Moments of Enchantment; 95; Pigeon Ranch – Battle at Glorieta Pass

Moments of Enchantment brought to you by the New Mexico Office of Cultural Affairs and 770 K-O-B Radio. On the road, just outside the village of Pecos, stand the Adobe Remains of Pigeon Ranch. Unmarked and unnoticed by passing motorists, it was the site of one of the most decisive battles of the Civil War in the West. At the outbreak of the Civil War, many American soldiers stationed in western outposts were southerners. As news of the war between the state spread, these southerners left the army to join the Confederate forces. Some joined the Confederate Texas Brigade under the command of General Sibley. In 1862, the Texas Brigade launched a mission from El Paso to capture Santa Fe, the military installations along the Rio Grande, the Supply Depot at Fort Union, and with luck, the gold fields of Colorado. The south had already learned that they would need gold to buy arms from Europe. Sibley's forces met little resistance until they neared Pecos.

There, at the Glorietta Pass on Pigeon's Ranch, they encountered the troops from New Mexico and Colorado. Though the Texas Brigade won the battle at Glorietta Pass, their supplies were cut off. They were forced to retreat to El Paso never to return. During the fighting at Glorietta, Pigeon's Ranch served as the headquarters and hospital of both the Northern and Southern armies. To learn more about Pigeon's Ranch and the battle at Glorietta Pass, visit the Historic Preservation Division of the Office of Cultural Affairs in Santa Fe. Moments of Enchantment brought to you by the New Mexico Office of Cultural Affairs. For Moments of Enchantment, I am David Griffith.