Tanorori's Raid occurred when a force of about 350

Opata Opata may refer to: * Opata people, an ethnic group of Mexico * Opata language, their language * Aleš Opata, Czeck military officer * Zoltán Opata, Hungarian football player and manager See also

* {{Disambiguation ...

volunteers, under the command of Colonel

Refugio Tánori Refugio Tánori (1835-1866) was a Mexican soldier and a member of the Opata People. Early life He was born in the town of Álamos in 1835. Military career During the Reform War he fought on the side of the conservatives with the rank of ca ...

, attacked the ranching community of San Rafael,

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. The raid was an attempt to capture

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

Governor

Ignacio Pesqueira Ignacio Pesqueira García (1820–1886) was a 19th-century Mexican general and politician. He was the Governor of Sonora over six times, with two of the six terms being an insurgent governor during the Second French intervention in Mexico. Chi ...

Background

After the Disaster of La Pasión, Republicans lost favor throughout Sonora with large riots in support of the

Second Mexican Empire The Second Mexican Empire (; ), officially known as the Mexican Empire (), was a constitutional monarchy established in Mexico by Mexican monarchists with the support of the Second French Empire. This period is often referred to as the Second ...

across the state. The uprising was started by indigenous then the violence reached major cities. The main Republican leader in

took his men across the US-Mexico border and headed to

Fort Mason Fort Mason, in San Francisco, California is a former United States Army post located in the northern Marina District, alongside San Francisco Bay. Fort Mason served as an Army post for more than 100 years, initially as a coastal defense site a ...

. Pesquiera went to talk to Colonel Lewis to ask for refuge. "Colonel Lewis replied that he and his officers would do themselves the honor to wait on the Governor of Sonora, which accordingly they did, and offered the protection and hospitality of the post." - Sergeant Robarts, Company D,

1st California Cavalry Battalion The 1st Battalion of Native Cavalry, California Volunteers was a cavalry battalion in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Recruits were largely drawn from the Californio population (colloquially known as "Native Californians"), though i ...

. Pesquiera camped with his entourage outside of the fort before moving to

Calabasas Calabasas may refer to: * Calabasas, Arizona, former populated place in what is now Rio Rico, Arizona * Calabasas, California, city in Los Angeles County, California See also * Calabaza Calabaza is the generic name in the Spanish langua ...

. He then moved on to

Tubac Tubac is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,191 at the 2010 census. The place name "Tubac" is an English borrowing from a Hispanicized form of the O'odham name ''Cuwak'', which ...

where he could gather financial resources and recruits for a new army. Days after Pesquiera arrived, 15 members of the Cavalry Battalion deserted with 30 horses,

Colt Army Model 1860 The Colt Army Model 1860 is a cap & ball .44-caliber single-action revolver used during the American Civil War made by Colt's Manufacturing Company. It was used as a side arm by cavalry, infantry, artillery troops, and naval forces. History ...

pistols, and Sharps rifles. Others of the Battalion were sent to recover the deserters and stolen property. Soon they rode across the border into

Magdalena de Kino Magdalena de Kino () is a city, part of the surrounding municipality of the same name, located in the Mexican state of Sonora covering approximately 560 square miles (1,460 square kilometers). According to the 2005 census, the city's populatio ...

, starting the Magdalena Affair.''Sacramento Daily Union'',19 October 1865 After the Affair many locals of Sonora felt insulted that the Americans had invaded their land and for Pico's belligerent behavior. In response to the Americans actions in Magdalena, a buildup of

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and

Imperialist Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power ( diplomatic power and cultural imperialism). Imperialism fo ...

''San Francisco Bulletin'', October 23, 1865. troops begin near the border. Colonel Lewis established an outpost at an abandoned mine and sent a detachment of 24 men from Company D of the 1st California Cavalry Battalion, to patrol the border. Tanori's army was moving around the area.

The Raid

On the 24th of November Tanori's and 350 Opata Volunteers crossed the border and attacked the community of San Rafael, opening firing on some of the ranchers and wounding one. When Major Cremony learned of the attack, he ordered the

to find the raiders. Companies C and D were sent across the

Patagonia Mountains The Patagonia Mountains are a mountain range within the Coronado National Forest, and in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. Geography The Patagonia Mountains begin near the Mexico border east of Nogales, Arizona. Running north, they ...

and reached San Rafael early the next morning.''Wilmington Journal'', 30 December 1865 Finding the wounded American but no sign of Tanori's men, Cremony heard that Tanori's men left San Rafael after hearing of the Battalion's movements and were returning to Mexico. The two companies crossed the

United States-Mexico border United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

and entered the outskirts of the town of Santa Cruz,

. Once there, they learned Tanori's command had retreated even farther south back into

. The major ordered 1st Lt. Edmund W. Coddington of Company D and 10

Californios Californios (singular Californio) are Californians of Spaniards, Spanish descent, especially those descended from settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries before California was annexed by the United States. California's Spanish language in C ...

to move in advance of both companies and make contact with the Imperialists. They chased them but the Imperialist were always ahead. The prusuit went as far south as Imuris, where the Californios found that Tanori and his Volunteers had disappeared. After riding 40 miles the advance party returned to Santa Cruz.

Aftermath

After resting in Santa Cruz, the companies headed back to

, arriving on November 30. By the time of the raid many French regulars had largely pulled out of Sonora. Unknown to Tanori, Pesquiera and his allies had raised forces to fight Imperialist control in that state. Although the fighting in Mexico would continue, the Imperialists would never threaten

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona, commonly known as the 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 ...

References

{{Reflist Second French intervention in Mexico