The Battle of Placito or Battle of the Placito was an engagement between ethnic Mexican settlers,
Confederate soldiers and
Apache
The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...
warriors. It took place at the village of Placitas (present-day
Lincoln) in
Confederate Arizona
Arizona Territory, Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as Confederate Arizona, was an Constitution of the Confederate States, organized incorporated territory of the Confederate States that existed from August 1, 1861 to May 26, 1865, wh ...
. The action is a part of the
Apache Wars
The Apache Wars were a series of armed conflicts between the United States Army and various Apache tribal confederations fought in the southwest between 1849 and 1886, though minor hostilities continued until as late as 1924. After the Mexic ...
of the mid to late nineteenth century.
Background
Following the
Gallinas massacre, Lieutenant
John Pulliam of the Confederate garrison at
Fort Stanton returned from his patrol in the
Gallinas Mountains
The Cibola National Forest (pronounced SEE-bo-lah) is a 1,633,783 acre (6,611.7 km2) United States National Forest in New Mexico, USA. The name Cibola is thought to be the original Zuni people, Zuni Indian name for their pueblos or tribal lands. ...
where he had searched for the three dead soldiers, massacred a week earlier. He arrived at Fort Stanton on September 8, 1861. That same evening, a dispatch arrived from the Placito, a Spanish-era settlement occupied by Mexican settlers. The dispatch detailed a current Apache assault on the town, ten miles below the fort. Pulliam was ordered to proceed to the village with fifteen men to help protect its citizens.
Battle
Pulliam and his 15 men arrived at Placito that night. The Confederates and an unknown number of Mexican men drove the Apaches out of town and then fought off the Apaches all night at a further range. Eventually, the natives gave up and retreated back into the surrounding desert. Casualties are unknown, except for the Apaches who suffered at least five men killed by Pulliam's squad. An unknown number of Apache wounded escaped the fighting. Pulliam and his men arrived back at Fort Stanton the following afternoon.
See also
*
New Mexico campaign
References
* Thompson, Jerry Don, ''Colonel John Robert Baylor: Texas Indian Fighter and Confederate Soldier.'' Hillsboro, Texas: Hill Junior College Press, 1971.
* Katheder, Thomas, ''The Baylors of Newmarket: The Decline and Fall of a Virginia Planter Family.'' New York and Bloomington, Ind., 2009.
*
External links
Friends of Fort Stanton historical page
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20100917043713/http://aerc.org/Photo_Gallery/FS2005/cave/Fort_Stanton_Cave.html AERC.org: Fort Stanton Cave(slideshow)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Placito, Battle of
1861 in the United States
Confederate occupation of New Mexico
Battles of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War
Confederate victories of the American Civil War
History of Lincoln County, New Mexico
Battles of the American Civil War in New Mexico
Battles involving the Apache
Native American history of New Mexico
Apache Wars
September 1861 events