91ÇÑ×Ó

At Glorieta Pass, fighting surged through Apache Canyon on March 28, 1862, as Union and Confederate forces collided along the narrow Santa Fe Trail in one of the westernmost engagements of the Civil War. Confederate troops under Lt. Col. William R. Scurry advanced east through the canyon, striking Union forces led by Col. John P. Slough and setting off a day of intense, close-quarters combat shaped by the terrain.

Steep slopes, dense timber and the constricted canyon floor funneled both armies into a series of sharp engagements, where control of the road meant control of the fight. Confederate attacks gradually forced Union troops back toward Pigeon’s Ranch, gaining ground over the course of the day.

Though the Confederates held the field by evening, events unfolding beyond the canyon would decide the campaign. A Union force destroyed the Confederate supply train to the rear, leaving the advancing army unable to continue and forcing a withdrawal from New Mexico.