I have lived in Tucson, Arizona before and very recently went back to visit family still living there. Having noticed the city on the edge of the game map I was curious what the involvement of the city really was during the Civil War. As it turns out the US Army removed most troops garrisoned in the region in order to bolster the eastern forces early in the war. The Confederacy shortly after claimed the region, with Tucson itself occupied in February of 1862. In response to this the Union sent the "California Column" (1400 troops under Brg General Carleton) towards Tucson. Hearing of this, the small Confederate garrison went northwest to intercept.
The result of this climaxed on April 15, 1862 when at Picacho Peak, roughly 50 miles NW of Tucson, an advance party of the 1st California Cavalry met with pickets of the Confederate garrison. The Johnnys had lad an ambush on the higher ground and the Billys split their cavalry force in an attempt to encircle the ambush. The result of this conflict?.....
One wing of the cavalry was fired upon by ambushing Rebs, wounding 2 men, the other cavalry wing then engaged the Rebs capturing 3 men. Emboldened by this small success the Union Lieutenant ordered a charge which came under heavy Rebel fire, wounding 1 and killing 3 Union troops, the Lieutenant among them. All were buried on the field.
The 2 sides exchanged insignificant fire afterwards until the Union cavalry withdrew NW to their main force and later the Confederates withdrew to Tucson which (due to logistical difficulties) was soon after abandoned by the Confederates prior to the arrival of the California Column. The engagement was about an hour and a half long.
I decided to visit the site on my trip to Tucson, inspired by a long felt appreciation for military history and a new found appreciation for our Civil War history, and by connection our country's history. I now have several ideas in mind for future battlefield visitations...time off work allowing
Here's a pic of the field, which occured largely in the pass of these hills, mostly below the base, of course. Thank you for the inspiration, AACW, and a cool detour from a sweet trip.
