Honoring New Mexico Civil War Sites

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the landmark locations in New Mexico where thousands of Spanish speaking New Mexico Hispanos fought valiantly during the Civil War.

When the U.S. Territorial Governor issued a call for service in 1861, 4,000 men aged 18 to 45 from Las Vegas, Santa Fe, Taos, Mora, Chaperito and other surrounding villages answered the call and were organized into five regiments known as the New Mexico Volunteers.

Brigadier General Henry Hopkins Sibley led Confederate troops into New Mexico in an attempt to capture Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Fort Union and the Santa Fe Trail so his army could take control of the gold and silver mines in Colorado. His plan was to eventually arrive at the coast of California in order to replenish the South's depleted funds.

The Battle at Valverde took place on February 20th and 21st, 1862, near Fort Craig in southern New Mexico with the Union Army under the command of Colonel Edward Canby. Union forces blocked the passage of Confederates at the river ford until reinforcements arrived and a fierce battle ensued. During the engagement 68 Union soldiers and 36 Confederate soldiers were killed with over 300 wounded. In the end, the battle was a victory for the South.

Union forces returned to Fort Union and the Confederate forces captured Albuquerque and Santa Fe before also moving on towards Fort Union over Glorieta Pass, where the armies were destined to collide.

The Battle of Glorieta Pass took place March 26th through March 28th, 1862, in Apache Canyon with the bulk of Union forces in head-to-head combat with Confederate troops. During the battle, a group of New Mexico Volunteer scouts under the command of Lt. Colonel Manuel Chavez, and Captain Rafael Chacon, Corporal Albino Garcia, Innocencio Arellanes, and Anastasio Duran detected the Confederate supply train near Johnson's Ranch and destroyed eighty supply wagons and drove off 500 horses and mules.

At the end of the Battle of Glorieta Pass the Union lost 51 soldiers with 78 wounded, and the Confederates lost 50 soldiers with 80 wounded. Although Confederates won the battle on the field, the loss of supplies and livestock completely crippled them and they were forced to make their way back to Texas in defeat.

In 1993, the Congressional Civil War Sites Advisory Commission was tasked with identifying the nation's historically significant battle sites and the Battle of Glorieta Pass received a Priority 1, Class A, as one of the principle strategic operations having a direct impact on the course of the war--Gettysburg and Antietam received the same distinction.

Portions of the Glorieta Pass Battlefield have become a part of the National Park System and it is also designated as a National Historic Landmark. It is fitting and proper to erect a memorial at the site of the Battle of Glorieta, honoring the Hispanic Civil War Veterans who lost their lives and those that fought with courage and honor for their country.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source