The Capture of Tucson
Date: May 20, 1862
Location: Tucson, Confederate-occupied New Mexico Territory
Following the Battle of Stanwix Station and the Battle of Picacho Pass, the massive Union force from California, led by Colonel James Henry Carleton, continued their southeastern march along the Butterfield Overland Stagecoach route. This California Column, as it came to be known, was charged with the herculean task of marching over 900 miles from Fort Yuma, California across the Arizona Territory (CSA), New Mexico Territory (USA), and Texas (CSA), eliminating Confederate resistance along the way. Their first objective was to capture Tucson, the capital of the western district of the Arizona Territory.
Confederate Captain Sherrod Hunter
The California Column soon captured Fort Breckinridge, located northeast of Tucson, and began their advance on Tucson from the fort on May 14th. However, their element of surprise had been lost after the botched scouting mission that resulted in the Battle of Picacho Pass back on April 15th. Thus, having had plenty of time to monitor the incoming Union force and prepare, the leader of the Confederates forces in the western sections of the Arizona Territory, Captain Sherrod Hunter, made the decision to withdraw from Tucson on May 14th, his force of approximately 125 Arizona Rangers and Confederate militiamen severely outnumbered by the 2,400-strong California Column. Before retreating from Tucson and leading the Confederates west to Mesilla, the Confederate capital of the entire Arizona Territory, Hunter ordered a force of ten militiamen under the command of Lieutenant James Henry Tevis to stay behind and monitor the approach of the California Column.
Union Captain Emil Fritz
On May 20th, Lieutenant Juan F. Guirado led Union forces into Tucson from the north, while Captain Emil Fritz entered from the east.
Tevis and the remaining Confederates were on the lookout for a Union approach from the west, and were taken completely by surprise. Narrowly avoiding capture, Tevis led his men on a hurried retreat back to Mesilla. Thus, the California Column captured Tucson without a single shot being fired, and after 80 days of Confederate occupation, raised the American flag over the town once again.
Comments