Bloody Valverde: A Civil War Battle on the Rio Grande, February 21, 1862

Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, Civil War Period (1850-1877)
Cover of the book Bloody Valverde: A Civil War Battle on the Rio Grande, February 21, 1862 by John Taylor, University of New Mexico Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: John Taylor ISBN: 9780826330017
Publisher: University of New Mexico Press Publication: March 1, 1999
Imprint: University of New Mexico Press Language: English
Author: John Taylor
ISBN: 9780826330017
Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
Publication: March 1, 1999
Imprint: University of New Mexico Press
Language: English

When Jefferson Davis commissioned Henry H. Sibley a brigadier general in the Confederate army in the summer of 1861, he gave him a daring mission: to capture the gold fields of Colorado and California for the South. Their grand scheme, premised on crushing the Union forces in New Mexico and then moving unimpeded north and west, began to unravel along the sandy banks of the Rio Grande late in the winter of 1862. At Valverde ford, in a day-long battle between about 2,600 Texan Confederates and some 3,800 Union troops stationed at Fort Craig, the Confederates barely prevailed. However, the cost exacted in men and matériel doomed them as they moved into northern New Mexico.

Carefully reconstructed in this book is the first full account of what happened on both sides of the line before, during, and after the battle. On the Confederate side, a drunken Sibley turned over command to Colonel Tom Green early in the afternoon. Battlefield maneuvers included a disastrous lancer charge by cavalry--the only one during the entire Civil War. The Union army, under the cautious Colonel Edward R. S. Canby, fielded a superior number of troops, the majority of whom were Hispanic New Mexican volunteers.

"The definitive study of the Battle of Valverde."--Jerry Thompson, author of Henry Hopkins Sibley

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

When Jefferson Davis commissioned Henry H. Sibley a brigadier general in the Confederate army in the summer of 1861, he gave him a daring mission: to capture the gold fields of Colorado and California for the South. Their grand scheme, premised on crushing the Union forces in New Mexico and then moving unimpeded north and west, began to unravel along the sandy banks of the Rio Grande late in the winter of 1862. At Valverde ford, in a day-long battle between about 2,600 Texan Confederates and some 3,800 Union troops stationed at Fort Craig, the Confederates barely prevailed. However, the cost exacted in men and matériel doomed them as they moved into northern New Mexico.

Carefully reconstructed in this book is the first full account of what happened on both sides of the line before, during, and after the battle. On the Confederate side, a drunken Sibley turned over command to Colonel Tom Green early in the afternoon. Battlefield maneuvers included a disastrous lancer charge by cavalry--the only one during the entire Civil War. The Union army, under the cautious Colonel Edward R. S. Canby, fielded a superior number of troops, the majority of whom were Hispanic New Mexican volunteers.

"The definitive study of the Battle of Valverde."--Jerry Thompson, author of Henry Hopkins Sibley

More books from University of New Mexico Press

Cover of the book Autobiography in Black and Brown by John Taylor
Cover of the book Oracles by John Taylor
Cover of the book Wildflowers of the Northern and Central Mountains of New Mexico by John Taylor
Cover of the book Long Night Moon by John Taylor
Cover of the book Sacred Smokes by John Taylor
Cover of the book The Tombstone Race by John Taylor
Cover of the book Old Yellowstone Days by John Taylor
Cover of the book Malintzin's Choices by John Taylor
Cover of the book Tengo Sed: A Novel by John Taylor
Cover of the book Manifestos and Polemics in Latin American Modern Art by John Taylor
Cover of the book The Arranged Marriage by John Taylor
Cover of the book Conjugal Bliss by John Taylor
Cover of the book Protecting Yellowstone by John Taylor
Cover of the book What are Global Warming and Climate Change? by John Taylor
Cover of the book The Robin Hood of El Dorado: The Saga of Joaquin Murrieta, Famous Outlaw of California's Age of Gold by John Taylor
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy