Sibley's 1862 New Mexico Campaign

BGES Civil War Field University: Sibley’s 1862 New Mexico Campaign

The potential of the territories had precipitated the Civil War. It was here that President Abraham Lincoln and his Republican Party proposed to stop the spread of slavery. Gold had been discovered in California and silver was being mined in the mountains of Colorado. The gold had quickly populated California and brought it to statehood and the wealth ensured the country would continue to move west. This certainty demanded a trans-continental railroad and the competition for it had been tremendous. Confederate President Jefferson Davis understood that much of the future of his country would depend upon gaining a foothold in those territories.

In early 1861, Henry Hopkins Sibley, a West Point trained officer who had been stationed out west proposed taking a force from Texas into New Mexico to sweep the undermanned Federal forts protecting the Santa Fe Trail and into Colorado to control the silver mines. A victory that evicted the Federals from the New Mexico territory would also provide the Confederacy control of the overland routes into California. It was a bold plan worthy of a nation-state and Davis agreed. This is the story of that expedition which ended in defeat for the Confederacy—they would never return. Saturday, September 6, 2014

7 PM: This is the first time we have done this program in nearly 10 years. It was very well received then and I am sure you will love it now. Meet at the headquarters hotel to pick up your reading books and for a brief overview of the next few days. I know you will enjoy this program. We will break in time for you to go have dinner.

Sunday, September 7, 2014

8:30 AM: We will have a slow Civil War start. The Confederates established their presence in the New Mexico territory in 1861 at Mesilla near El Paso and then extended themselves into the Arizona territory as well. After the federal forces pulled back the Confederates occupied Fort Stanton. There was no fighting there but the fort is important in American history as a base for the fighting against the Apaches and in numerous other lives as a POW area for German prisoners and as a Tuberculosis Sanitarium. From there we will give you some Americana that you won’t be able to get otherwise—we will follow the legend of Billy the Kid and the range war known as the Lincoln County War. We will finish the day by going to some foundational sites from the 17th century. The Abos Mission National Monument is a National Park Service site with some impressive ruins that document the rich pre American history of the region. This day is structured this way because of the distances involved in moving along the cardinal points of the compass. We think Fort Stanton is important but there isn’t much else out there in the Civil War so these I think are meaningful add ons. The rest of the tour is Sibley’s campaign. Lunch is provided, dinner is on your own.

Monday September 8, 2014

8:30 AM: Sibley has greater ambition than talent and his untrained and unsuspecting soldiers will find the New Mexico territory a match for their endurance. The Federals did not have large armies in the territories as they had built in the east; but, they had more soldiers than had been seen there in the prewar period. At Fort Craig, the federals had nearly 4,000 troops under the command of Colonel ER Canby. They fought Sibley’s forces at the nearby battle of Valverde. The February 21st, 1862 battle forced Canby to fall back to Fort Craig where Sibley declined to renew the battle as he pressed on further north. Sibley then ran into another small force of New Mexico militia at Socorro. He captured nearly 200 of them. We will then jump out of sequence to visit the battle of Peralta where on April 14, 1862 Sibley’s rear guard under Colonel Tom Green, who will meet his end during the Red River Campaign in 1864, held the adobe homes as breastworks against Colonel ER Canby’s pursing troops. A brisk fight ended in a draw when Canby declined the opportunity for some urban warfare. But back to the advance, success smiled on Sibley as he marched into and seized both Albuquerque and Santa Fe. We will finish the day at the old Albuquerque Plaza. Lunch is again provided. Dinner is on your own.

Tuesday September 9, 2014

8:30 AM: We have a long day today as we push into the Pecos National Park—here is contained the core of the 1862 Campaign. The sites related to the battle at Glorieta Pass including Johnson Ranch, Apache Canyon, Canoncito and other sites related to Glorieta will fill the day. I have not so fond memories of the last time we were here as we hung up a bus for four hours, closed the road and returned to Albuquerque very late in the evening. We will work to get you back by 6 PM. Lunch is again provided. Lets go out tonight and have an authentic Mexican dinner that will also be provided.

Wednesday September 10, 2014

8:30 AM: Every time I come out west with Neil, I am impressed by the remote and stark beauty of the land, indeed the state calls themselves the “Land of Enchantment.” Translated it means a lot of vistas over miles and miles of unsettled and virgin territory. You will get to “be enchanted” as we move back along the Santa Fe Trail to its predominate defensive feature—Fort Union. This bastion was the most important point in the New Mexico territory and we will talk about it extensively. We will then pick up some unrelated sites and remind you of some of the great “Kit Carson” and not so great “Colonel John Chivington” of Sand Creek massacre infamy men who were here. We will finish at several sites in the wonderful and colorful town of Santa Fe—going to the National Cemetery and the old plaza. Make sure to bring your cameras with a full charge. Do not plan flights home before 7 PM. We will return to Albuquerque and disperse. Lunch will be provided. For those of you sticking around the night lets go find someplace good to eat. I think you will agree this was a great program with a great tour leader.

Thursday September 11, 2014

Depart at your leisure. Thank you for joining us.

About the Faculty:

Neil Mangum is one of the nation’s foremost Indian War experts and is an expert on the Native American culture. A retired National Park Service official, Neil served as Superintendent at the Little Big Horn National Battlefield as it transitioned from Custer National Battlefield. The popular Mangum only allows himself four or five tours a year and BGES is fortunate to enjoy his favor. He enjoys the cliental and the small folksy nature of the group which is usually well prepared. Neil looks like and sounds like a cowboy. He likes small town America, having successively lived in Alpine, Texas and now Payson, AZ. His view is one stop light is too many. Neil was stationed in Santa Fe and he knows New Mexico very well. Neil is author of The Battle of the Rosebud: Prelude to the Little Big Horn. He has a following and most people on this trip will have travelled with him before which makes this event even nicer.

Hotel Information:

We are headquartered at the Drury Inn and Suites, 4310 The 25 Way Northeast, Albuquerque, NM 87109 (505-341-3600). Our group rate is $89.95 plus tax and it includes their "Kickback Hour" with heady hors d'ouvres and drinks plus hot breakfast. Call 505-341-3600 and ask for group #2202101. This rate is only good Transportation: until August 15th, 2014. The servicing airport is Albuquerque (ABQ). We expect the hotel we select will have a shuttle to and from the airport. However, we may opt for location in which case you may need to take a taxi or limo to the hotel.