Battle of Cieneguilla The Battle of Cieneguilla ( pronounced sienna - GEE - ya ; English : small swamp ) was an engagement of the Jicarilla War involving a group of Jicarilla Apache s , their Ute allies , and the American 1st Cavalry Regiment on March 30 , 1854 near what is now Pilar , New Mexico . The " Santa Fe Weekly Gazette " reported that the action " " was one of the severest battles that ever took place between American troops and Red Indians . " " It was one of the first significant battles between American and Apache forces and was also part of the Ute Wars , in which Ute warriors attempted to resist Westward expansion in the Four Corners region . Background . Companies F and I , regiment of the First Dragoons camped at Cantonment Burgwin , an army post 10 miles southeast of Taos . While on patrol , 60 dragoons engaged in an unauthorized attack on the Jicarilla Apache encampment near Pilar , then known as Cieneguilla , after First Lieutenant John Wynn Davidson exceeded the orders of his superior officer , Major Blake . Battle . A combined force of about 250 Apaches and Utes laid an ambush for the U . S . dragoon s . In his report two days after the battle , Davidson stated that " [ He ] came upon the Apaches near Cieneguilla who at once sounded the war whoop . " According to Private James A . Bennett ( aka James Bronson ) , a sergeant who survived the ambush , the battle lasted about four hours . It started around 8 a . m . and ended when the dragoon regiments retreated at 12 p . m . to Ranchos de Taos . The Apache warriors used flintlock rifles and arrow s . Of the 60 dragoons present , the U . S . suffered twenty - two killed and a further thirty - six wounded , along with a loss of twenty - two horses and much of the troops ' supplies . Another version of the fight presents the view that Davidson and his troops were not ambushed , but rather were taunted by the Apaches into attacking a superior force , one that also employed superior tactics . This modern version also has the duration of the fight being closer to two hours than the four that Davidson and Bennett claimed . Aftermath . Lieutenant Colonel Philip St . George Cooke of the Second Regiment of Dragoons at once organized an expedition to pursue the Jicarilla . With the help of Pueblo Indian and Mexican scouts under Captain James H . Quinn , with Kit Carson as the principal guide . After a winter pursuit through the mountains , Cooke caught and defeated them April 8 , at their camp in the canyon of Ojo Caliente . Dispersing in small bands , the Jicarilla evaded further pursuit , but many died from the harsh cold weather . The role of Lieutenant Davidson . Much of the blame for the loss of life was put on Lt . Davidson . Lt . David Bell accused Davidson of risking the lives of his soldiers when he could have avoided the ambush . However , Brig . Gen . John Garland praised Davidson when stated that " The troops displayed a gallantry seldom equalled in this , or any other country and the Officer in Command , Lieut . Davidson , has given evidence of soldiership in the highest degree creditable to him . To have sustained a deadly control of three hours when he was so greatly outnumbered , and to have retired with the fragment of a company , crippled up , is amazing and calls for the admiration of every true soldier . " Court of inquiry . On March 10 , 1856 , John Garland called a court of inquiry to meet at Taos , New Mexico . After many witnessing declarations , the court declared that Davidson could not have avoided the confrontation and " that in the battle he exhibited skill in his mode of attacking a greatly superior force of hostile Indians ; and prudence , and coolness , and courage , throughout a protracted engagement ; and finally , when he was obliged to retire from the field , owing to the great odds opposing him , the losses he had sustained , and the scarcity of ammunition ; his exertions to bring off the wounded men merit high praise . " Archaeological surveys . Carson National Forest received a grant of a value of $ 35 , 400 from the National Park Service ' s American Battlefield Protection Program . The grant was aimed to perform an archaeological excavation at the site of the Battle of Cieneguilla . It took a year to locate the battlefield . Although some artifacts were found on the battlefield , the surveys ' final findings may be found in Douglas Scott ' s Fields of Conflict , vol . 2 . The findings support most of Lt . Bell ' s criticisms of Lt . Davidson ' s tactics and his conclusion that the command had been thoroughly routed .