page_title: Battle of Glorieta Pass
section_title: Glorieta Pass
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Glorieta Pass / Battle / Glorieta Pass
caption_attribution_description: English: Glorieta Pass Battlefield National Historic Landmark This photograph was taken in 1990 from Sharpshooter's Ridge, just north of Pigeon's Ranch. It was the location of the Union right flank during the last day's battle. Much of the land in and around the battlefield remains intact because of its isolation from cities and the nature of the terrain.
context_page_description: The Battle of Glorieta Pass in the northern New Mexico Territory, was the decisive battle of the New Mexico Campaign during the American Civil War. Dubbed the "Gettysburg of the West" by some authors, it was intended as the decisive blow by Confederate forces to break the Union possession of the West along the base of the Rocky Mountains. It was fought at Glorieta Pass in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in what is now New Mexico, and was an important event in the history of the New Mexico Territory in the American Civil War.
  There was a skirmish on March 26 between advance elements from each army, with the main battle occurring on March 28. Although the Confederates were able to push the Union force back through the pass, they had to retreat when their supply train was destroyed and most of their horses and mules killed or driven off. Eventually the Confederates had to withdraw entirely from the territory back into Confederate Arizona and then Texas. Glorieta Pass thus represented the climax of the campaign.
context_section_description: Both Scurry and Slough decided to attack on March 28 and set out early to do so. Expecting the Confederates to remain in Apache Canyon, Slough sent Chivington with two infantry battalions, under Lewis and Wynkoop, out in a circling movement with orders to go hide out at Glorieta Pass and hit the Texans in the flank once Slough's main force had engaged their front. Chivington did as ordered and his men waited above the pass for Slough and the enemy to arrive. However, instead of remaining at Apache Canyon as Slough had expected, Scurry advanced down the canyon more rapidly than Slough had anticipated. Scurry believed the Union force was retreating to Fort Union. He intended to attack them until Green could arrive. One cannon and a small guard was left at Johnson's Ranch, while the rest of the Confederate force—more than 1000 men—marched eastwards along the Santa Fe Trail.
  When Slough found the Texans so far forward he launched an attack, hitting them about 11:00 am some ¹⁄₂ mile (800 m) from Pigeon's Ranch. A provisional battalion of four companies from the 1st Colorado, supported by both batteries, was commanded by Lt. Col. Samuel Tappan, who deployed his men across the trail. The Confederates dismounted and formed a line across the canyon, but the terrain caused some companies to become intermingled. Tappan was initially successful and held his ground for a half-hour, but the Confederates' numerical superiority enabled them to outflank Tappan's line by noon. The Union troops were thrown back in confusion but managed to take up position around the adobe ranch buildings. Slough reformed his men several hundred yards closer to Pigeon's Ranch, with the four companies under Tappan and an artillery battery on a hill to the left, the other battery supported by two companies in the center across the road and the remaining two companies on the ridge to the right.
  Scurry then launched a three-pronged attack. Pyron and Raguet were ordered to attack the Union right, Shropshire the Union left, with the remainder led by Scurry against the Union center, and the artillery firing in support. The attack on the Union left was beaten back, with Shropshire killed. The attack on the center stalled, while the artillery was forced to withdraw after one cannon was disabled and a limber destroyed. The attack itself then stalled, with the Confederates fighting by squads "with a desperation unequaled by any engagement of the war." At around 3:00 pm the Confederates outflanked the Union right, but Raguet was mortally wounded. From the ridge (thereafter known as "Sharpshooters Ridge"), Confederate riflemen started picking off the artillerymen and infantry below them. Scurry again pressed the Union center, and the Union position became untenable. Slough reluctantly ordered a retreat, and Tappan formed the companies on the left into a rear guard. Slough reformed his line a half-mile east of Pigeon's Ranch, where skirmishing continued until dusk. The Union men finally retreated to Kozlowski's Ranch, leaving the Confederates in possession of the battlefield.
caption: Glorieta Pass battlefield. This photograph was taken in 1990 from Sharpshooter's Ridge, just north of Pigeon's Ranch. It was the location of the Union right flank during the last day's battle.
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