The Battle of Glorieta Pass, Days 2 & 3
Date: March 27 - 28, 1862
Location: Glorieta Pass, Sangre de Cristo Mountains, New Mexico Territory
On March 26th, a Union advance force under Major John M. Chivington, tasked by Colonel John P. Slough to find the Confederate forces along the Santa Fe Trail, had indeed found and defeated the Confederate advance force under Major Charles L. Pyron at Apache Canyon. The Confederates themselves had been tasked with finding the Union forces along the Santa Fe trail, and after suffering defeat in the canyon, fell back to their camp at Johnson's Ranch at the eastern entrance of the canyon and sent word to the Confederate force under Lieutenant Colonel William R. Scurry, camped at the nearby village of Galisteo. Similarly, after taking Apache Canyon, Chivington fell back to the Union camp at Kozlowski's Ranch at the western entrance of the canyon and sent word to Slough, camped 45 miles away at Bernal Springs.
Union Colonel John P. Slough & Union Major John M. Chivington
After being notified of the battle, Scurry and the main Confederate force joined Pyron's force at Johnson's Ranch on March 27th and the combined Confederate force, now numbering about 1,300, began fortifying the ranch. Meanwhile, Slough and the main Union force joined Chivington's force at Kozlowski's Ranch early in the cold morning of March 28th, the combined Union force numbering about 1,300 as well.
Confederate Lieutenant Colonel William R. Scurry & Confederate Major Charles L. Pyron
After bedding down for a short time, Slough broke camp at around 9:00 AM. Having been informed by spies that a much larger Confederate force was in the area, Slough ordered Chivington to take a force of approximately 500 men across the Glorieta Mesa to attempt to flank and encircle them, while Slough would lead his remaining 800 men down Glorieta Pass towards the Confederate lines.
Meanwhile, Scurry had believed that the Union force Pyron had fought at Apache Canyon two days earlier had retreated back to Fort Union, and thus led his combined Confederate force far into Glorieta Pass, much further than Slough had anticipated.
With Chivington's force having departed, Slough continued down the pass until reaching Pidgeon's Ranch, where the main Union forces stopped to rest before continuing the march, however sending a small advance force under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Tappan about a half mile forward. Tappan then sent a cavalry unit to search the surrounding area for Confederates. Within minutes, they returned and announced that the Confederates were in the trees advancing, just a few hundred yards away.
Union Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Tappan
Union Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Tappan quickly formed a defensive line across the pass trail, supported by artillery, to hold off the Confederate assault. The Confederates opened fire and surged forward, and vastly outnumbered and after desperate hand-to-hand fighting, Tappan ordered a retreat back to the main Union force at Pidgeon's Ranch. Slough, now joined by Tappan, formed a new defensive line at Pidgeon's Ranch and utilized the adobe structures and walls for cover. Realizing his Union force was still outnumbered, Slough ordered scouts to attempt to make contact with Chivington's force as the Confederates prepared another assault.
Confederate Major John Shropshire & Confederate Major Henry Raguet
Scurry ordered a three-pronged attack, with Majors Henry Raguet and Pyron attacking the Union right flank, Major John Shropshire attacking the left, and Scurry himself leading the attack against the center.
The central attack ground to a bloody halt as Union artillery and bullets decimated the Confederate ranks.
The right attack fared no better, as their attack was repelled while suffering heavy losses, including Shropshire. The left attack also suffered numerous casualties, with Raguet being mortally wounded, but unlike the other two attacks was able to successfully flank the Union line at approximately 3:00PM, occupying the ridge (now known as Sharpshooter's Ridge) overlooking Pidgeon's Ranch and began firing down on the Union force.
Taking advantage of the situation, Scurry attacked the center yet again, and with the Union force being picked off from Sharpshooter's Ridge and the possible collapse of the center, Slough reluctantly ordered a retreat to regroup a half mile east of Pigeon's Ranch. Skirmishing remained constant until dusk, when Slough and the Union force returned to Kozlowski's Ranch. The Confederates had taken the field and won a tactical victory, but a devastating surprise awaited them upon their return to their camp at Johnson's Ranch that night.
Union Lieutenant Colonel Manuel Antonio Chaves
As the battle had raged on Pigeon's Ranch in the Glorieta Pass that day, Chivington's force had been miles away on the Glorieta Mesa, too far away to hear or be aware of the conflict. As Chivington's force marched along trying to find and flank the Confederate force, Lieutenant Colonel Manuel Antonio Chaves of the New Mexico Volunteers reported to Chivington the stunning news that his unit had found the Confederate camp and wagon train at Johnson's Ranch. Chaves spent two hours desperately trying to convince Chivington, who was unwilling to divide his forces, to grant his request to burn the wagons. Finally, Chivington relented.
Chaves led the New Mexicans rappelling, climbing, and sliding down the towering, sheer face of the Glorieta Mesa.
Regrouping at the base, Chaves and his men advanced on the wagon train, taking the Confederate guards completely by surprise. After taking them prisoner, Chaves ordered all the horses, livestock, wagons, and vast stocks of supplies therein destroyed and burned before returning to Chivington's force.
For the Confederates, losing most of their supplies was devastating, but meagre supplies could ostensibly have been gathered from the surrounding area. However, with the almost total destruction of their irreplaceable wagons to transport these supplies and the killing of their transport horses & mules, the Confederate's already strained logistical capability had literally “gone up in smoke”.
As Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “An army marches on its stomach.”, so thus it was this action that was the most important factor in dooming their campaign.
As this news reached Chivington, then Slough at Kozlowski's Ranch, and finally Colonel Edward R. Canby at Union headquarters at Fort Union, the Union forces in New Mexico celebrated knowing that though they had lost the field Glorieta Pass, the burning of the entire Confederate wagon train had dealt the coup de grace to the Confederate war effort in New Mexico.
As the ferocious fighting winded down, Union soldiers of Company K of the 1st New Mexico, under the distinguished command Captain Rafael Chacon, fired the last shots of the battle, as they had done earlier at the Battle of Valverde.
Union Captain Rafael Chacon
The Confederates, having returned victorious from Pidgeon's Ranch only to behold the charred remnants of their entire wagon train and supplies, stayed at Johnson's Ranch for two more days to plan their next course of action before beginning their long march back to Confederate Texas, never to return, with the Union forces in pursuit.