The Civil War in the Southwest

The Cursed Pests of Apacheria, Sibley’s Reinforcements, & Baylor’s Woes

This is the fifth episode in the series over the Civil War in the American Southwest. In this episode, Baylor and The Confederate Territory of Arizona battle the Apaches. For those who listened to the Apache series, some of this will be review.

Even the few Americans left in the country were not at peace among themselves. The chances were that if you met on the road it was to draw arms, and declare whether you were for the north or the south.

The Self-declared Father of Arizona, Charles Poston writing about 1861 Tucson.

After the Union abandoned Fort Fillmore and then Lynde’s subsequent surrender, Baylor immediately got to work restoring the half burnt Fort and continuing his war against the enemy. For now though, his enemy was primarily the Apache. An unfortunate fact he would soon learn.

At Fillmore, Baylor gave the command of the fort to Travonion Theodoore Teel and then ordered him to fix it up for the use of Confederate forces. He and his men repaired the structure, recovered what they could, and eventually made it hospitable for use by the Rebel forces. Shortly after this, Baylor would appoint Teel as judge of the First Judicial District of Arizona. He’d hold that post until December. Creating and keeping the courts going while Baylor was Military Governor of the Confederate Territory of Arizona was an important job that was proving difficult. A lot was proving difficult for Baylor, really. But immediately after his stunning victory, things were looking great.

Right after Lynde’s surrender, a Southern Hero named Col. Albert Sidney Johnston would arrive with some defectors from California. While this was good news for Baylor, it was bad news for the Confederacy. You see, Col. Johnston had been put in a very similar situation has had General Twiggs over in Texas. Twiggs, remember, although a proud Southerner from Georgia, had been reluctant to surrender the Fedral forts, soldiers, and equipment over to the newly seceded Texas. Of course, he eventually did surrender it all and he would soon join the Confederacy as a Major General… but Twiggs would be of little use to the cause and he would die from Pneumonia in Georgia in 1862.

So Col. Johnston had been in a similar situation in California. At the outbreak of the civil war, Johnston was THE commander of the U.S. Army Department of the Pacific in California. He was the Twiggs of California. At the outbreak of the war he SHOULD have, according to Richmond, surrendered all Fedral posts, forts, supplies, and Southern sympathizing soldiers over to the Confederacy. The entire State of California could have, under his guidance, gone to the Rebels. But instead, he resigned his post at the outbreak of war, enlisted as a private in the Los Angeles Mounted Rifles, and had taken a few Confederate sympathizers with him east where he hoped to find glory in the battlefields of the war proper. Frazier in Blood and Treasure: Confederate Empire in the Southwest writes of him, quote, Not only did he distance himself from the Rebels on the Pacific Coast, he offered neither aid nor advice. His background indicated he was a perfect imperialist for he had fought in Texas during the revolution and had served as that state's secretary of war. He had led troops in Mexico and in the later campaign against the Mormons. He and Henry Sibley were friends. Everything about Johnston indicated that he would be a key to the Southern empire by delivering California. Instead, he had quietly resigned and, in reality, fled. His destiny, it seemed, lay elsewhere. End quote. I will talk about Sibley a lot in this episode but this was a crushing defeat for the Confederacy in Richmond’s eyes. But in Baylor’s, Johnston was a welcome, albeit briefly, Southern hero he could rely on.

Governor Baylor, upon meeting with the newly arrived Johnston, immediately gave him his command of the troops in Arizona. Baylor had made his war and now he was going to run his, or the Confederacy’s, new territory and begin its political organization. Johnston agreed to take command… but again, his ultimate goal was to head to Richmond and his coming actions would prove that. 

Military Governor Baylor, as I mentioned, had some problems… as Frazier eloquently writes, quote, Baylor had initiated the process of empire, but the task seemed on the verge of overwhelming him. End quote.

To begin with, Mexicans across the border, excited at the disorientation in the States, planned to take back Tucson for Mexico. Those rumors began to swirl in Mesilla, the Territorial capitol. Already, Mexican banditos were raiding herds of cattle and horses, killing Americans, and burning ranches. But that was nothing compared to the stories Baylor heard coming out of Apacheria.

As mentioned, at the outbreak of the Civil War, Union forces abandoned southern Arizona. And as Sweeney in Mangas Coloradas writes, quote, Like dominos, one Anglo institution after another fell as Americans withdrew from stage stations, ranches, forts, and mines. End quote. This left many southern Arizonans in complete disarray. Sweeney continues, quote, Many of southern Arizona’s citizens, now faced with a general Apache war, had to flee on the heels of the military to escape with their lives. End quote. This occurred right after The Bascom Affair and Cochise’s cutting of the tent which I describe in the Apache series, so I won’t go over it here. I direct you to the Mangas episode titled War to the Knife. After the cutting of the tent, right as the Federal forces abandoned southern New Mexico and Arizona, Cochise had declared war on the White Eyes. And with him, was Mangas Coloradas. Because of the Fedral abandonment, Cochise, and other Apache warrior leaders, believed it had been their doing that had driven out the White Eyes, so naturally, they continued and increased their war. In their eyes, it was working, after all. Between 1861 and 1863, Apaches would ambush and kill over one hundred White Eyes in the Confederate Territory of Arizona. It didn’t matter to these Apaches led by Cochise and Mangas Coloradas if these men were southern or northern sympathizers, they were white eyes and they had to be exterminated. This is the environment that Baylor had declared himself Governor of.

But it wasn’t just in Arizona that Baylor felt the Apache problem. Over in Texas near Fort Davis and the Davis Mountains, yes, named after President of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis after the Mexican American War, but over in Texas near Fort Davis, Apaches were killing Confederate soldiers, raiding horse and cow herds, and generally making life hell for the new self-declared Governor.

Also, up at Fort Stanton, which the Rebels briefly held after Lynde’s surrender prompted that Union commander to abandon the fort, over at Fort Stanton north of the Sacramento Mountains near modern day Ruidoso, on August 29th, a scouting patrol of Rebels were ambushed. Frazier writes of this quote, On August 29, four men left the post to scout for Indians in the Gallinas Mountains. Foolishly napping beside a picturesque spring, the unsuspecting men awoke to prepare breakfast. Now quoting Lt. Pulliam, quote, While in the act of cooking ... three Indians were seen running over an adjoining hill," Lt. John R. Pulliam of Company D, Second Texas, reported to Baylor. "The men immediately saddled their horses, and while in the act of doing so they were assailed by a shower of arrows. End quote. The outmatched Rebels took positions behind trees, but died one after the other. Finally, in desperation, the only surviving Texan leapt upon his horse and rode over a precipice-miraculously, he and his mount survived. End all quotes.

In another town known as Placitas, also near Fort Stanton, Apaches attacked that town and again Pulliam raced to defend the settlers. Frazier writes of the battle, quote: Pulliam and fifteen men galloped to the rescue, killing five Mescaleros in a running fight. In a driving rain, the soaked and exhausted squad returned to the fort. Unable to cope with the Indian raiders, the Texans abandoned Fort Stanton. End quote.

It wasn’t even the Union forces that were incurring losses to the Rebels in the beginning of Baylor’s reign as military Governor. But these eastern Apache raids were nothing compared to what Cochise and Mangas were up to in the west.

Because the Union’s troops had abandoned the area around Tucson, and again I talked a lot about this in the Apache series so i won’t go over it in too much detail, but the area around Tubac and Tucson were completely abandoned by the Fedrals. On their way out they gave the settlers 3 days to pack or they were going to be left behind. And on top of that, the Union soldiers said no one could get within 15 miles of their own withdrawal. They had to stay back. The civilians were mortified and unsure of what to do. Many followed them but some residents stayed… at least for a while. Eventually, many would risk the dangerous trek through Apacheria to reach Mesilla and quote unquote civilization.

One such group that left the Tucson area a bit late, was the Ake party. Which again, I talked about briefly in War to the Knife. But with that party was Kit Carson’s older brother, Moses Carson. The party consisted of twenty four men, seven women, sixteen children, a half dozen slaves, plenty of wagons, and hundreds of beeves and sheep. Once the party got to the infamous Cook’s Canyon, that canyon littered with bones, skulls, graves, and death, once at Cook’s Canyon, Cochise and Mangas led two hundred warriors in an ambush on the party. Ake, the party’s leader recalls, quote, We was going along, free and easy. Then, without no warning at all, the Indians come hellity-larrup, just swarming outen the rocks. There was a whole cloud of them. End quote.

I said in War to the Knife, quote, The Apache took four hundred cattle and nine hundred sheep. They also inflicted four deaths and quite a few injuries upon the Americans. But all of the women and children left safely. Mangas apparently did not let his people later mutilate the corpses of these brave Americans. End quote. When the survivors of the Ake party reached Pinos Altos, Baylor’s Arizona Guard gathered about thirty men and rode for Mexico to intercept the stolen loot and to punish the warriors. I said of this in that episode, quote, Arizona Confederates would actually pursue Cochise’s band south immediately after the Ake Massacre while they were trying to enter Mexico to sell their loot, as was customary now that the war had begun against the Americans. These Confederates would kill 8 Apaches after both camps had travelled all night. And they’d re-secure all the stolen livestock. End quote. Ake would later say, quote, With the help of the Confederates, we got our stock together. About half our sheep and cattle was saved. End quote. Although the Ake family’s beloved dog was not so lucky… Ake’s son would say quote, Dad was pretty sad.... I'd rather lost a thousand dollars than that dog. End quote. I know the sentiment.

The Arizona Guards were the settlers and miners only protection and as Sweeney wrote, Baylor gave them explicit instructions to quote, reopen the road between Mesilla and Tucson, and especially to rout the savages from Apache Pass. End quote. With few men, the Guards were finding their task difficult. But it was about to get a lot more so.

After the ambush against Cochise by the Arizona Guards which was on account of the attack on the Ake party, Mangas and his group met with his Son-in-law, Cochise and the two, with their enormous band of warriors decided to strike back at the Anglos at Pinos Altos.

At this time, the Confederacy was extracting resources for the war at the famed Pinos Altos which I talked so much about in the Apache Series. Pinos Altos was the little mining camp near the future Silver City in the Mogollon Mountains. It was really the only White Eyes settlement between Mesilla and Tucson and it was the base of operations for the Arizona Guards. It was here that Cochise and Mangas would attack shortly. I talked about this attack in my War to the Knife but I will repeat it here.

The Apaches attacked at the first sign of day break on September 27th, 1861, when they simultaneously began the battle at every spaced out camp in the small town. Sweeney in Mangas Coloradas writes, quote, in unison the horde of whooping warriors charged down the hill and attacked the settlement. End quote. The fighting was incredible and eventually by noon, it was hand to hand, war to the knife, on the main street outside a hardware store known as Roman’s supply store. Inside many miners and what few women that lived in the town loaded the town’s cannon with nails and buckshot and fired it at the Apaches that were regrouping on the main thoroughfare. After the cannon shot, the Anglos mounted a furious counter attack and the Apaches were forced to flee.

Five Americans died and many many more Apaches perished, up to thirty. But the true toll on the Confederacy was the immediate desertions of miners and men from Pinos Altos. Only 70 would remain after the fight. The Rebels desperately needed these riches and minerals. Baylor desperately needed more men. He would write San Antonio multiple times to please hurry with my reinforcements. In the meantime, Baylor sent Major Waller and one hundred men to the settlement of Pinos Altos to further protect it.

In retaliation of their many dead, the Apaches would go on to attack, kill, and torture what various wagon trains dared to pass through the territory. Each time, the Arizona Guard would chase them away, hunt them down, and attempt to rescue whatever hostages or livestock were being constantly carried away.

Obviously, the north would use Baylor’s actions and words against the Apaches as propaganda to muster the Indians in New Mexico to their side. Jefferson Davis, who himself had a sour taste about Indians, he nonetheless did not like this type of violence and during his time in the Mexican American war, he would chastise his own men when they treated the Mexican Indians harshly. So Jeff Davis and the CSA leaders in Richmond were none too thrilled about these depredations agains the Apaches. After all, Baylor’s actual command towards the Apaches went like this, quote:

The Congress of the Confederate States has passed a law declaring extermination to all hostile Indians. You will therefore use all means to persuade the Apaches of any tribe to come in for the purpose of making peace, and when you get them together kill all the grown Indians and take the children prisoners and sell them to defray the expense of killing the Indians. Buy whiskey and such other goods as may be necessary for the Indians. ... [I] look to you for success against these cursed pests who have already murdered over 100 men in this Territory. End quote. As we will get into shortly, the Confederate Congress had in fact NOT passed such a law.

Shortly after the attack at Pinos Altos, Mangas would meet with two Arizona Guards and suggest that he bring his people in. Mastin would pass on news of this meeting and Mangas’ proposal to Baylor over in Mesilla. Baylor’s reply was infamously, if you’ll recall, quote, kill them anyway he could. End quote. Baylor said that he quote, did not care whether he made them drunk, poisoned them, or shot them on sight. End quote.

Before long, Baylor and the Confederate Territory of Arizona would breathe a sigh of relief when Mangas and Cochise fled to Mexico.

With the Indians temporarily gone, Baylor attempted to restore mail service from San Antonio to Mesilla and then off to California. Baylor wanted to protect the mail but he had few too soldiers to accomplish the task and the Apaches were proving, as they had for centuries, to be adept and skilled warriors. They were also proving to be a pain in the Confederacy’s side. With all the Apache attacks from Texas to Arizona, the mail was infrequent at best. And there was no way the South could build their railroad through Arizona if the Apache problem was not taken care of. All of this was further complicating Baylor’s tenuous hold on the new Confederate Territory.

But it wasn’t just Apaches Baylor was having to contend with. He also had a major problem with Fedral spies. 

It seemed in this early phase of the war in New Mexico, that every single move Baylor had planned or executed was known by the enemy. It drove him crazy. El Paso, at this time, was known as Franklin. And in Franklin, as well as in Mesilla, Baylor knew he had a Union Spy Ring that was operating under his nose. So, as Frazier put it, Baylor planned to ruthlessly hunt these Union agents down.

One of these spies was named WW Mills and he was a resident of El Paso, across the border from Franklin in Mexico. Mills had been in near constant communication with the disgraced Lynde and Canby up in Santa Fe since the Texans had arrived to the territory. Actually, he’d been in contact with the Union since Texas had seceded. He had carried numerous dispatches on the Confederacy’s movements and supplies which had been a thorn in Baylor's side. Eventually, Baylor sent men down into Mexico to retrieve him. One of these men sent by Baylor was a German named Kuhn who had a quote unquote reputation of being a bad man. Baylor also sent some backup. Frazier writes this of Mills capture, quote, Mills saw the desperado near the main plaza, but attempted to avoid him. Instead, Kuhn rode his horse onto the sidewalk and grabbed the spy by the shoulder. Now quoting Mills, I looked up and saw that he had a pistol pointed at my breast," Mills wrote. "Half a dozen other horsemen appeared as though they had rizen out of the ground. One seized my pistol and ordered me to mount ... and away we all went at a clattering gallop to the Texas side. End all quotes. He would await trial in Texas but in the dead of night, he would bolt for Mexico and escape.

After Mills, Baylor sent 15 Texans even deeper into Mexico, forty miles south of El Paso to a village known as Guadalupe. This time they were after a spy by the name of Stith. After his capture he would await trial in Texas and he would write to Washington about his arrest. Once apprehended he asked his capturer Lt. W C Adams on whose authority Adams had to capture him? Adams replied, quote, by the Authority of the Southern Confederacy. End quote. Unlike Mills, Stith wouldn’t bolt but instead he’d switch sides and join the Confederacy. He would receive a captain’s commission for the remainder of the war.

Baylor though, had his own spies and they were known as the Brigands. Their leader, an Irishman named Phillips who had a quick temper and a reputation as a hothead and a duelist, well Phillips had owned a hotel in the New Mexican capitol of Santa Fe and throughout this first phase of the war, he would help keep Mesilla in law and order.

Phillips and his Brigands would later head north to fight for Sibley and they were mercenaries that were described at one point as being, quote, an unseemly pack of frontier gunmen, thieves, and ne’er do wells who had been collected in the Mesilla Valley. End quote. They also went by the name of the Santa Fe Gamblers.

Although a lot of Baylor’s problems towards the end of 1861 were from the Apache, there were a few skirmishes throughout the territory with the Fedrals. Both sides were always on patrol and the men were always leery of running into the other side’s soldiers. A lot of these skirmishes were over horses which both armies kept along the Rio Grande but which the south desperately needed. A fact that would plague them the entire war in the southwest.

In one of these early skirmishes, on August 21st, ten of Canby’s New Mexican Volunteers actually raided a Confederate horse corral. The Rebels, under a Captain Coopwood would come upon these volunteers in the act, and they would surround them, before opening fire. The Fedrals would only fire once before realizing their situation was hopeless. They would surrender to Captain Coopwood. The lot of them would be marched south to Fort Fillmore.

Only one man was injured in the small battle and it was the Confederate soldier from Cuba named Enrique D’Hamel. He said quote, I got a spent Springfield bullet in my left wrist, which went up my arm almost to the elbow, end quote. This non-fatal wound would actually almost end up killing him!

Back at Fillmore, with inadequate medicine and few surgeons, D’Hamel was sent down to Fort Bliss. There, his health rapidly declined until he fell into a coma. He said, quote, My eyes seemed glazed and no moisture was left on a looking glass when put to my mouth. End quote. He was about to be buried… alive, although unbeknownst to the doctors. But as he put it, quote, All that saved me from being interred was the interference of one of my chums. ... He was half drunk and said I was not dead and would see to it that I was not buried until I stunk. End quote. His half drunk chum guarded the Cuban with a loaded pistol for weeks. Eventually, D’Hamel recovered and he’d be back out in the field. I will quote from him again.

Captain Coopwood will also be mentioned again but his background is interesting. Coopwood was born in Alabama but moved to Texas before heading to Los Angeles. Once there he practiced law and had 14 children but he made himself famous when he chased some sheriff killers known as the Flores Daniel Gang. He then further distinguished himself when he defended a local Mormon doctor against a posse of armed Anti-Mormon men known as the El-Monte men. Which was actually the same armed posse he had himself led against the Flores Daniel Gang. So now he was telling his ex posse to back off this Mormon who he was protecting with the threat of violence in his own home. Eventually the anti-Mormon posse, this was in 1859, eventually they went home, only to return the next day where a shootout occurred in the street. Coopwood was wounded in this shootout in the leg, wrist, and somehow in his mouth! After that exciting event he later got into a fight IN COURT, in an unrelated incident. The dude was a fighter, for sure. He was fluent in Spanish and he was somewhat wealthy but in 1861 he left California and returned to Texas. There he would form the San Elizario Spy Company which would ultimately saddle up and ride into New Mexico with Baylor. And they’d play an important part in the entire campaign.

Back at Mesilla, while Baylor had his brief stint at Empire building, when he had left command to Col. Johnston, the Rebels heard rumors of a column of US Regulars from Fort Buchanan who were approaching Fort Craig. Fort Buchanan was south southeast of Tucson and due west of Tombstone and those soldiers had finally abandoned the post and were heading to Craig. When Johnston got wind, he sent out some Rebel Cavalrymen to surveil the column. He would now command his first Confederate Army in the war. Although it wouldn’t be his last. But it would be his last in New Mexico. 

At a village known as Picacho, Col. Johnston had his 400 forces take position in the hopes of cutting off this approaching group of Fedrals. But instead, the Union forces got wind of the impending trap. In response, they burned their many wagons and all their extra supplies, and then they marched north around the ambush and made it to Fort Craig safely. The very next day after this missed opportunity, Johnston would resign his command of Arizona and head east for Richmond. He wanted real glory, not this cowboy and Indian game in new Mexico. On his way, he would take Baylor’s own brother, Wythe, with him as his aide-de camp.

Johnston, again, had dropped the ball.

Despite this setback, at least at first, Baylor was beloved by both his men and the men in Richmond, the Confederate Capital.

Meanwhile, at the Yankee capital of DC, the war planners began to worry about what was happening in New Mexico. Canby had previously been told to send all, every single Fedral regular east for the war effort there. But for his part, Canby sensed the danger approaching so he sent back only a thousand while refusing to send back anymore. He knew the dangers of the Rebels to the south and according to reports, more and more of them were joining the fight every day. Not to mention, it seemed like California, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado could fall to secessionists any day now.

This whole beginning phase of the war in New Mexico actually saw both the North thinking they were against overwhelming forces and the South believing they too would soon be fighting against overwhelming odds. This early in the war though, neither was true. But the rumors were certainly real.

Los Angeles groups of secessionists were feeding into the rumor mill by telling Baylor a large group of Californians were ready to march into Arizona. Many of these rumors came from Johnston’s Los Angeles regiment. Colorado also sent rumors of Confederates waiting to join. And over in Utah, the Mormons seemed eager themselves to again oppose the Fedral Government. But this time with arms. Even as far away as Washington and Oregon, word was reaching Baylor that Rebels were amassing. In Nevada, more rumors reached the Confederates that the locals there were planning on taking Fort Churchill from the Fedrals in an attempt to repeat Baylor’s success at Fillmore.

New Mexico was also proving a solid ground for confederate support. Frazier writes of New Mexico, quote, The Hispanic population of New Mexico Territory seemed apathetic toward, if not hostile to, the U.S. government. Recruits from the small villages made indifferent soldiers, and several companies of these mounted militia had already been captured or permanently routed. Near Fort Stanton, Rebel forces had surprised, disarmed, and paroled more than forty members of one New Mexico command. End quote. And future skirmishes with Coopwood would repeat that victory. The New Mexicans just didn’t seem that interested and what few volunteers were streaming into Fort Craig from the countryside had low morale.

After these rumors reached Baylor he ended up moving headquarters from Mesilla to the town Doña Ana, which was 20 miles up the road from Mesilla. He then ordered a Forward Operating Base be established at Robledo, north of Doña Ana and only 70 miles downstream of Fort Craig.

Baylor wasn’t just working on military matters though.

He was also trying to gain Hispanic support. The Confederates opened a school in Mesilla to teach the children their English. Ten percent of his command was actually Hispanic. He commissioned three of them to raise Spanish speaking companies who would then go fight Apaches. These Hispanic Apache hunters actually proved to be quite successful too. And according to Frazier, quote, A delegation of local Hispanic leaders, no doubt at Baylor's suggestion, even wrote a note to Jefferson Davis in Spanish recommending that their governor and benefactor be promoted to brigadier general. End quote.

From his new Headquarters at Doña Ana, Baylor began making plans to expand the empire. He began making arrangements to take a thousand troops, troops he would soon receive, he hoped, from his reinforcements under Sibley. He planned to take these troops to Tucson where he would either fight in Sonora, Mexico or in California. To help facilitate this, since Johnston had left, Baylor made Major Edwin Waller his second in command. This would allow Baylor to continue to recruit and build. Unfortunately, Waller, wanted nothing to do with this so he appointed Samuel Jones, a pro-slavery veteran of Bleeding Kansas as second in command and civilian governor. None of this mattered to the Texan forces though, and they all still called Baylor their governor and he pretty much still acted like it as well.

Baylor had let his overwhelming success against the Fedrals get to him a little bit… He had no formal military training and in some areas it began to show. He was also gaining a reputation for being unpredictable, violent, and a little difficult to control. As we will soon see, this may make one a good battlefield commander, but it doesn’t necessarily translate into being a good military leader.

That didn’t stop Governor Baylor’s dreams though. Baylor felt like Richmond should make him a Brigadier General and with his one thousand troops in Tucson he wanted to take Guaymas, Sonora and establish a Confederate port there where Southern Cotton could be exchanged for much needed supplies.

But first there were some steps he had to accomplish along the way. So, with the help of Tucson politician Palantine Robinson, Baylor made plans to make that town a bastion of confederate power which he would then take the Union held mines in Arizona with. He would then relentlessly attack the Apaches in both Arizona and Mexico, finally putting an end to their depredations. He would also heavily patrol the road from Guaymas in Mexico to Tucson to make sure goods were delivered. He would then infiltrate California with Confederates who would arm, organize, and lead the Secessionists there.

With Tucson being a solid and heavily armed forward operating base, Baylor would have wealth and soldiers flowing into the town which he could then according to Frazier bust through Fort Yuma, and eventually take San Francisco.

But all of this depended on the incoming Sibley and his reinforcements.  Baylor  hoped to work with Sibley who would stay in New Mexico while Baylor went west. Frazier writes, quote, For Baylor and his version of Confederate imperial ambitions, the only remaining question was when Sibley would arrive. End quote.

At the end of September, as he was planning his Imperial expansion, even more good news arrived for Baylor.

In the early morning of September 25th, the Attack of Alamosa began. The attack was led by the aforementioned Captain Coopwood who took his 112 Spies on a reconnaissance mission north of Fort Craig. While he was riding, Union Captain John H Minks of the New Mexico Mounted Volunteers got word that riders were approaching. But with that news, he was told, don't worry, it’s our guys. But then, another message reached his desk which said yet another group of unknown men were riding towards his camp and corral near Alamosa. This time, it wasn’t his men, but he thought it was.

Coopwood, after finding out that there was no artillery to blast he and his men away, he decided at 2 am to attack the camp and hastily made corral at this small town of Alamosa. When Minks heard that riders were fast approaching he sprang his sleepy men into action and told them to mount their horses! But instead, many of these New Mexican Volunteers slipped away into the dead of night. When his men had gathered he was only at half strength. The first thing the Union soldiers heard as the mysterious riders approached was an Indian yell. So, Minks naturally thought it was Apaches. Here’s what Minks said of the beginning of the battle, quote, At this moment a terrible Indian yell was heard from town. I ... was prepared to march to the rescue of the inhabitants, when we heard distinctly cavalry coming down on us, and a voice near our line hallooing out `Here's their camp; give them hell!' I then knew they were Texans. End quote. That Indian yell… would be the Rebel yell. If you haven’t heard that horrific sound, you should find the video on YouTube of surviving Confederate Veterans recreating it. It’s haunting.

The dead of night attack was soon fought in the little village from house to house and hand to hand. All the while, more New Mexican volunteers decided to heck with this and abandoned the town for the wilderness. To clear up the confusion in the dark though, Minks ordered his men to set fire to some of the village’s houses but they were repelled by Rebel bullets. The firing into the darkness would continue all night.

When dawn awakened and the sun began to rise… Minks found that he was in command of only ten men… At 8 am, surrounded and without soldiers, Minks surrendered.

Coopwood collected three wagons of ammo, some horses, and some mules while his other soldiers rounded up about 25 New Mexicans who had fled into the night. Four Fedrals were dead and six were wounded while all of the Texans remained unharmed. Although they did lose 4 horses. The stragglers and soldiers were sent north to Santa Fe while the Confederates took Captain Minks, 2d Lt. Medina, and a sergeant south to the base at Robledo.

But the battle wasn’t over. While they all marched leisurely down the road, happy in their victory again, the Rebels were surprised by a Union counter-attack! This would have been the group that Minks mistook the Rebels for.

The surprised Texans soon found themselves surrounded and fired upon by one hundred men of the Third US Cavalry. Coopwood would later write, quote, None of the ordinary ceremonies of attack were performed, There being no misunderstanding, we at once commenced business. End quote.  Four hours of constant firing from the Fedrals superior weapons began to take its toll as horses and Rebels alike fell.

The recently healed and ready to fight again Cuban D’Hamel was there and he writes this of the battle, quote, We discovered that about thirty head of our mules and horses had been wounded in the legs. We killed the poor beasts, and formed breastworks of their dead. End quote.

The bullets shot by and overhead the holed up Rebels at a slowly decreasing rate as the Fedrals ran out of bullets. But all the while they tore up the trees and dead animals the Rebels were hiding behind. D’Hamel then remarks that unfortunately, one of the prisoners, a Lieutenant Medina, was hit by one of these Fedral bullets. D’Hamel writes, quote, The poor fellow was tied to a large Alamo. We thought [he was] out of range of rifle shot, but unfortunately a spent bullet hit him in the thigh and cut a large artery from which the poor man bled to death. End quote.

By noon the battle was over when the Third Cavalry had nearly exhausted their ammo. They would retreat, taking their four dead and 6 wounded with them. Coopwood would hold the stinking position for the remainder of the day and all throughout the night. He had lost two Texans dead and eight wounded.

Coopwood would later say of his soldiers, quote, I would say to you, sir, that I have not witnessed such a display of manly courage and perfect order during my experience in wars. The officers and men ... acted more like veterans than volunteers. I cannot with words express the esteem I had for all who were with me. End quote.

While both sides would claim victory, only the Rebels held their ground after two fraught engagements which saw more Fedrals fall than Confederates.

Eventually, Alamosa would see a few more small skirmishes until the town became a certain no-man’s land.

The good news was short lived for Baylor at Doña Ana.

But before we get into the coming crisis, let’s finally meet Sibley and his army which Baylor so desperately needed.

Jefferson Davis and the Richmond leaders of the Confederacy had been getting consistent reports out of New Mexico and although they were excited at Baylor’s victories, they knew he was not long for the leadership position in that territory. He was inexperienced and a little more trouble than he was worth, and as events I will highlight later reveal, he was dangerous.

The best man for the job, as far as Richmond was concerned then, was the Mexican War hero Henry Hopkins Sibley. He knew New Mexico, he knew the west, he was a professional soldier, experienced, and he would obey commands. As Frazier writes, quote, Baylor had requested a "competent man," and Sibley's credentials convinced the Richmond government that he was. A West Pointer and a native of Louisiana, Sibley had emerged from the War with Mexico a hero and a friend of Albert Sidney Johnston. He also had a patent for the "Sibley Tent," a conical dwelling designed from Comanche tipis. This intelligent and scientific officer was also a convincing and a fairly charismatic man. Sibley's last assignment, and the most telling from the Confederate standpoint, was Fort Union, New Mexico Territory. End quote. Remember I talked about how he fought with Canby against the Navajos in that territory. That was his last assignment before he went to Richmond and before he was sent back to Texas to raise an army to bail out Baylor in that besieged and burgeoning region of the Confederate Empire.

Sibley took the assignment with class and with the expectation of victory. He believed that he could lead a well mounted force that would be able to sustain themselves in New Mexico and Arizona and with that force he could further draw more secessionists from the surrounding territories of the intermountain west. Sibley also believed that once he took Santa Fe, that would even further embolden Confederate sympathizers, especially those in California, to join the cause. And the Confederacy needed California. He knew it. Baylor knew it. Jeff Davis and the Confederacy knew it. But first, they’d have to take Arizona and New Mexico. And then they would have to keep them.

Sibley, like Baylor also believed that after Santa Fe, it wouldn’t be long before Chihuahua, Sonora, and Lower or Baja California would also fly the stars and bars. Well, it wasn’t yet that flag, but the northwestern Mexican states would soon be part of the Confederacy, just as the Knights of the Golden Circle had hoped. Frazier wrote that northern Mexico would be acquired quote, by either lead or gold. End quote.

At this time, Mexico was in a bit of a crisis and it actually had its own civil war going on. A civil war that would soon be interrupted by the invasion of France, England, Spain, and Prussia. An invasion that would see the Napoleon the Third backed Maximilian the First installed. So acquiring those territories wasn’t as out of the question as it seems to listeners now.

But before any of that could happen, Sibley needed to raise an army in Texas. He first asked the governor for men and arms but that was of no use. The Republic ran out of funds and arms by the end of the summer of 1861. At that time there were thousands of willing recruits in the state, ready to be sent... anywhere, but Texas simply couldn’t arm or pay the men and boys. This was a huge flaw in the militia system, obviously, which Jefferson Davis had foreseen, truthfully, but Texas was broke. Sibley was going to have to rely on his charms and his skills of recruitment to raise his army.

He immediately began posting notices in newspapers and asking for volunteers who were willing not to fight Yankees in Virginia, but instead to fight Fedrals in New Mexico. Much to his relief, dozens of letters came back asking for positions of leadership in his new army. He then told those applicants that they would now have to recruit their own companies if they wanted some Captain’s bars. Sibley would call these two new units the First and Second Regiments of Sibley’s Brigade. But the state of Texas’ Militia system would call them the Fourth and Fifth Texas Mounted Volunteers.

By late August, Sibley had begun building his army. He was also simultaneously gathering supplies and arms. Sibley was accumulating food and supply stores from New Orleans to Chihuahua. He was finding storage places and having Confederate sympathizers churn out wheat and corn. In his mind, everything seemed to be going well for the incoming Rebel leader. Now he needed positions filled.

Sibley’s second in command and leader of the Fourth Texas Mounted Volunteers was a man named James Reily, no relation. He spells his name wrong. Reily was a politician, lawyer, civil servant, and diplomat who had been a major in the Army of the Republic of Texas. He had been a Whig, one of those northerner parties but he bolted from the party in the 1850s when they became vehemently pro-Abolitionist. His diplomatic resume included the consul to Russia under the James Buchanan presidency after he had left the Whig Party. But he left that position before heading back to Houston. Sibley would make him the diplomatic envoy to the Mexican States of Chihuahua and Sonora and Sibley hoped he could convince those Mexican states to join the Golden Circle of the Confederate Empire. A task, he would not complete.

Reily left the soldering of the Fourth to his second in command William Read "Dirty Shirt" Scurry. Heck of a name. He got the nickname dirty shirt on account of his feverish riding throughout Texas to campaign for secession which furious riding saw his shirt, obviously, got stained with mud, sweat, and Texas tears. He had served in the army of the Republic of Texas and during the Mexican American War where he fought at Monterrey. He became a Lt. Col. of the Fourth.

Col. and leader of the Fifth Texas Mounted Volunteers of the Sibley Brigade went to the 47 year old Tom Green. He too was a Texan veteran but he had seen a lot of combat in his life. He fought in 1836 when Texas won their independence against Juarez and Mexico. He then fought for years against the Comanches before he participated against the invasion of a certain Mexican General Rafael Vasquez into Texas. During the Mexican American war he also fought at Monterrey. He then worked as a civil servant for the Texas Supreme Court before the war broke out. Tom Green, according to a friend, was a, quote, marked man in Texas, and in all her troubles, never failed in the hour of need to come to her assistance with that ardency and devotion which so strikingly marked his character. End quote.

Frazier writes of Green that quote, of all the officers in the brigade, Green had the greatest reputation. His troops affectionately called him "Daddy." An admirer later described him as quote, Upright, modest, and with the simplicity of a child, danger seemed to be his element, and he rejoiced in combat. His men adored him, and would follow wherever he led.... The great Commonwealth ... will never send forth a bolder warrior, a better citizen, nor a more upright man than Thomas Green. End all quotes. During the battles in New Mexico that were about to greet him, Col. Tom Green was often remarked as being in front of his troops, leading them to victory or death.

The Major of the Fifth would be a man named Samuel Nicaragua Lockridge. His nickname comes from the very same filibuster of William Walker I talked about a few episodes ago. Lockridge was a quote unquote notorious filibuster and soldier of fortune. He was from either Alabama or Kentucky, I read both, but when he was in his 20s… he killed some people on an Ohio River steamboat. Not like he murdered them. Technically… He was just the business partner of a steamship company which had a boat called the Martha Washington. Before this boat left shore, he took an insurance policy out on it and its cargo and then the ship… burned… and people died. I don’t even know if he collected on the insurance policy but he did not wait around. He was actually going by William Kissane at the time. He changed his name once he posted bail and fled from Ohio to New Orleans… not a great start in life but his adventures weren’t over. His story is muddled but from what I gathered he fled to New Orleans where he was a recruiter for the filibusterer William Walker. He had a Col’s Commission, not sure from what army, but he quote unquote haunted New Orleans to raise an army for the Southern Adventurer before he himself headed to Nicaragua. Frazier, whose portrayal of Lockridge is a little inconsistent, which is understandable since I found multiple conflicting histories on the man, but Frazier says of Lockridge, quote, In 1858, Lockridge led a Texan relief expedition to Central America, where he moved up the San Juan River against the Costa Ricans. The tall, gaunt Kentuckian was more brave than able, however, and Walker accused him of "pretension" when he refused to turn over the command of the expedition to more experienced soldiers. End all quotes. Some of the men around Lockridge accused him of being a bully and a tyrant and eventually… the man deserted.

He THEN fought in Mexico under the revolutionary leader of General Santiago Vidaurri, but he too kicked him out of his entourage. Lockridge then went to Texas before heading back to New Orleans where, before Walker was killed by the British, Lockridge ran into the man in the old French City! Lockridge actually challenged the filibuster to a duel but Walker refused.

Shortly afterwards, Lockridge joined the Knights of the Golden Circle and then began advocating for the secession of Texas. Sibley appointed him Major of the fifth and surprisingly, given his history, the men under him called him the quote unquote pride of the army and quote, the worshipped idol of the old fifth Texas. End quote. Heck of a life… and he hadn’t even made it to New Mexico yet!

Sibley would go on to recruit one final Brigade, the Seventh Texas Mounted Volunteers. These men would guard Mesilla, Fort Fillmore, Fort Craig, and any other forts the Confederate Rebels would take during the fighting.

The leader of that army, Colonel William Steele, although a New York Native, was a dear friend of Governor Baylor’s family and also an acquaintance of Sibley from the Old Army, the Union Army. Steele had graduated from West Point, had served with Sibley in Florida against the Seminoles, had served in the Mexican American war under President Zachary Taylor, and had served at frontier posts in Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri. He was a seasoned veteran.

His second in command would do the fighting and his name was John Schuyler Sutton. He too was a New Yorker but he’d been in Texas for 25 years. He’d actually led a company in the Texan Santa Fe Expedition in 41! But like the rest of them, he’d been captured and held for nine months in that horrible Mexican Prison. He too fought during the Mexican American War and he also fought at Monterrey. After that war he floated around California before becoming a Texas Ranger. One fellow Texan wrote of him, quote, In every expedition that was organized, he was always among the first to proffer his services. End quote.

The battle of Monterrey, during the Mexican American war, was a very impressive urban battle that saw a lot of casualties on both sides. The city had not only a bunch of forts within and around it but also a citadel! It was one of the decisive battles of the war that would lead to future President Zachary Taylor and the Union’s victory over Mexico.

Many of Sibley’s Brigade, a small but important part of them, came from the Frontier counties of Texas. The areas of danger and excitement. The places of the frontier where Indians or Mexicans could raid your small town or homestead at any moment. But all of the men were brave and ready to fight the tyrant Yankees, as they saw them. One Sibley Soldier said of the warriors, quote, three thousand five hundred of these men were the best that ever threw leg over horse. All around men, natural born soldiers, they were under twenty five, with a liberal sprinkling of older ones who had seen more or less service on the frontier. End quote.

Many of these frontier soldiers knew they would be going even further into the frontier. They saw it as a chance to enlarge the Southern Empire and enlarge their own wealth if possible. Quite a few other Texan soldiers simply wanted to fight against the Yankees, no matter if that was in Arizona or in the east. They saw Sibley's brigade as simply the easiest way to fight. One of these soldiers, would write home and encapsulate what many of his brethren felt, quote, I, William H. Cleaver ... being about to submit my mortal body to the uncertainties of the present unholy war waged against the Confederate States of America under the auspices of the usurper and despot Abraham Lincoln do make ordain and establish my last will and testament. End quote. Clearly, Cleaver was a true Confederate sympathizing Rebel. But obviously, he wasn’t the only one. Another Rebel soldier, this one a 21 year old Englishman Henry C Wright who had only been in the State and the States for five years, Wright would write, quote, It took but a very little while for my mind to grasp and appreciate the Southern ideas of the States' rights and the white man's supremacy. So when ... the state voted for secession, I was among the first to volunteer. End quote. Wright’s view… kinda throws water on the first few episodes of this series, since he was a pro White Englishmen, but one soldier’s thoughts aren’t indicative of the entire Kingdom of England. And the same could be said of the some southern men and their view on the Confederacy. Although, the war itself wouldn’t have been fought if more than only a handful of southerners were not onboard in repelling the invaders from the north. As they saw it.

One last soldier I will mention is a 23 year old Virginian named Alfred B Peticolas. I mention him because he will actually be a source for this series going forward. Peticolas was part of a troop known as the Invincibles and before the war he was a well educated adventurer and lawyer who kept exceptional journals throughout the campaign. I will use his journal and the editor’s version, a book titled Rebels on the Rio Grande quite a bit. Peticolas, since he was educated, but also, tall, handsome, and popular, because of these qualities he would be elected as fifth Sergeant during the war in New Mexico.

While Baylor was struggling with the Apaches and the coming massive invasion from all sides which I will talk about soon, while Baylor desperately needed Sibley’s Brigades and reinforcements, these troops were doing actual training and drilling in San Antonio. And they took an oath to the confederate government as one recruit put it quote as long as a fence rail. End quote. Unlike Baylor’s soldiers, these were going to be disciplined men of the Confederate Army. Although this would help them in the coming battles, these men wanted nothing more than to just… go! Sitting around was not suiting them. They were young soldiers, after all. One soldier, Pvt. William Randolph Howell, would write, quote, We will be detained here, perhaps 3 or 4 weeks. We are bound for Arizona and New Mexico sure enough.... Ho for the long march!! All [of the boys] seem certain of returning-most of them saying they were never born to be killed by a Yankee. Of course all hope so, but that is yet to be tried. End quote.

The only reason they were even being held back was because of supplies. Texas severely lacked them. Sibley truly needed them. It would take longer than he had hoped to gather them. Not only supplies though, but transportation as well. This habit of waiting… would eventually doom Sibley and the Confederacy in New Mexico…

But eventually he would gather some three hundred wagons and three thousand mules. He also amassed the necessary teamsters to haul the loads. These men were mostly Hispanic so they and their wagon train were nicknamed, simply, Mexico. 

Eventually too, Sibley would gather the necessary supplies but they were not in the best of shape nor were they uniform in their caliber. These soldiers were given coon guns, duck rifles, shotguns, deer hunting rifles, smoothbore muskets, rifled muskets, revolvers, single shot saddle pistols, swords, bowie knives, and even lances. Ammo was short, ammo boxes were in even shorter supply. Sleeping bags were few, although they did get a bunch of those Comanche style Sibley tents. Clothing included full military dress, but not a lot, and then a smattering of coats, pants, drawers, boots, brass buttons… it was all a mess. But they took what they could get. And what they couldn’t get, the soldiers would write home and ask for.

By October of 1861, Sibley realized, these further delays were pointless and the equipment trickling his way was becoming of worse and worse quality. The time to leave was upon them. But the orders kept coming to stand down. One Sergeant Davidson would write of this hurry up and wait, quote, After the organization was complete, and after everything was ready to start, we were kept lying around . . . for another six weeks. Several times orders were issued for us to take up the line of march and we prepared to do so, but the orders were as often countermanded. Contrary to ... expectations, [we] had been compelled to lay around San Antonio for several weary, tedious, months. End quote. 

But finally, Sibley gave the order. Reily’s Fourth left on October 22nd. Green’s Fifth left on November 2nd. And Steele’s Seventh left for El Paso on November 20th.

It would be too late to save the coming embarrassment for Baylor though…

After that initial burst of great news from the various western territories about their sympathies with the Confederacy and their urgent desire to join in the fight… no more of those sets of rumors made it to the Confederate Territory of Arizona and into Baylor’s ears. But rumors continued to swirl… and Baylor would take them as fact.

News eventually started to trickle down that up at Fort Craig, there were now some 2,500 men ready to march south and overtake Robledo, Doña Ana, and Fillmore. Baylor then heard that a massive column of Californians were on there way, already close to the Colorado River and this huge force was going to meet up with Canby as he assaulted Fillmore and Mesilla. And to make it even worse, to rendezvous and attack with these two armies was yet another third army from Chihuahua that was to march up and overtake the Rebels from the south. This huge multi pronged attack was to take place on November 1st.

All of this false information fell into Baylor’s lap on October 23rd. At first, he played it cool. He said, quote, keep cool, for we have time. Be calm and do not create a panic. All will turn out right. End quote. But it was too late. The southerners and Hispanics in Mesilla freaked out and began to pack up for El Paso and Fort Bliss as the local paper printed these rumors as fact. Then Baylor issued orders to pack up the stuff and head even further down the Rio Grande PAST Fort Bliss.

The editor of the Mesilla Times, who had once praised Baylor, had since turned on him. He was writing more and more vitriolic front page stories on Baylor’s failures against the Apaches and about his failures to govern properly. Angry at this massive advancing army, and for much expense, Robert Kelly, the editor, dismantled his press and shipped to El Paso. Once word of this spread, as Frazier puts it, the frenzy soon began to perpetuate itself.

Baylor sent message after message to San Antonio pleading for men and backup. He wrote his superiors, quote, I ... will keep the enemy in check, if possible; but send up men as soon as possible, for they will be needed. Hurry up if you want a fight. End quote.

By the 25th of October, Baylor had lost his cool. Where on earth was Sibley and the Confederacy?! With little options, Baylor too, left Doña Ana with his army and ran to Fort Bliss.

I believe, if Baylor had been a proper soldier, properly trained, and had spent just one day, I mean, he got the news of the fake assault on the 23rd and just two days later he was gone… the people that depended on him saw him flee. The people who had given so much to the Confederacy or had so much taken from them in southern New Mexico they felt betrayed. If he had proper training, like say Sibley and his Brigade had, he probably wouldn’t have panicked and this whole mess probably could have been avoided. He really should have spent just one day confirming the rumors. But, like the rumors of massive support for the Confederacy that he believed, he believed this rumor of the massive three pronged Fedral army as well.

Frazier in Blood and Treasure writes this of the actual situation on the ground:

In reality, the Californians were nowhere near, and Col. Edward R. S. Canby's army was suffering from a lack of supplies, transportation, and mounts almost as badly as the Rebels. A number of wagons arriving at Fort Craig had started a cycle of speculation that had eventually sent the Texans scurrying for cover. End quote.

By late October, Baylor and his Texans were cowering at Fort Bliss. And it was here he finally heard word that… oh, no… there is no mobilizing Union Army barreling your way. In fact, the Fedrals were immobile. Even more so than the Rebels.

Baylor, realizing his colossal mistake, would return to Mesilla partially broken. And then the editor of the Mesilla Times, Robert Kelly began to pile on.

Such a stampede never was witnessed, save at Manassas. Only, . . . we had a Manassas ... without a fight or even a sight of the enemy.

Kelly’s words in the paper, calling Baylor a coward, comparing their flight with the First Battle of Bull Run in the east, them were fighting words. Baylor needed a scapegoat and Kelly was quickly becoming the sacrificial lamb.

But first Baylor blamed one of the Arizona Guardsmen who he found out had stolen some stuff when the entire army abandoned the region only a few days before. Baylor sent the Arizona Guards after the man but they weren’t about to hunt down and arrest a friend of theirs. A friend who was a good hunter and who had fed them when they were starving and cold in the Mogollon Mountains, surrounded by Apaches. They let him slip away into Mexico unmolested. And their respect for Baylor decreased.

So next, a sick with some unknown illness and weak Baylor turned to Kelly, the editor. I will let Frazier describe the end to Baylor and Kelly’s bitter feud.

Honor, and his regimental officers, dictated that Baylor confront the publisher and force a printed retraction. On Sunday, December 12, shortly after printing his most scathing article, Kelly met Baylor by chance on a deserted street in Mesilla. Most of the town's residents were indoors, having returned home after attending mass at the local church in celebration of the Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Baylor, from inside the hospital building, had seen the editor strolling by a doorway. Grabbing a nearby rifle, the governor confronted Kelly. "Hold on, my lad," Baylor called. As the editor turned, Baylor swung the longarm. Kelly avoided the blow, but Baylor quickly tackled the man and pinned him to the ground. "You can't come [like] that on me, I am too much a man for your sort," the enraged governor screamed. Instinctively, Kelly reached for his knife. Baylor reacted by drawing his pistol with his left hand and cocking the weapon on his thigh. "You try to stab people, do you?" he raged. "Throw the knife down!" By now, a small crowd had gathered, and a voice from the crowd pleaded with Baylor, "Don't shoot him!" The governor, still weak from his illness, continued his attempt to break Kelly's hold on the knife. Unsuccessful, Baylor thrust his pistol into the editor's face, and pulled the trigger, sending a bullet crashing through the man's jaw and out his neck. Baylor stood up as the severely wounded Kelly convulsed on the ground. "Give him a chance for his life," the governor said, then turned to surrender himself to his second in command, Major Waller, fresh on the scene. Kelly lingered for two weeks, managing to pen one more acid editorial against his assailant before he died. End all quotes.

That is simply not how one acts as a leader. But again, Baylor was a warrior, not a bureaucrat. Obviously, this whole affair did not go well for the Territorial military governor.

The Hispanic population, once jubilant for the Rebellion, had now cooled off on their excitement. Things weren’t better under the Confederacy in the far-flung territory, they may have even been worse in some regards. It wasn’t like Richmond was showering them with favors... or men… or supplies.

Over in Tucson, the appointed Oury, was becoming disillusioned as well. He had been elected delegate to the Confederate Congress by the Arizonans but once in Richmond, he was largely ignored. He was given no official status and although he constantly petitioned to have the territory recognized, the Confederate Congress wouldn’t even hear him out until November. And then, they denied him and Arizona their reward. Not all of them, I suppose, Jefferson Davis, the President, realized the necessity of the west, and so did the Texas delegates but the Cavalier Quid Democrats that opposed Jeff Davis wanted nothing to do with those Catholic heathens in the west. Oury felt betrayed. He saw that Missouri and Kentucky, states not even in the Confederacy, were given more time, mention, and material, than his self proclaimed and ready to fight Arizona. Granted… the population of Arizona was absolutely minuscule compared to those battleground states. Still, Oury came back to Mesilla defeated. And then, for seemingly no reason other than he failed, Baylor replaced him!

Then there was the matter of supplies for Baylor. The horses, were in bad shape. Real bad shape. They were constantly stealing Union horses, true, but those were in EQUALLY bad shape! The residents were tired of their property being confiscated for the cause. Baylor had gotten away with literal murder after the sham trial found him not guilty of killing Kelly.

And on top of all that, disease had began to spread through the Confederate ranks. Especially, smallpox, which had come up from Mexico. Also, something known as camp fever was plaguing the men. Dozens fell ill and quite a few would die. Dysentery also seemed to to have spread. They had poor if any medical supplies and many of the ill troopers were just given opium.

Baylor then began disparaging against his most important constituents, the Hispanics… He’d lost over one hundred men to the Apaches and Mexican Banditos… By mid-December, Baylor was losing it. And he was losing control of his territory.

Frazier, the fantastic writer he is, has a few sentences I will quote from now. I know I quote from him a lot but he was my favorite, and the most trustworthy source. Frazier writes of Baylor and the Confederacy, quote, The Confederate invasion of New Mexico was the heir of Manifest Destiny, filibustering, and the American drive for expansion. End quote. But now it seemed to be falling apart. The dream of the Confederate Empire, the Golden Circle, it could only be resurrected if someone more capable showed up.

Frazier again, quote, The process had at first appeared easy, but now it had become apparent that Baylor's eagerness to be the standard-bearer of Texan imperialism had landed him in difficulties he could not surmount. To Van Dorn in San Antonio, the self-proclaimed governor commented, quote, Now that I have taken possession of the Territory, I trust a force sufficient to occupy and hold it will be sent by the government, under some competent man. End all quotes.

Baylor would write Van Dorn again and say, quote, I would urge the importance of more men being sent to me. I can't hold the United States troops in check and operate against the Indians with the limited number of men under my command. End quote.

While Baylor and his Empire building operation were flailing in desperation, Sibley’s Brigades were marching onwards in their effort to save the Confederacy in the Southwest.