March 28, 1862---The Battle of Glorieta Pass: Day Three

MARCH 28, 1862:     

The Battle of Glorieta Pass, New Mexico Territory (Day Three):  

Both sides attacked each other from opposite sides of the Pass, and the fighting flowed back and forth all day. The Union withdrew at dusk. Although the Confederates claimed victory, the Blues had destroyed all their supplies, ammunition, and pack animals, causing the Grays to return to Santa Fe. 

Union and Confederate casualties were about equal---fifty killed each and 80 wounded each, with the only disparity coming in missing men, which equaled ten Union men and about 100 Confederates. 

Although Glorieta Pass is sometimes called “The Gettysburg of the West” the name is more dramatic than accurate. Nevertheless, the Union victory broke the back of the slow-moving Confederate offensive that had taken Santa Fe and Albuquerque. The victory put to an end the idea of Confederate expansion in the Southwest, derailed Confederate plans to attack the Colorado Territory and southern California, and ultimately forced the Confederacy to give up its hold on the sparsely-settled area as the Confederate garrisons could not be resupplied.

Confederate troops eventually pulled back into Texas, leaving some staunchly pro-Confederate civilians to become irregulars and ultimately, after the war, outlaws.