The Skirmish in Doubtful Canyon took place on May 3, 1864, between a company of infantry from 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, ...

and a band of about 100 Apaches. The fighting occurred near Steins Peak in

Doubtful Canyon Doubtful Canyon was the name of two canyons in the Peloncillo Mountains, once considered in the 19th century as one canyon that served as the pass through those mountains. Today the canyon bearing the name Doubtful Canyon, is mostly in Cochis ...

, Arizona Territory. Doubtful Canyon, along with

Apache Pass Apache Pass, also known by its earlier Spanish name Puerto del Dado ("Pass of the Die"), is a historic mountain pass in the U.S. state of Arizona between the Dos Cabezas Mountains and Chiricahua Mountains at an elevation of . It is approximate ...

and

Cookes Canyon Cookes is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Thomas Cookes (MP) (1804–1900), British politician *Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (bap. 1648–1701), English philanthropist *Cookes baronets See also * Cooks (surname) *Cooke Co ...

, was a favored location for an ambush by the Apache along the

Butterfield Overland Mail Butterfield Overland Mail (officially the Overland Mail Company)Waterman L. Ormsby, edited by Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, "The Butterfield Overland Mail", The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, 1991. was a stagecoach service i ...

route. The Californians were on the march from

Fort Cummings Fort Cummings is a former U. S. Army post located near Cooke's Springs, in Luna County, New Mexico. It is located 20 miles northeast of Deming, New Mexico. Cooke's Spring Cooke's Spring () was named for Philip St. George Cooke 2nd U.S. Dragoo ...

Fort Bowie Fort Bowie was a 19th-century outpost of the United States Army located in southeastern Arizona near the present day town of Willcox, Arizona. The remaining buildings and site are now protected as Fort Bowie National Historic Site. Fort Bowi ...

in the military

District of Arizona District of Arizona was a subordinate district of the Department of New Mexico territory created on August 30, 1862 and transferred to the Department of the Pacific in March 1865. District of Arizona (Dept. of New Mexico) commanders Headquarter ...

, when they were attacked in the canyon.Michno, pg. 137 The band of Apaches were defeated by 54 men of Company I, 5th California Volunteer Infantry Regiment under Lieutenant Henry H. Stevens. The skirmish lasted about an hour until the Apache fled. The Apache lost 10 killed and 20 wounded. The Californians lost 1 missing and 5 wounded according to official records. The war of the rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies. ; Series 1 – Volume 34 (Part I), p. 909
/ref> Michno claims the battle lasted almost two hours and that the Californians suffered 6 wounded (1 mortally), and 1 missing, presumed killed.

References

* Conflicts in 1864 Battles of the California Column of the American Civil War Union victories of the American Civil War Battles involving the Apache Battles involving the United States History of Hidalgo County, New Mexico History of United States expansionism 19th-century military history of the United States Battles of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War Apache Wars Battles of the American Civil War in Arizona May 1864 events {{AmericanCivilWar-battle-stub