Glorieta Pass Battlefield
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Glorieta Pass Battlefield
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Photo from Sharpshooter's Ridge, just north of Pigeon's Ranch. This was the location of the Union right flank during the last day's battle.
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| Location | Santa Fe County, New Mexico, USA |
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| Nearest city | Pecos, New Mexico |
| Coordinates | 35°33′36″N 105°47′8″W / 35.56000°N 105.78556°WCoordinates: 35°33′36″N 105°47′8″W / 35.56000°N 105.78556°W |
| Area | 444 acres (180 ha) |
| Built | 1862 |
| Part of | Pecos National Historical Park (#66000485) |
| NRHP Reference # | 66000486 |
| NMSRCP # | 74 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHL | November 5, 1961 |
| Designated NMSRCP | May 21, 1971 |
The Glorieta Pass Battlefield was the site of an American Civil War battle that ended Confederate ambitions to cut off the West from the Union. The Battle of Glorieta Pass took place on March 26–28, 1862, at Glorieta Pass, on the Santa Fe Trail between the Pecos River and Santa Fe, New Mexico. The pass, and the battlefield, are now bisected by Interstate 25. Two portions of the battlefield, now owned by the National Park Service and operated as part of Pecos National Historical Park, were declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961.
The preserved portions of the battlefield consists of two sites, a 294-acre (1.19 km2) parcel on the west side of Glorieta Pass, and a 150-acre (0.61 km2) parcel on the east side. Areas in between and other portions of the battlefield have been at least partially compromised by the construction of both a railroad and Interstate 25. The eastern portion is north of I-25, and is roughly bisected by New Mexico State Road 50, which follows the historic route of the Santa Fe Trail. At its eastern end is Pigeon's Ranch, a historic stop on the trail, of which only foundation remnants survive. The western section is located mainly between I-25 and the railroad tracks near the hamlet of Cañoncito.
The Battle of Glorieta Pass, fought March 26-28, 1862, arose out of a Confederate initiative to gain control of the western United States. Confederate forces under Brig. Gen. Henry H. Sibley had penetrated as far as Santa Fe, defeating a Union force under Col. Edward Canby at Valverde in February 1862. William Gilpin, governor of the Colorado Territory, raised a brigade of volunteers to aid in the defense of Fort Union, the next Confederate objective. These two forces fought a largely indecisive battle, with the Union forces forced to retreat northward, but successfully destroying the Confederate supply train. The latter forced a Confederate retreat, ultimately all the way back to Texas.
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Wikipedia