The Battle of Picacho Pass
Date: April 15, 1862
Location: Picacho Pass, Confederate-occupied New Mexico Territory
At the Battle of Stanwix Station earlier on March 30th, the vanguard of the California Column first met Confederates in combat, with the Confederates eventually retreating back to the Confederate stronghold of Tucson to warn the Confederate force of the new Union presence in the Arizona Territory (CSA). This California Column, as it came to be known, was a large Union force of almost 2,400 men mustered in earlier that year in Union California, led by Colonel James Henry Carleton, and charged with the herculean task of marching over 900 miles across the Arizona Territory, New Mexico Territory, and Texas, eliminating Confederate resistance along the way. Their first objective was to capture Tucson, the capital of the western district of the Arizona Territory.
Union Colonel James Henry Carleton
Following Stanwix Station, the California Column continued their southeastern march along the Butterfield Overland Stagecoach route, with forward elements reaching Picacho Pass on April 15th, approximately 50 miles northwest of Tucson. As a matter of precaution, a Union force of twelve cavalry troopers and a scout, under the command of Lieutenant James Barrett, patrolled the peak and the surrounding area ahead of the California Column as they had received intelligence that there was a Confederate force in the area. Barrett was under strict orders not to engage the Confederates, only to conduct reconnaissance and report his findings to the main column.
Riding further into the pass, Barrett led his men into a thicket when the Confederates, led by Sergeant Henry Holmes and lying in wait in the dense brush, opened fire and knocked four troopers out of their saddles. Barrett ordered his troopers to pursue the Confederates, the troopers managing to capture three Confederates with Barrett securing one himself.
As Barrett mounted his horse, shots rang out from a nearby riverbed, one fatally striking him in the neck.
Vicious, chaotic fighting continued amongst the dense brush for the next hour and a half, and after suffering an additional five casualties, the beleaguered and leaderless troopers retreated back to the California Column. The Confederates withdrew to Tucson, to warn the forces stationed there that the column was a mere 50 miles away.
Bullet holes from the battle on the rocky slopes of Picacho Peak, Photo by Gilbert Alonzo
In popular culture, the Battle of Picacho Pass is known as the westernmost battle of the American Civil War, but it was actually the Battle of Stanwix Station, which occurred over two weeks earlier and approximately 150 miles west of Picacho Pass, that truly was the westernmost battle of the war.
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