NEW MEXICO LANDSAPE AND THE BATTLE OF GLORIETA PASS, THE GETTYSBURG OF THE WEST

The landscape, formed as a result of geological processes, often dictated the location of a battle during the War Between the States. The Battle of Glorieta Pass in late March of 1862 was no exception to this observation. Glorieta Pass located around the rim of Glorieta Mesa follows the outcrop of the Sangre de Cristo Formation a late Pennsylvanian early Permian arkosic sandstone and mudrock. This floodplain deposit formed on the flanks of the Pennsylvanian deposition in the area east of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The canyons on the flanks of the mesa formed as a result of later erosion which cut a narrow roadway from Pecos northwest to the Pass then southwest to Canoncito. Here Confederate forces under Major Pyron faced off against Union Major Chivington on March 26, 1862, in a draw in this southwest branch. Then on March 28, 1862, the Confederate forces under Lt. Col Scurry defeated Union forces under Col Slough in the northwest branch. Each side effectively used the landscape in the narrow valley including the ridges which became canon placements during the engagement. The Confederate victory in the narrow valley of the Sangre de Cristo formation was short lived as later that same day, Union forces under Chivington captured the Confederate Supply Wagons at Canoncito located around the rim at the southwest end of the valley which opened up onto an area located along the Picuris-Pecos fault system where Proterozoic rocks made up the backdrop.