The Second Battle of Mesilla was an unusual engagement of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. It was fought on July 1, 1862, and was the last engagement between

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and

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forces in the

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of ...

. A skirmish outside of Confederate Arizona's capital of Mesilla between a confederate party and local pro-

New Mexican guerrillas resisting the Confederate foraging expedition, resulted in a United States victory. Various accounts report from seven to twelve Confederates killed, including their commander Capt. Cleaver of the 7th Texas Infantry and as many as 40 of the local guerrillas.Kiser p. 188 The arrival of the advance party of the

California Column The California Column was a force of Union volunteers sent to Arizona and New Mexico during the American Civil War. The command marched over from California through Arizona and New Mexico Territory to the Rio Grande and as far east as El Paso, ...

on the west bank of the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

on July 4, 1862, prompted the rebel army to begin withdrawal to

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and then

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

three days later, covered by Herbert's Battalion of Arizona Cavalry acting as rearguard.

References

* Martin Hardwick Hall, ''The Confederate Army of New Mexico'', Austin, Texas: Presidial Press, 1978, pp. 363 * L. Boyd Finch, ''Confederate Pathway to the Pacific: Major Sherod Hunter and Arizona Territory, C.S.A.'', Tucson, Arizona: Arizona Historical Society, 1996, pp. 164–66 * William S. Kiser,''Turmoil on the Rio Grande: History of the Mesilla Valley, 1846–1865'', Texas A&M University Press, 2011, pp. 187–88

External links

''The Confederate Arizona Campaign of 1862''
Col. Sherrod Hunter Camp 1525, SCV, Phoenix, Arizona. 19th-century military history of the United States History of Doña Ana County, New Mexico Battles of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War Battles and conflicts without fatalities Butterfield Overland Mail Battles of the American Civil War in Arizona Battles of the American Civil War in New Mexico 1862 in New Mexico Territory July 1862 events {{AmericanCivilWar-battle-stub