A very little know battle

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cruces
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A very little know battle

Post by cruces »

Thanks to the great work from Michael Noirot

web site is here:http://thismightyscourge.com/2011/05/06 ... oto-essay/


The Battle of Picacho Pass was not a battle by Civil War standards. It was not even a heavy skirmish action. It could probably best be described as the Affair at Picacho Pass. It is most commonly known as being the western most engagement of the Civil War. Fought on April 15, 1862, between Phoenix and Tuscon, it pitted a Federal detachment of thirteen cavalry troopers, of the 1st California Cavalry, against ten Rebel cavalrymen. US Lieutenant James Barrett had been ordered to scout the Picacho Pass area by his commander, Captain William P. Calloway. He was ordered not to attack the Confederate troops rumored to be in the area of Picacho Peak. Riding southeast towards the peak, the Federal detachment captured three Confederate troopers under the command of CSA Sergeant Henry Holmes. Seeing his adversary in the thicket ahead of him, Barrett ordered a charge to capture or kill the remaining Rebels. It was during this charge that Barrett and two of his troops would be killed and three more wounded. The remaining Union force quickly retreated towards Phoenix. The Rebel soldiers returned to their camp at Tuscon and informed their commander, Captain Sherod Hunter, that the 1st California Volunteer Cavalry was marching toward their position. Hunter, with a total of 60 troops in his company, was severely outnumbered. He decided to retreat east to Texas in May 1862 leaving Arizona to the United States troops.

Mike’s Photo Essay on the Battle of Picacho Pass, Arizona
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