Affair, Picacho Pass

On April 15, 1862, Union and Confederate forces clashed near Picacho Peak in an encounter that would come to be called the Battle at Picacho, or alternatively the Battle of Picacho Peak. The fighting unfolded some 50 miles (80 km) to the northwest of Tucson, Arizona. On one side stood a California cavalry patrol serving the Union; on the other, a small group of Confederate pickets stationed out of Tucson. This clash holds the distinction of being the farthest west that Civil War combat with fatalities took place, though it should be noted that another skirmish, the Battle of Stanwix Station, occurred 40 miles beyond this site and roughly 80 miles from California's border, heading toward Fort Yuma.

Background

On February 28, 1862, roughly 120 Confederate cavalrymen rode into Tucson from Texas and declared the town the capital of the Confederate Arizona Territory's western district, a region covering present day southern Arizona and southern New Mexico. The eastern district's capital and seat of government fell to Mesilla, located near Las Cruces. Tucson's Unionist residents suffered for their loyalties: their property was seized, and they found themselves either jailed or forced to leave. The Confederates banked on drawing sympathizers from southern California to their cause, hoping such support would hand them access to the Pacific. That hope never materialized. Determined to stop any such outcome, Union supporters in California backed the formation of a 2,000 strong volunteer force, the California Column, under Colonel James Henry Carleton. This unit marched eastward to Fort Yuma, California, and by May 1862 succeeded in pushing the outnumbered Confederate troops back across the border into Texas.

As with most Civil War fighting that took place in Arizona, including the actions at Dragoon Springs, Stanwix Station, and Apache Pass, the engagement at Picacho Pass unfolded close to a relay station on the old Butterfield Overland Stagecoach line, a route that began operation in 1859 and shut down once war broke out. The fighting itself took place about a mile to the northwest of the Picacho Pass Station.

Battle

A patrol of twelve Union cavalrymen plus a single guide, popularly identified as the mountain man Pauline Weaver though actually John W. Jones of Arizona City (present day Yuma, AZ), rode out under Lieutenant James Barrett of the 1st California Cavalry to scout the ground around Picacho Peak, where Confederate forces were believed to be lurking. Those Arizona Confederates answered to Sergeant Henry Holmes. Barrett's instructions were clear: avoid combat and hold position until the larger Union column caught up. Instead, acting entirely on his own initiative, he stumbled upon the rebels and, by all accounts, could have taken them prisoner without a single shot fired had he handled the situation with more care.

What happened instead unfolded in the early afternoon. Barrett pushed his troopers into a dense thicket in single file, still mounted. A volley from the hidden Confederates immediately unhorsed four men, and the rebels then pulled back deeper into the brush, buying themselves time to reload. Undeterred, Barrett pressed forward, urging his men onward. Three of the Confederates gave themselves up. Just after Barrett had taken custody of one prisoner and swung back into the saddle, a bullet caught him in the neck and killed him instantly.

Chaotic combat dragged on for an hour and a half through the mesquite and dry washes, claiming two additional Union lives and leaving three more men wounded. Worn down and stripped of leadership, the California troopers withdrew from the engagement. The surviving Arizona Rangers, all but the three who had surrendered, rode hard for Tucson to alert the town that a Union force was closing in. Barrett had paid for his refusal to follow orders with his own life, and with him died any hope of catching Tucson by surprise.

The Union column fell back to the Pima Indian Villages, where soldiers quickly threw up a small fort at White's Mill and named it after the fallen lieutenant while they regrouped for a renewed push. Since no reinforcements were

Re-enactment

Each year in March, Picacho Peak State Park stages a reenactment commemorating the Civil War fighting that took place across Arizona and New Mexico, with particular focus on the clash at Picacho Pass. Over time these events have swelled well beyond their historical scale, drawing far more participants than the original fighting ever involved, and now feature infantry and artillery alongside mounted troops. On March 22 and 23, 2015, organizers expanded the program further by staging depictions of the Battle of Valverde and the Battle of Glorieta Pass, two engagements fought not far away in New Mexico. Both the location of the skirmish and what remains of the Butterfield station have earned recognition on the National Register of Historic Places.

Aftermath

Prior to this clash, a patrol of Confederate cavalry had pushed westward all the way to Stanwix Station, setting fire to hay stockpiled there, and while doing so came under attack from a California Column detachment. Setting these hay stores ablaze at the various stage stations was a tactic meant to slow the pace of the Union march from California. Around this same period, Confederate forces attempting a push north from Santa Fe, New Mexico met defeat at Glorieta Pass, a considerably larger fight than the one at Picacho Peak. Texas became the destination for retreating Confederate troops by July, although scattered militia loyal to their cause kept fighting in certain regions into 1863. A year later, Union authorities created a separate Arizona territory, splitting New Mexico along what remains the boundary between the two states today, with authority pushing south from Prescott, then serving as the temporary seat of government. Though hardly a major clash within the broader war, the fight at Picacho Pass has sometimes been described as marking the farthest reach of Confederate power in the West.