The Battle of Glorieta Pass marked the most momentous battle in the Southwestern theater of the Civil War, and it was fought only miles from Santa Fe.

Just a year into the Civil War, the lack of resources that would ultimately be a partial cause of the Confederacy's defeat had not yet become crippling. Optimistic that they could exact some wealth from areas with fewer Union forces, the Confederates hatched a plan. Under President Jefferson Davis, the Confederacy had set its sights on the left coast. If it could take control of the Santa Fe Trail, the Confederates could move west and north toward gold in California and Colorado. But first the Confederates had to capture Fort Union to clear the path.

The Confederates began their march at the opening of 1862. A group of Texas volunteers led by Gen. Henry Sibley progressed up the Rio Grande, beating Edward Canby's Union soldiers at the Battle of Valverde before taking Albuquerque.

Sibley's men rolled through Santa Fe that March and prepared to advance into the Sangre de Cristo Mountains toward Fort Union. Leading some 300 men, Maj. Charles Pyron camped at Apache Canyon. From there, they could push though Glorieta Pass and on to Colorado.

John Chivington's Union forces, however, beat Pyron to the punch. On March 26, Chivington attacked with some 400 Union soldiers. At first, Chivington's troops were repulsed, but flanking the Confederates, Chivington's men managed to push back the Confederate line.

Fighting resumed March 28 after each side took time to be reinforced. The Confederates swelled their ranks to more than 1,000 men, while the Union now had a force of more than 1,300. The Union command opted to split its party, sending some into the pass and others to flank the Confederates.

In Glorieta Pass, the Confederates under Col. William P. Scurry held strong, forcing the Union back and securing control over the pass. After forcing the Union into several retreats, Scurry's men took a major tactical advantage by gaining control of a ridge overlooking Union forces. Sharpshooters forced the Union back, and a Confederate offensive soon broke the Union line. Scurry's men had taken the Glorieta Pass.

Unfortunately for Scurry, the flanking Union soldiers had managed to take the Confederate supply train, effectively isolating Scurry's men and making their advance impossible. No longer able to sustain their progress, the Confederates were forced to retreat. Scurry reported that his men, deprived of their supplies, were so destitute that they slept the night after the battle without blankets.

Sibley's men returned along the Rio Grande to Texas. The Union gave chase, forcing the Confederates to return control of Albuquerque to the Union. Never again would the Confederacy or Texas volunteers present a serious threat to New Mexico or the heart of the Southwest.

The defeat doomed the Confederate's campaign in the Southwest, making an overland route to the Pacific highly unlikely. Perhaps gold from the Western mines might have changed the course of the war for the Confederacy, but it was unable to access the great wealth of California and Colorado.

In New Mexico, the aftermath of Glorieta Pass restructured the Union Army and much of the Territory as consequence. After leading 2,000 volunteers from California to New Mexico, Gen. James H. Carleton relieved Canby and assumed command of the Military Department of New Mexico. An experienced desert fighter, Carleton changed the face of war against Native Americans and ultimately instituted the disastrous "Long Walk of the Navajos."

Jason Strykowski is a doctoral student at The University of New Mexico.