Download STATION THREE Civil War in Arizona Arizona`s Civil War story is a

STATION THREE
Civil War in Arizona
Arizona's Civil War story is a colorful one. Colonel John R. Baylor
of the Confederate States of America defeated Union troops in
Arizona and New Mexico in March 1861. Arizona became a
Confederate Territory when it was annexed by President Jefferson
Davis. Baylor was later named governor in January 1862. He set
up a territorial government for the Confederacy with its own
constitution. It was not until General Carelton and the California
Volunteers recaptured Tucson in June 1862 and drove out Confederate forces was
Arizona under Union control. Arizona became a territory under the Union flag
February 26 1863. The Battle of Picacho Pass, "the westernmost conflict of the Civil
War", was fought on April 15, 1862. It took place between Tucson and Phoenix near
Picacho Peak.
The Battle at Picacho Pass – Combat
Twelve Union cavalry troopers and one scout, commanded by Lieutenant James
Barrett of the 1st California Cavalry, were conducting a sweep of the Picacho Pass area,
looking for Confederates reported to be nearby, commanded by Sergeant Henry Holmes.
Barrett was under orders not to engage them, but to wait for the main column to come up.
However, their patrol surprised and captured three Confederate pickets. It failed to see
seven other Confederate soldiers before they opened fire. During the bloody skirmish that
followed, Barrett and two of his men were killed and three others wounded. Aside from
the mistake of not waiting for the main force under Captain William P. Calloway to
arrive, Barrett erred in ordering a cavalry charge on the Confederates, who had taken
cover in a thicket. The Union cavalrymen thus made easy targets. After a brisk
engagement that lasted about ninety minutes, the Confederates watched the California
cavalry retreat, then the rebels fell back to Tucson themselves, to finish their picket
mission by warning Tucson's garrison of the approaching Union army. Rebel
reinforcements failed to be sent to Tucson so the commanding Confederate officer,
Sherod Hunter and his garrison retreated without fighting, leaving the Union army to
occupy the desert town.
The remains of the two Union privates buried at Picacho were later removed to the
Presidio in San Francisco, California, but Lieutenant Barrett's grave, near the present
railroad tracks, remains unmarked and undisturbed. Union reports indicate two
Confederates may have been wounded, but there is no confirmation of this.[1]
The Confederate participants reported the engagement to Capt. Sherrod Hunter,
commander at Tucson, who in his official report made no mention of any Confederate
casualties aside from the three men captured.