the Civil War often came down to personal motives and desires. 

Hispanic citizens of the United States often acted to preserve a lifestyle and 

defend lands that they had occupied for generations. Immigrants often had 

to choose based upon newly-established ties. The examples of Federico 

Fernández Cavada and Ambrosio José Gonzalez demonstrate that men of 

similar backgrounds often found themselves on very different paths.

Cavada was born in Cuba in 1832. Following the death of his Spanish 

father, he moved to Philadelphia, the hometown of his American mother. 

Despite growing up and completing his education in the United States, 

he retained a strong attachment to the land of his birth. He also developed 

a fierce hatred of slavery so, when the Civil War erupted, he enlisted in

the US Army. Beginning his service as an engineer, the talented Cavada 

quickly rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He commanded the 

109th Pennsylvania Infantry in the battle at Chancellorsville and the 

114th Pennsylvania Infantry at Gettysburg, where he was captured 

by Confederate forces and imprisoned. 

While in prison, Federico 

Fernández Cavada 

smuggled out notes and 

sketches scrawled on pieces 

of newspaper and 

later published them in a 

book about his incarceration, 

offering the proceeds to 

widows and orphans of fellow 

prisoners. In this drawing, 

he dreams of freedom and 

returning home to his family.

JEFF KOWALIS

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Ambrosio José Gonzales also claimed Cuba as his land of birth. Born to a 

prominent family in Matanzas, his father sent him to school in New York 

following the death of his mother. Gonzales later completed his education 

at the University of Havana and began a career as a professor in his homeland. 

He also participated in the movements to liberate Cuba from Spanish rule 

and developed ties with Americans, mostly Southerners, who wanted to 

annex Cuba to the United States. His efforts to overthrow the Spanish failed, 

and Gonzales settled into exile in Beaufort, South Carolina. There he married 

into a prominent Southern family. When war came, Gonzales naturally 

supported the Confederacy, earning a commission as a colonel. He earned 

commendation for his conduct in the bombardment of Fort Sumter and 

was soon promoted to Chief of Artillery for the Department of South 

Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, and commanded the Confederate artillery 

in the battle at Honey Hill, South Carolina. 

Following the Civil War, Cavada and Gonzales found common cause in 

the effort to liberate the land of their birth. Gonzales only briefly returned 

to Cuba, but continued to support his countrymen in their efforts to gain 

independence from Spain. One of those freedom fighters was Cavada. 

The one-time Union officer returned to Havana as a US consul but soon 

resigned his post to join the Cuban army. There, his military skill helped 

him rise to the position of commander of all Cuban revolutionary 

forces. In 1871, however, while traveling to secure supplies from 

supporters in the United States, he was captured by Spanish troops. 

Despite pleas for leniency from US President Ulysses S. Grant, 

the Spanish army executed him by firing squad. 

Commended for his conduct in 

the bombardment of Fort Sumter, 

Col. Ambrosio Gonzales later 

designed a system of coastal 

defenses from Charleston to 

Savannah before returning home 

to fight for independence in Cuba. 

DR. ANTONIO DE LA COVA

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Soldiers in the Southwest 

By far, the highest levels of Hispanic participation in the Civil War occurred 

in the states and territories of the Southwest. Following war with Mexico 

(1846-1848), the victorious United States acquired vast portions of Mexico’s 

northern territories. More than 100,000 Mexicans lived on these lands 

and with the stroke of a pen became citizens of the United States. These 

residents of Texas, California, Arizona, and New Mexico soon found 

themselves immersed in a national dispute over the expansion of slavery 

into the West. When war erupted, they had to choose sides. 

They often faced difficult choices. Slavery had been banned by the Mexican 

government and only a few dozen enslaved African Americans lived in the 

arid lands of west Texas and New Mexico. Many Hispanics opposed the 

idea of bringing the institution into their homeland and endorsed Union 

efforts to prevent it. Nevertheless, owners of crop lands in New Mexico—

a group that included some wealthy Hispanics and Anglo Americans—

often relied on the coerced labor of American Indians and shared some of 

the views of their slave-holding counterparts in the South. Other Hispanics 

harbored bitter feelings toward the US government as a result of the 

Mexican War and demonstrated their disapproval by supporting the 

Confederacy. The political influence, trade connections, and geographic 

proximity of the South also drew many Hispanic ranchers and farmers 

closer to the movement to secede from the Union. 

The result was a scattering of loyalties. Texas became a stalwart supporter 

of the Confederate cause, but Hispanics—particularly those along the 

Rio Grande frontier with Mexico—divided in their support for the Union. 

In New Mexico, lucrative links to Missouri and the southern states via the 

Santa Fe and Butterfield Trails encouraged some Hispanic residents to lean 

toward the Confederacy while others maintained Union ties. California was 

also split. Union sentiments prevailed in the northern reaches as stronger 

Confederate leanings developed in the predominately Hispanic southern 

part of the state. By the time the first shots of the war were fired at 

Fort Sumter, Texas had joined the Confederacy. California remained, 

uneasily, a part of the Union.

Hispanics in the 

Southwest had 

divided loyalties 

at the outbreak of 

the war. Tied 

politically and 

economically to 

the lucrative trade 

with Missouri 

and the southern 

states on the 

Santa Fe Trail, 

some sided with 

the Confederacy.

ROY ANDERSEN, ARTIST, COURTESY PECOS NHP
Between these two states, the vast New Mexico Territory became a point of 

contention. Confederate leaders who hoped to gain access to the gold and 

silver mines and the strategic ports of California needed control of 

New Mexico to do so. In mid summer 1861, Lt. Col. John R. Baylor led the 

2nd Texas Mounted Rifles into New Mexico, drove away Union defenders, 

and occupied the town of Mesilla. Establishing Mesilla as a capital, on 

August 1, 1861, Baylor declared that the southern portion of New Mexico 

had now become the Confederate Territory of Arizona. He later divided the 

territory and waited for Capt. Sherod Hunter and his Arizona Rangers to 

occupy Tucson, which would serve as the capital of a second judicial 

district, solidifying Confederate control of the area. 

Hunter’s troops faced limited resistance. Union soldiers in Arizona forts 

had been ordered to support the war on the east coast and before leaving 

had burned their buildings and stores to prevent them from falling into 

Confederate hands. The departure of Union troops left Hispanic and Anglo 

Americans in the region unprotected from bands of Apache raiders and local 

outlaws that roamed the region. Fearing for their lives and property, these 

settlers had little choice but to accept protection from Confederate troops. 

Hunter’s mounted riflemen entered Tucson without resistance, and on 

February 14, 1862, President Jefferson Davis officially proclaimed the 

Territory of Arizona as part of the Confederacy. A critical link between 

Texas and California had been established. 

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After a string 

of victories by 

Lt. Col. John R. Baylor, 

President Jefferson 

Davis officially 

proclaimed the 

 Territory of Arizona 

as part of the 

Confederacy in 

February 1862. 

Living historians honor the Hispanic 

men of New Mexico who volunteered to 

fight, some of whom were their ancestors. 

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“Citizens of New Mexico, your territory has 

been invaded, the integrity of your soil attacked, 

the property of peaceful and industrious citizens 

destroyed... I, Henry Connelly, do hereby issue 

this my proclamation, ordering an immediate 

organization of the Militia...” 

Governor Henry Connelly

NPS/FORT UNION

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The Union took measures to prevent Confederate 

expansion westward. President Abraham Lincoln had 

wisely selected territorial officials from within the local 

community, ensuring that leaders would remain loyal 

to the Union. In the New Mexico Territory, he appointed 

as governor Henry Connelly, who had married into a 

prominent Hispanic family. In September, Connelly 

called out the militia to defend the Union cause. 
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Capt. Rafael Chacón 

led the New Mexico 

 Volunteers in 22 engagements 

during the war. 

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Lt. Col. J. Francisco Chaves and his 

Anglo colleague Col. Kit Carson led the 

First New Mexico Volunteers. Chaves 

was elected to Congress in 1864.Carson 

went on to fight in the Indian Wars. 

NPS/HUGH BROWN LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Lt. Col. J. Francisco Chaves

Col. Kit Carson

The ranks of the New Mexico Volunteers were soon filled with “Nuevo 

Mexicanos” (Hispanic New Mexicans). Many of the volunteers lacked 

formal military training. Nevertheless, these descendants of Spanish 

pioneers were excellent horsemen, knew the terrain, and had experience 

in combat against Apaches, Navajos, Utes, and Comanches, making them 

prized soldiers and scouts. A few, like Capt. José Sena, who had practiced 

law in Santa Fe prior to the war, and Capt. Rafael Chacón, a graduate of a 

Mexican military school, had professional skills that made them even more 

valuable to the Union cause. The New Mexico units were commanded 

primarily by Hispanic officers.

The fight for New Mexico escalated. In early 1862, Confederate 

Brig. Gen. Henry Hopkins Sibley pushed northward with 2,500 troops 

from Fort Bliss, Texas. Sibley’s goal was to seize Fort Craig on the 

Río Grande south of Socorro in order to strengthen the Confederate 

foothold in New Mexico. Col. Edward R.S. Canby, the Union commander 

of the fort, moved to halt this assault. On February 21, 1862, his 3,800 

troops, including 2,500 Hispanic soldiers of the New Mexico Volunteers 

and militia, engaged the Confederates at Valverde. The Confederates won 

the day, but heavy casualties convinced them to abandon their advance 

on Fort Craig. Although defeated, the New Mexico Volunteers under 

commanders J. Francisco Chaves and Christopher “Kit” Carson 

fought admirably. 
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The battle at Glorieta was the beginning of the end 

for the Confederacy in the Southwest, concluding 

their occupation of New Mexico and dashing their 

strategy to create a gateway to California. 

ROY ANDERSEN, ARTIST, COURTESY PECOS NHP

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Meanwhile, Confederates in Tucson found themselves 

threatened by Col. James H. Carleton’s “California Column,” 

a force of California Volunteers guided by Hispanic scouts 

familiar with the trails and water sources of the region. On 

April 15, 1862, these Californian troops skirmished with 

Confederates near Picacho Pass, 45 miles northwest of Tucson. 

The Confederates prevailed in this clash—the westernmost 

engagement of the Civil War—but the “California Column” 

continued marching and occupied Tucson soon thereafter. 

The decisive battle of the New Mexico campaign, however, 

took place in the northern part of the territory. Following the 

battle at Valverde, Confederate General Sibley continued 

northward along the Río Grande with the goal of seizing Fort 

Union via Santa Fe. Upon reaching Albuquerque, he received 

news that 2,000 “Pikes Peakers” or Colorado Volunteers under 

Col. John P. Slough were coming to bolster the Union cause. 

On March 28, Confederate and Union troops clashed on the 

rugged terrain of Glorieta Pass. The fierce battle swayed back 

and forth throughout the day with neither force gaining an 

advantage. The conclusive action of the clash took place at 

Apache Canyon near Johnson’s Ranch on the west side of the 

mountain pass. There, Union forces, guided by Lt. Col. Manuel 

Chávez, attacked and destroyed the Confederate supply train. 

The loss of food and ammunition obliged the Confederates to 

abandon the field and Glorieta belonged to the Union. 

The failure at Glorieta, often called the “Gettysburg 

of the West,” spelled the end of Confederate 

designs on the West. Following an additional 

skirmish at Peralta, south of Albuquerque, the 

undersupplied, overextended, and outnumbered 

Confederates left New Mexico, ending their 

quest to create a gateway to California.

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Lt. Col. Manuel Chavez played an essential 

role in the epic Union victory at Glorieta—

the “Gettysburg of the West.”
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Following the Confederate abandonment of the New Mexico and 

Arizona territories, the Union quickly occupied many strategic 

points in the newly founded Territory of Arizona. Little known is 

the important role “Californios” (Hispanic Californians) played 

in this effort. Highly skilled on horseback and accustomed to 

working in excruciating heat, they made excellent cavalrymen. 

Serving under both Hispanic and Anglo officers, hundreds of 

soldiers from the First Battalion of Native Cavalry of the 

California Volunteers would prove their ability and loyalty by 

securing these vast lands for the Union, eliminating the intrusion 

of French imperialists who supported Maximilian’s rule in 

Mexico and other backers of the Confederacy. 

Texas remained critical to Confederate fortunes in the 

Southwest and some of the bitterest fighting occurred there 

with Hispanics serving on both sides. Here a civil war within a 

civil war occurred as “Tejano” fought “Tejano” (Hispanic Texans). 

Tejanos faced particularly complex choices as to where to place 

their loyalties. Living in a region where the institution was 

relatively scarce, slavery played less of a role in these decisions. 

Many had grown up on the northern frontier of Mexico as 

proponents of Mexican Federalism, a belief in regional 

autonomy that coincided with the states’ rights policies of the 

Confederacy. Others had engaged in frequent clashes with US 

troops stationed on the border in the aftermath of the 

US-Mexican War and welcomed the removal of these forces 

from the region. Wealthy Tejano ranchers mirrored their Creole 

counterparts in Louisiana and were linked to the Confederate 

leaders of Texas by marriage, politics, and shared economic 

interests. Such was the situation of Santos Benavides, a member 

of a wealthy Laredo family who accepted the rank of colonel 

in the Confederate army. 

Still Union sentiments remained strong among some 

Tejanos. Some opposed slavery and had no desire to support 

a government that promoted it. Others were Hispanics of the 

lower classes who had little interest in a Confederate social 

system that placed them at the bottom. 

Some Hispanics in Texas fought 

for the Union. Sgt. Patricio Perez 

enlisted in the 2nd Texas Cavalry 

and wore a sombrero instead 

of the regulation issue.

DELIA ALANIZ

29

These differences occasionally produced 

strong political stands and even violence. 

When Texas first announced its secession 

from the Union in 1861, a group of 40 Tejanos 

led by Antonio Ochoa marched on the 

Zapata County seat to prevent local officials 

from taking an oath of allegiance to the 

Confederacy. Confederate troops responded 

by forcing Ochoa to flee across the border 

into Mexico. There Ochoa gained the support 

of Juan Nepomuceno Cortina, a Mexican 

general and folk hero, who had already gained 

a reputation as a fearless defender of Mexican 

American rights. From the safety of Mexico, 

Ochoa, Cortina and others attacked military 

and economic targets in south Texas, 

keeping Confederate troops constantly 

preoccupied. In one brutal attack, pro-Union 

raiders commanded by Octaviano Zapata 

rode to the ranch of a Confederate county 

judge and hanged him. Confederate 

retaliation was swift. Capt. Refugio 

Benavides led a company of cavalry into 

Mexico in pursuit of Zapata, killing 18 and 

wounding 14 of his men. Zapata escaped that 

time, only to die later at the hands of 

Refugio’s brother, Santos Benavides.

The First Battalion of 

Native Cavalry of the 

California Volunteers was 

particularly formidable as 

it was one of the few lancer 

units in the US Army. 

Many soldiers fought with 

lances, a symbol of the 

proud Hispanic heritage 

of California. 

FREDERICK P. TODD
30

Col. Santos Benavides was offered a 

Union generalship, but turned it down to 

protect his homeland of Texas. The Benavides 

brothers, Santos, Refugio and Cristobal, were 

a formidable fighting force, comprising a 

significant part of the corps of Confederate 

officers in Texas. Santos is pictured here 

with his wife, Augustina.

Colonel Benavides’s troops 

were said to be “the peer 

of any soldier or officer in 

the Confederate armies” and 

received a citation from 

the Confederate Texas 

Legislature for “vigilance, 

energy, and gallantry.” 

DR. HECTOR FARIAS

NPS/HUGH BROWN

NPS/GIL COHEN

31

Skirmishes gave way to full scale warfare as south Texas gained importance 

for the Confederacy. When Union ships blockaded Confederate ports in 1862, 

Texas border communities like Brownsville and Laredo became key ports for 

the export of Southern cotton. Wagon trains rolled into south Texas, where 

the cargos of this “white gold” were carried across the Río Grande and loaded 

on Mexican flagships that could sail safely past Union warships. This trade, 

established largely through the efforts of the Cuban-born, Harvard-educated 

diplomat José Agustin Quintero, helped maintain a vital line of trade for 

the cash-strapped Confederacy. 

The United States attempted to cut this economic lifeline. In 

November 1863, a large Union force landed on the barrier islands of 

south Texas and occupied Fort Brown in the city of Brownsville. 

From this base, Union troops continued west in an attempt to capture 

Laredo and its cotton stores. Instead, on March 19, 1864, Col. Santos 

Benavides forced the invaders back down the Río Grande. 

In the aftermath of the failed attack on Laredo, much of the Union 

invasion force withdrew from south Texas to fight in other arenas of the war. 

Confederate troops took advantage, sweeping back toward Brownsville and, 

after several skirmishes, retaking the city in July 1864. Only a small Union 

presence remained in the region, occupying Brazos Island on the Texas coast.

It was this small garrison that would fight the final action of the Civil War. Aware 

of the surrender of Confederate General Lee at Appomattox on April 9, 1865, the 

Union commander of Brazos Island made one final foray toward Brownsville on 

May 12-13. Confederate troops—including Hispanic soldiers—responded, and 

on the coastal plains near the mouth of the Río Grande at Palmito Ranch, they 

defeated the Union forces—a final Confederate victory in a lost cause. 

After much fighting

in and around 

Brownsville, Texas, 

the Confederacy

retook the city 

in July 1864.

The last action of the 

Civil War was fought 

on May 13, 1865, 

at Palmito Ranch, 

Texas. Though the 

Union won the war, 

Confederates won 

the last battle. 

TEXAS SOUTHERNMOST COLLEGE, COURTESY UTSA

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
32

Hispanics on the Homefront 

The Civil War tested the will of civilians as well as soldiers, and Hispanics 

shared in the national suffering. This was especially the case in the old 

Spanish Southwest. Families went hungry as armies seized harvests or 

destroyed crops in the field. Deprivation and despair preceded and followed 

battles. Disease and death swept through communities in the aftermath of 

military campaigns. Though their saga is not as familiar as those in other 

arenas of the war, Hispanic civilians displayed their own heroism and 

resolve on the homefront. They pulled together as communities, adjusted to 

meet challenges, and, in some cases, even found opportunity in an era 

of destruction. 

Socorro, New Mexico, illustrated the common fate of southwestern Hispanic 

communities caught in the line of fire. The planting season had just started 

when many men from the town were called to war. The people left behind 

tended the crops as best they could but managed only a limited harvest of 

corn and wheat. The town then fell in the path of Confederate troops. 

Union Col. Nicholas Pino attempted to halt the advance but ultimately 

surrendered the town to avoid the inevitable civilian casualties and damage 

that a battle would bring. Hungry Confederate troops pillaged the town, 

seizing food and supplies before moving on. Starvation and misery increased 

as bands of Apache and Navajo raiders attacked the town and took livestock. 

Militia troops under the command of Maj. Luis M. Baca finally returned 

to Socorro to defend the community from additional losses. 

Men like Baca did what they could to protect their communities but with 

so many men called off to fight, women became the last line of defense for 

families and towns. Some fled danger for the safety of distant towns, ranches, 

family, and friends. Others stayed at home, determined to guard their 

property against hostile troops and bands of Apaches and Navajos. One 

such woman was Petra Pino, the wife of Jose Pino, a wealthy merchant and 

Confederate officer. She stayed on the family farm with her nine children 

throughout the Confederate occupation of Socorro. Her daily sacrifice was 

magnified by the death of her youngest child during these hard times. 

33

Many towns in the path of 

hostile armies, like Socorro, 

New Mexico, were ruined—

their food and supplies taken 

to provision soldiers.

With men off 

to war, tales of 

starvation were 

frequent as crops 

in the field went 

unharvested or 

were confiscated 

by advancing 

troops.

NPS/GIL COHEN

COURTESY PALACE OF THE GOVERNORS 

PHOTO ARCHIVES (NMHM/DCA) 011435
34

The face of war on the 

homefront. While the 

Confederates held a fandango 

in her home and then burned it, 

Dolores Perea Connelly and 

her family fled to the hills of 

northern New Mexico.

Affluent women could 

afford to move their families 

to safer towns or ranches, 

away from danger.

COURTESY PALACE OF THE GOVERNORS 

PHOTO ARCHIVES (NMHM/DCA) 009847

JOSEPH SMITH, COURTESY PALACE 

OF THE GOVERNORS PHOTO ARCHIVES 

(NMHM/DCA) 089539

35

Dolores Perea Connelly, wife of the territorial governor, experienced 

a different loss. Confederates retreating from the skirmish at Peralta 

on April 18, 1862 destroyed her home. Soldiers burned the hacienda, 

destroyed its fields, and took livestock and other property. “There was 

much about the house of goods and furniture that they could put 

to no useful purpose,” Governor Connelly wrote, “yet all was taken or 

wantonly destroyed.” Dolores Connelly and her family narrowly 

escaped this havoc. 

Dozens of similar tales unfolded throughout the war-torn Southwest, 

sometimes involving Confederate supporters and at other times 

advocates of the Union. Through it all, women exhibited great strength 

of character and compassion. Petra Pino not only looked after her own 

family but also tended to Confederate soldiers in a nearby hospital. 

Others were equally kind. A. B. Peticolas, a private in the 4th Regiment 

of Texas Mounted Volunteers, described an unknown woman who, 

with tears in her eyes, offered food to the ragged and hungry troops as 

they moved north along the Rio Grande. Many other women offered 

shelter, sustenance, and care to the soldiers they encountered. 

Hispanic people displayed great strength and resilience, overcoming 

the tragedies of war to rebuild their lives and communities. In some 

cases encounters between Hispanic women and soldiers would 

transform lives. Viviana Gómez met Karl Wengert, a German 

immigrant soldier sent to fight in the New Mexico Territory. The 

couple married and, after the war, established a business together 

in Taos, New Mexico. Wengert Plaza, the location of that business, 

survives today. 

A mother and her children 

rendered homeless by war.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
36

From Civil War to Civil Rights

As the Civil War drew to a close, this conflict became a symbol of freedom for many in 

the Spanish-speaking world. The unveiling of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation 

was cause for celebration. Slavery had already been banned in most of Latin America, 

and citizens of those nations believed abolition in the United States would prevent its 

reemergence. In Cuba, where slavery survived, abolitionists saw a chance to end the 

institution in their homeland. The United States also emerged as a symbol of national 

liberation. As Mexican President Benito Juárez battled French occupation, he received 

moral and material support from the Lincoln Administration. Cubans seeking 

independence from Spain also counted on support from the United States in their 

struggle. Cuban freedom fighter José Martí was only a youth of 12 when Lincoln was 

assassinated but many years later still recalled wearing a black armband to honor the 

slain president and the freedom that he symbolized. 

In the United States, however, war did not necessarily liberate all Hispanics from 

economic chains. The policy of debt peonage which had existed for centuries 

continued to subjugate many Hispanics in the Southwest. Different than slavery, 

peonage was supposed to allow workers to pay their debts with their labor. Instead 

it frequently became a form of long-term bondage. Unscrupulous masters charged 

their peons fees for food and housing in amounts that often far exceeded the original 

debt, and hard-working servants found themselves trapped in a spiral from which 

they could not escape. This strategy provided landowners with a significant amount of 

labor. On his hacienda near Albuquerque, for example, Rafael Armijo had 22 peons 

working his land, stock, and mercantile operations. 

US officials initially shied away from addressing peonage. In the years prior to the 

Civil War, restrictions on the movement of African Americans into the West limited 

the labor pool and encouraged landowners to rely on Hispanic peonage. 

New Mexico territorial laws tended to protect masters far more than peons. Even 

after the Emancipation Proclamation outlawed slavery in US territories, army 

recruiters in the New Mexico Territory received orders that “no peon will be enlisted 

without the consent of his master.” This mirrored the situation in the post-war South, 

where many freed slaves often found themselves once again bound to land and 

masters by an exploitive sharecropping system.

37

The system of peonage allowed workers to pay off 

debts to their masters with their labor, but it could easily 

become a form of slavery if the repayment of a debt 

proved impossible to overcome. The Emancipation 

Proclamation, which freed many enslaved people, did 

not improve the plight of those bound by peonage.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
39

Change came slowly. As the war drew to a close, officials representing 

southwestern territories and states began to call for an end to the 

peonage system. In 1865, their calls were heeded with the passage of the 

Thirteenth Amendment, which stated that “Neither slavery nor 

involuntary servitude... shall exist within the United States, or any place 

subject to their jurisdiction.” The inclusion of involuntary servitude was 

designed specifically to eliminate the long tradition of peonage. New 

Mexicans, however, desired a stronger law, so in 1867 Congress passed 

the Anti-Peonage Act.

Nevertheless, Hispanics did not always receive their promised rights. 

In the Southwest, cases of peonage lingered into the 1900s. Ultimately 

it was employment, not legislation that ended the practice. In the 

1930s and 1940s, as men like US Senator Dennis Chávez lured higher 

paying jobs to New Mexico, workers were able to break their 

chains of debt and peonage disappeared. 

By contrast, in the southern states, the passage of time eroded both 

existing and new-found rights for Hispanics. The close relationship 

many Hispanics had shared with their southern neighbors during the 

Civil War suffered in the years that followed. Stung by the punitive 

actions of northern states during the Reconstruction era, Southerners 

lashed back. They reclaimed control of their states and devised laws 

to segregate African Americans from the white population. These 

“Jim Crow” laws did not specifically apply to Hispanics, but residents 

of Spanish descent were often affected and in many places were 

isolated from mainstream opportunities. 

Not until the civil rights efforts of the mid-1900s did many Hispanics 

in the South begin to reclaim the opportunities that had once been 

available to them, while those in the Southwest who suffered from 

the exploitation of field labor and domestic servitude took another 

step toward equality. There are still obstacles to overcome before all 

Americans are equal. If the Civil War was the defining moment in the 

history of the nation, full citizenship is the defining task of the 

current generation and those yet to come. 

In 1938, 83-year-old 

Manuel Jesus Vasquez 

told of his many years 

since childhood as a 

peon without pay. With 

his master’s death and 

his freedom from debt, 

he recalled that all he 

wanted to hold was a 

penny, the first coin he 

would own—one that 

had Lincoln on the 

front and the word 

 “Liberty” next to him. 

38

After the long and costly war, the 

House of Representatives erupts in

cheers as the Thirteenth Amendment 

passes, outlawing slavery and 

indentured servitude in the 

United States.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
41

Hispanic soldiers fought here at Vicksburg and in every theater of the war. 

40

The Civil War was an American epic and an 

American tragedy. The bloodiest war in United 

States history claimed the lives of more than 

620,000 Americans. Hispanics were very much 

a part of this conflict. They knew hardship, fear, 

death, and destruction. They experienced victory 

and defeat. Some performed acts of spectacular 

gallantry. Others provided steady service that 

attracted little comment or notice. National 

battlefield parks from Gettysburg to Vicksburg to 

Glorieta give silent testimony to their valor. Still 

more lent hearts and hands on the homefront. 

All merit recognition, not just for the honor they 

brought upon the Hispanic American community, 

but for their service and sacrifice as Americans in 

the nation’s greatest struggle—the Civil War.

NPS/VICKSBURG
The Sesquicentennial of the Civil War is a 

time to commemorate those who fought and 

died during this pivotal era in American history. 

At the same time, it is an opportunity for us 

to renew our commitment to the ongoing 

march for freedom and equality for all people. 

Ken Salazar, US Secretary of the Interior 

National Park Service 

U.S. Department of the Interior

This publication provides a glimpse into some 

of the lives, stories, and achievements of 

Hispanics who fought and struggled for a more 

perfect union. Their stories will help provide 

inspiration and reflection as the history and 

legacy of the American Civil War is owned 

and shared by all. 

David Vela, National Park Service, 

Southeast Regional Director 

www.nps.gov/civilwar

November 2011

NPS/FORT UNION