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Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Civil War in Arizona

While the main focus of Civil War history is on the big battles east of the Mississippi, the war raged in the west too. It even reached as far west as Arizona.

Back then Arizona didn't exist; it was part of the New Mexico Territory. Early in the war the Confederacy suffered from a Union naval blockade and decided to send an expedition to take the territory to gain access to its mines and as a route to ports in Mexico and California. In the spring of 1862 an army of Texans under General Sibley marched into New Mexico.

At first all went well, but the army suffered a disastrous defeat at the Battle of Glorieta pass on March 26-28. The rebels were soon fleeing back to Texas. But not all of them. A detachment of 54 Texans had ridden further west, all the way to Tucson, and had claimed it for the Confederacy. As part of the reorganization of Confederate territories they renamed it the Territory of Arizona. They may even have issued an Arizona Confederate currency, a mystery that I'm still trying to clear up with the help of some other researchers.

The Confederate occupation of Arizona was to be short-lived. A column of 2,350 Union cavalry from California headed into the territory and clashed with the Texans at Pichacho Pass about 50 miles northwest of town. After a short firefight that left several men dead on both sides, the rebels retreated. The Battle of Picacho Pass is often called the westernmost battle of the Civil War. I'll be takinng up the question of whether this is true or not later this month.

Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

8 comments:

  1. 54 Texans riding to AZ and claiming it for the Confederacy. That would make a good film.
    I'm guessing that Gen. Sibley was the guy who had a tent named after him?

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    1. Sibley invented that tent! His career went downhill in the 1860s, however, and he was an alcoholic during the Civil War. Not that he was the only general taking orders from a bottle!

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  2. That's one of the great values of this blog, that it tracks aspects of the Civil War that a lot of people won't be familiar with.

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  3. I know very little of this war but I like history and I like learning. I came yesterday but it is only today I'm realizing I've heard of your book before (A Fine Likeness) You're in Yahoo writers' group, don't you? :D

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    1. I've been in a few Yahoo writers groups (Fantasy Authors, Writers & Publishers, Pike and Shot, Renwars) but haven't posted in a while.

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  4. I never realized it extended that far west.

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  5. Ooh glad I found your blog. I don't know nearly enough about the American civil war. Very informative. Thank you.

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  6. I had no idea it went so far west. I mean it makes sense they'd WANT it to, for trade route stuff, but westerners seem sort of antithetical to slavery--VERY individualistic, so the idea of owning people doesn't fit.

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