Military operation of the trans-Mississippi theater of the American Civil War
New Mexico campaign
Part of the American Civil War
Depiction of the Battle of Glorieta Pass during the campaign, dubbed the "Gettysburg of the West"
Date
February–April 1862
Location
New Mexico Territory
Result
Union victory
Confederate retreat from New Mexico Territory
Confederate loss of Confederate Arizona
Belligerents
United States of America
New Mexico Territory
Colorado Territory
Confederate States of America
Confederate Arizona
Confederate Texas
Commanders and leaders
Edward Canby Isaac Lynde
Henry Hopkins Sibley Thomas Green
Strength
5,142
2,515[1]
Casualties and losses
~166 killed, ~246 wounded, ~222 missing or captured
~400 killed or wounded, ~500 missing/captured[2]
v
t
e
Sibley's New Mexico Campaign
Valverde
Glorieta Pass
Albuquerque
Peralta
v
t
e
Engagements in Confederate Arizona
1st Mesilla
San Augustine Spring
Tubac
Cookes Canyon
Florida Mountains
Gallinas Mountains
Placito
Pinos Altos
Canada Alamosa
Fort Thorn
Valverde
Stanwix Station
Picacho Pass
Tucson
1st Dragoon Springs
2nd Dragoon Springs
2nd Mesilla
Apache Pass
La Paz
The New Mexico campaign was a military operation of the trans-Mississippi theater of the American Civil War from February to April 1862 in which Confederate Brigadier General Henry Hopkins Sibley invaded the northern New Mexico Territory in an attempt to gain control of the Southwest, including the gold fields of Colorado and the ports of California. Historians regard this campaign as the most ambitious Confederate attempt to establish control of the American West and to open an additional theater in the war. It was an important campaign in the war's Trans-Mississippi Theater, and one of the major events in the history of the New Mexico Territory in the American Civil War.
The Confederates advanced north along the Rio Grande from Fort Bliss in Texas. They won the Battle of Valverde but failed to capture Fort Craig or force the surrender of the main Union Army in the territory. They continued north across the border towards Santa Fe and Fort Union, leaving that Union force in their rear. At Glorieta Pass, the Confederates defeated another Union force from Fort Union, but were forced to retreat following the destruction of the wagon train containing most of their supplies.
Confederate success in this failed campaign would have denied the Union a major source of the gold and silver necessary to finance its war effort, and the Union navy would have had the additional difficulty of attempting to blockade several hundred miles of coastline in the Pacific.[3][4] A Confederate victory would have also diverted Union troops which, following the invasion, were used to fight Native American tribes on the plains and in the Rockies.[5]
^Bell 2008, p. 10
^Josephy 1991, p. 91
^Whitlock 2006, p. 60
^Frazier 1995, p. 299
^Frazier 1995, p. 300
and 23 Related for: New Mexico campaign information
The NewMexicocampaign was a military operation of the trans-Mississippi theater of the American Civil War from February to April 1862 in which Confederate...
NewMexico (Spanish: Nuevo México [ˈnweβo ˈmexiko] ; Navajo: Yootó Hahoodzo Navajo pronunciation: [jòːtʰó hɑ̀hòːtsò]) is a landlocked state in the Southwestern...
originating in the historical region of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, today the US state of NewMexico (Nuevo México), southern Colorado, and other parts of the Southwestern...
a brief Swedish campaign against Norway, Norway entered a personal union with Sweden. 1807–1814 1804–1807, 1812–1813 1803–1808 "MÉXICO EN LA CONQUISTA...
the southern half of the vast NewMexico Territory as its own Arizona Territory and waged the ambitious NewMexicoCampaign in an attempt to control the...
Civil War. It operated in Confederate Arizona and NewMexico Territory during the NewMexicoCampaign in late 1861 and early 1862, before it was transferred...
Conquest of Alta California or the California Campaign, was an important military campaign of the Mexican–American War carried out by the United States...
NewMexico is an incomplete list of military and other armed confrontations that have occurred within the boundaries of the modern U.S. State of New Mexico...
The New York and New Jersey campaign in 1776 and the winter months of 1777 was a series of American Revolutionary War battles for control of the Port of...
northern NewMexico Territory, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. While not the largest battle of the NewMexicocampaign, the...
The history of NewMexico is based on archaeological evidence, attesting to the varying cultures of humans occupying the area of NewMexico since approximately...
who served as a colonel in the United States Volunteers during the NewMexicoCampaign of the American Civil War. He led a rear action against a Confederate...
The 2020 United States presidential election in NewMexico was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the 2020 United States presidential election...
statewide) The Outer Space State Adjectivals NewMexicoNewMexican Demonym: NewMexican Geography of NewMexicoNewMexico is: a U.S. state, a federal state of...
The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. During the initial phase in early 1942, the...
The governor of NewMexico is the head of government of NewMexico and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to...
Union-held NewMexico Territory, in what is today the state of NewMexico. It is considered a major Confederate success in the NewMexicoCampaign of the...
territory New Spain, and established the new capital, Mexico City, on the site of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Mexica (Aztec) Empire. Central Mexico became...
(1934, 1996). Chasing Villa: The Last Campaign of the U.S. Cavalry, High-Lonesome Books, Silver City, NewMexico. ISBN 0-944383-39-4, pp. 50–52 de Quesada...
Battle of Glorieta Pass in NewMexico and were forced to retreat back to Texas, effectively ending the NewMexicoCampaign. During the late 1850s, many...
Global Information
