The Second Battle of Dragoon Springs
Date: May 9, 1862
Location: Dragoon Mountains, Confederate-occupied New Mexico Territory
At the First Battle of Dragoon Springs on May 5th, 1862, a group of Confederates tasked with escorting Union prisoners to Texas and foraging for stray livestock had been ambushed in a canyon along the Butterfield Overland Mail route by a large war party of Apaches, led by Cochise. Retreating from their camp, the Confederates left behind numerous horses, livestock, and supplies for the victorious Apaches.
Confederate Captain Sherrod Hunter
After receiving word of the battle in the Confederate stronghold of Tucson, the leader of the Confederates forces patrolling the western sections of the Arizona Territory (CSA), Captain Sherrod Hunter, ordered Confederate patrols to assist the ambushed group and ride to Dragoon Springs to recover the captured livestock they had lost.
Arriving at the spring on May 9th, the Confederates found and attacked the Apache war party, driving them from the canyon and taking back most of the livestock that had been lost during the first battle.
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