Glory, Glory, Glorieta: The Gettysburg of the West - Hardcover

Scott, Robert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1555660983 ISBN 13: 9781555660987

Publisher: Johnson Books, 1992

Synopsis

The battle of Glorieta Pass took place in 1862 a few miles east of Santa Fe, New Mexico. It involved about 7500 Union and Confederate soldiers, and the campaign ended in a victory for the north. This obscure battle in the mountains of New Mexico was either the climax of an insignificant sideshow campaign, or it was, because of its implications, one of the most decisive battles of the Civil War. The author believes it was the latter. Like Gettysburg, which put an end to Robert E. Lee's invasion of the North, Glorieta Pass also stopped a significant invasion - the Confederate attempt to capture the Colorado Gold fields and ultimately the deep-water ports of the California coast.
The campaign in New Mexico is the story of hardship, endurance, and courage shown by soldiers and leaders of both sides, unsurpassed in any other Civil War campaign. A participant later wrote that his unit, the First Colorado Volunteers, would have been forgotten by history "had they not marched nearly a thousand miles and in one hard-fought battle and two brisk skirmishes driven from New Mexico all those lean and hungry Texans." Colonel Chivington, later of Sand Creek notoriety, the famous scout, Kit Carson, and the Texas Rangers with their anachronistic company of lancers are some of the colorful participants. The author narrates the campaign up to and following the battle as well as the fights at Peralta and Valverde and examines Glorieta in detail, including Chivington's famous end run that resulted in the destruction of the Confederate baggage train and ultimately in total victory for the Union.
Success could have put millions of dollars into the Confederate coffers and thwarted the Union naval blockade, with incalculable effects on the outcome of the Civil War. But the Confederate defeat was felt to be ignominous, and, perhaps partially as a result of a deliberate cover-up, the campaign was virtually ignored for decades after the war.
The author covers the political, economic, and military aspects of Confederate strategy and the personalities and the strengths and weaknesses of leaders on both sides, particularly of the two commanders, Confederate General Henry Hopkins Sibley and Union General Edward Canby. Descriptions of the fighting are based on the words of the participants, ranging from battlefield dispatches and letters home to memoirs published later.
Relying on such primary sources and on the latest scholarship, the author has written an exciting, colorful, and thought-provoking story of an important episode in Civil War and western history.

About this title

From Library Journal

Journalist Scott does a credible job of recounting the Civil War battle of Glorieta Pass in New Mexico Territory. The South's defeat, Scott maintains, ended its bid for California's gold and trading ports. He argues that since the inability to get supplies from European nations caused the Confederacy's ultimate defeat, Glorieta Pass may well have been the key battle of the war. Scott raises an interesting point, but he ignores the North's greater manpower and financial and industrial strength. While Glorieta Pass may be unjustly ignored by historians, the author overemphasizes its importance. Scott writes in a readable, matter-of-fact style, reflecting his journalism background. His bibliography is short but contains solid sources, several of them primary; the maps add little. Civil War buffs will find this book interesting, and researchers can use it as a springboard for further study. For comprehensive Civil War collections.
- Grant A. Fredericksen, Illinois Prairie Dist. P.L., Metamora
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Johnson Books
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 1555660983
• ISBN 13: 9781555660987
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 246