SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 26

50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2011

INTRODUCED BY

Phil A. Griego

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE NEW MEXICO CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO PASS A CONGRESSIONAL RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE TO ISSUE A COMMEMORATIVE STAMP HONORING THE SESQUICENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF GLORIETA PASS IN NEW MEXICO AND RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BATTLE OF GLORIETA PASS.

     WHEREAS, in January 1862, confederate general Henry Hopkins Sibley with a brigade of two thousand six hundred Texans invaded the territory of New Mexico with the intention of claiming the territory and the west for the confederacy; and

     WHEREAS, the volunteers of the Texas confederate forces were victorious in defeating the union forces at the battle of Valverde on February 21, 1862 and shortly afterwards, on February 25, 1862, they captured Socorro and on March 7, 1862, Albuquerque was captured; and

     WHEREAS, the confederate forces captured Santa Fe on March 10, 1862, the capital having been moved earlier by New Mexico territorial governor, Henry Connelly, to Las Vegas, New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, following these battlefield successes, the Texas confederate forces planned to conquer Fort Union and then march to Colorado to take over the mines located there; and

     WHEREAS, from there, the forces intended to form an alliance with the Mormons and together take over the gold fields of California, which would have provided much needed capital for the confederacy; and

     WHEREAS, the conquest of California would additionally provide two sorely needed ports, free of union blockades; and

     WHEREAS, the fulfillment of their plans would sever the western territories from the Union and strengthen the position of the confederacy; and

     WHEREAS, they next planned to take over the Mexican states of lower California, Sonora and Chihuahua, which had the potential to gain much needed recognition by foreign countries; and

     WHEREAS, the Texas confederate forces were met in a skirmish and fought two battles with the Union forces at Glorieta Pass on March 26 to 28, 1862; and

     WHEREAS, even though the confederate forces were victorious in these two battles, they were forced to abandon their dream of taking over Fort Union and conquering the west when their supply of sixty to eighty wagons, loaded with weapons, medical supplies, food and blankets, was burned and four hundred mules and horses were captured by a contingent of United States regular army forces from Fort Union and volunteers from Colorado and New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, after this tremendous loss, the confederate Texans had no other choice but to abandon General Sibley's dream and retreat back to Santa Fe, then Albuquerque and eventually out of New Mexico and back to Texas; and

     WHEREAS, this turning point in the confederate campaign in New Mexico, the "Battle of Glorieta Pass", is referred to by some historians as "The Gettysburg of the West"; and

     WHEREAS, although the loss of men killed, wounded or missing in the Civil War battles fought in New Mexico may seem insignificant compared to the carnage of the Civil War battles that were fought in the east and south, the importance and significance of this battle cannot be overstated, as the ultimate outcome helped hold the union together and assured its survival in what we now know as the United States of America;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the New Mexico congressional delegation be requested to introduce a congressional resolution requesting the United States postal service to issue a commemorative stamp honoring the sesquicentennial anniversary of the Battle of Glorieta Pass in New Mexico and recognizing the importance of the Battle of Glorieta Pass; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the president of the United States, the speaker of the United States house of representatives, the president of the United States senate, the members of the New Mexico congressional delegation, the secretary of the United States department of the interior and the nonprofit organization, the friends of the Pecos national historical park.

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