Company A, Arizona Rangers
| Company A, Arizona Rangers | |
|---|---|
| Active | January 25, 1862-May 26, 1865 |
| Country | Confederate Arizona Territory |
| Allegiance |
 Confederate States of America
|
| Branch |
 Confederate States Army
|
| Engagements |
|
| Commanders | |
| Captain | Sherod Hunter |
| 1st Lt. | Robert L. Swope |
| 2nd Lt. | James Henry Tevis |
Company A, Arizona Rangers was one of the Confederate military units raised in the Confederate Arizona Territory.
After the establishment of the Confederate Arizona Territory, Governor John Robert Baylor decided he needed to supplement existing militia companies with a regiment of Rangers like the Texas Rangers. He intended this regiment would consist of several companies of cavalry. On January 25, 1862, its first company, Company A, Baylor's Regiment of Arizona Rangers commanded by Captain Sherod Hunter, was mustered into the Confederate service at the town of Dona Ana located just north of modern Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Hunter's Company consisted of about 75 men for the most part residents of the Confederate Territory of Arizona. They were armed with revolvers and Model 1847 smoothbore musketoons, probably taken from Fort Fillmore after it surrendered in August 1861. The company was enlisted for three years, or the duration of the war. They were picked for their skills and experience with the hardships of frontier life.
On February 10, 1862 Company A was ordered to occupy Tucson, the largest town in the western Confederate Territory of Arizona. Tucson was located on the Butterfield Overland Mail road, the only one between California and the Rio Grande and Mesilla valleys, and an ideal location for an advanced post to observe and delay the advance of Union forces gathering under Col. James Henry Carleton at Fort Yuma. By taking possession of Tucson, Baylor would also protect the citizens and secure the Confederate claim to possession of western Arizona, which had been abandoned by Union troops in 1861.
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Wikipedia