First Battle of Dragoon Springs The First Battle of Dragoon Springs was a minor skirmish between a small troop of Confederate dragoon s , of Governor John R . Baylor ' s Company A , Arizona Rangers , and a band of Apache warriors during the American Civil War . It was fought on May 5 , 1862 , near the present - day town of Benson , Arizona , in the Confederate Arizona Territory . Background . Creation of a separate Arizona Territory in the late 1850s was thwarted over disagreement in Congress on the new territory ' s boundary - Northern representatives argued for a north - south division along the present Arizona - New Mexico boundary , whereas Southern representatives pushed for an east - west division along the 34th parallel . With the coming of the Civil War , the new Confederate government was free to establish the boundary as it saw fit . Shortly after the arrival of Confederate forces from Texas , secessionists met at Mesilla to adopt an Ordinance of Secession March 16 , 1861 . This aim became a reality following the Confederate victory at the Battle of Mesilla on July 25 , 1861 . On August 1 , 1861 , Lieutenant Colonel John R . Baylor , commanding the victorious Confederate troops at Mesilla , issued a proclamation declaring the creation of a provisional Confederate Territory of Arizona , to include all of the former United States Territory of New Mexico south of the 34th parallel north . He named himself as governor and set up a territorial government that would continue in operation until the Confederates were forced out of New Mexico in July 1862 . This Territory of Arizona was officially declared by Confederate President Jefferson Davis on February 14 , 1862 , and shortly thereafter Confederate forces were deployed on the ambitious New Mexico Campaign to gain control of the Southwest . In order to make good the Confederacy ' s claim to the western portion of their new Arizona Territory , Confederate soldiers , commanded by Captain Sherod Hunter were ordered to occupy Tucson , arriving there on February 28 , 1862 . They occupied the town until May 14 , 1862 , and it was a detachment of these troops which were involved in the fight at Dragoon Springs on May 5 . Battle . On May 5 , 1862 , a small mounted Confederate foraging party was gathering stray cattle in the area around an abandoned Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach station and spring in the Dragoon Mountains , about sixteen miles from the present - day town of Benson and near Dragoon , Arizona . A force of about 100 Chiricahua Apache warriors , commanded by the war chiefs Cochise and Francisco , ambushed the party . Three Confederate soldiers and a young Mexican stock herder were killed , while the rest escaped from the ambush . The Apaches succeeded in capturing a large number of livestock and horses . This minor skirmish is noted for causing the Confederacy ' s westernmost battle deaths , and is the only known engagement in which Confederate soldiers were killed within the modern confines of Arizona . It can be seen as related to the Apache Wars fought between Apaches and the Americans between 1851 and 1900 . Aftermath . A few days later , on May 9 , 1862 , after hearing of the attack , Captain Sherod Hunter ordered his men to take back the captured herd of cattle and horses , as well as to avenge the death of their fellow soldiers . The Confederates succeeded , recapturing the stolen animals and killing five Apaches with no loss of their own . The four casualties were buried near the Dragoon Springs stage station , where they remain today near its well preserved remains .