When the Civil War began, Army officers who had been born in southern states were faced with the question of where their loyalties lay. Of the 1,108 Regular Army officers serving as of 1 January 1861, 270 ultimately resigned to join the South. More than a dozen of those men were serving in the New Mexico Territories at the time.
Legally, army officers had the right to resign their commissions. All they had to do was submit a letter of resignation to the department commander, who forwarded it to the secretary of war for approval by the president. As soon as a letter of acceptance was returned, the officer was free from his obligations to the Union Army. Many men, however, did not wait for the letter, since mail to the territories could take weeks, and they were afraid that Commissions in the new Confederate Army would all be given out if they waited.
Enlisted men had no such chance of leaving the army. They had enlisted for a specified period of time and could not resign. His choice was to wait until his enlistment was up, or desert, a punishable crime if the deserter were apprehended. Because of these regulations, only 26 enlisted men and non-commissioned officers of the regular army are known to have legally left the army at the war’s beginning. By the end of the war, only a few hundred of the 15,135 enlisted men had left the ranks to join the Confederacy.
The high number of resignations in New Mexico Territory left the area in disarray and confusion. Adding to that was the transfer of several companies out of the territory, to fight in the east. Volunteer troops and local militias filled the ranks, but they did not have the experience of working together. Many of the men who left to join the Confederacy had served in New Mexico for long enough to have inspired loyalty in their troops, and that kind of dedication took time to develop. Here is a partial list with ten of the men who left their service in New Mexico to join the Confederacy:
Legally, army officers had the right to resign their commissions. All they had to do was submit a letter of resignation to the department commander, who forwarded it to the secretary of war for approval by the president. As soon as a letter of acceptance was returned, the officer was free from his obligations to the Union Army. Many men, however, did not wait for the letter, since mail to the territories could take weeks, and they were afraid that Commissions in the new Confederate Army would all be given out if they waited.
Enlisted men had no such chance of leaving the army. They had enlisted for a specified period of time and could not resign. His choice was to wait until his enlistment was up, or desert, a punishable crime if the deserter were apprehended. Because of these regulations, only 26 enlisted men and non-commissioned officers of the regular army are known to have legally left the army at the war’s beginning. By the end of the war, only a few hundred of the 15,135 enlisted men had left the ranks to join the Confederacy.
The high number of resignations in New Mexico Territory left the area in disarray and confusion. Adding to that was the transfer of several companies out of the territory, to fight in the east. Volunteer troops and local militias filled the ranks, but they did not have the experience of working together. Many of the men who left to join the Confederacy had served in New Mexico for long enough to have inspired loyalty in their troops, and that kind of dedication took time to develop. Here is a partial list with ten of the men who left their service in New Mexico to join the Confederacy:
Born in Winchester, Virginia in 1796, Thomas Turner Fauntleroy is the only man on this list who did not attend the United States Military Academy at Westpoint. Fauntleroy practiced law and served in the Virginia House of delegates before he commissioned a major of in the dragoons. He served in the Second Seminole War, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel during the Mexican–American War, where he saw action on the Rio Grande and in Mexico City. Now promoted to colonel, Fauntleroy campaigned against Utes in the Rocky Mountains and led expeditions against the Apaches in New Mexico Territory, accompanied by scout Kit Carson. By the beginning of the Civil War, Fauntleroy commanded the Department of New Mexico. Fauntleroy received a commission as brigadier general of the Provisional Army of Virginia. When the Provisional Army of Virginia was merged into the Confederate States Army a month later, Fauntleroy refused to accept a CSA commission, making him the only man on this list who did not serve in the Confederate Army. After he left the Union, the name of Fort Fauntleroy, in western New Mexico, changed to Fort Wingate.
Richard S. Ewell was born in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. and raised at an estate near Manassas known as "Stony Lonesome." He graduated from the United States Military Academy and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Dragoons, later being promoted to first lieutenant. Ewell served with Philip St. George Cooke and Stephen Watts Kearny on escort duty along the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails, and under Winfield Scott in the Mexican–American War, where he was promoted to captain. Ewell served in the New Mexico Territory for many years. When the war began, he was in charge of the garrison in Peralta, south of Albuquerque. Paddy Graydon, who served as a Union spy during the New Mexico Campaign, served under Ewell and may have developed some of his eccentric commanding skills because of Ewell. Ewell joined the Provisional Army of Virginia, where he became a colonel. Eventually he was promoted to brigadier general, then major general in the Confederate States Army.
John Pegram was born in Petersburg, Virginia in 1832. His class at the United States Military Academy included future generals J.E.B. Stuart, Stephen D. Lee and Oliver O. Howard. Pegram was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the dragoons and served at a variety of garrisons and outposts in the West before becoming an Assistant Instructor of Cavalry at West Point. He spent two years in Europe observing the Austro-Sardinian War before being assigned to duty in the New Mexico Territory. When the war began, Pegram resigned his lieutenant's commission and returned home, where he accepted a commission as a lieutenant colonel and was assigned command of the 20th Virginia Infantry. John Pegram became the first former U.S. Army officer to be captured while in Confederate service when he surrendered his entire regiment to the Federals during the Battle of Rich Mountain on July 11, 1861. He spent six months imprisoned in Fort Warren in Boston harbor. When he was released in a POW exchange, he was promoted to colonel and became the Chief Engineer of the army of General Pierre G. T. Beauregard. He was promoted to brigadier general. Pegram was killed in action during the Battle of Hatcher's Run.
George B. Crittenden was born in 1812 in Russellville, Kentucky. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1832 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 4th U.S. Infantry. He fought in the Black Hawk War of 1832, and resigned his commission and joined the Army of the Republic of Texas. In 1846 he rejoined the U.S. Army and fought with the Regiment of Mounted Rifles in the Mexican–American War, where he received a brevet promotion for gallantry. By 1856, he’d become lieutenant colonel and was stationed in New Mexico. Crittenden accepted a commission as colonel in the Confederate Army, was promoted to brigadier general and then major general, but after being arrested on charges of drunkenness he went back to being a colonel.
Laurence Simmons Baker was born in 1830 in Gates County, North Carolina. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and was breveted a second. He served for nine years in the U.S. Mounted Rifles, assigned to duty on the western frontier and rising to the rank of first lieutenant. He was serving in the 2nd Dragoons and stationed at Fort Union when the war broke out. He became the lieutenant colonel of the 1st North Carolina Cavalry Regiment, and was then promoted to colonel and then brigadier general.
Henry C. McNeill was a Second Lieutenant in the Second Dragoons, stationed at Fort Union when the Civil War began. Born in 1833, in Natchez, Mississippi and graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point. McNeill was commissioned as lieutenant colonel in the Fifth Texas Cavalry, which entered New Mexico as part of Sibley’s Army of New Mexico. He was later promoted to colonel.
Henry C. McNeill was a Second Lieutenant in the Second Dragoons, stationed at Fort Union when the Civil War began. Born in 1833, in Natchez, Mississippi and graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point. McNeill was commissioned as lieutenant colonel in the Fifth Texas Cavalry, which entered New Mexico as part of Sibley’s Army of New Mexico. He was later promoted to colonel.
“Fighting Joe” Joseph Wheeler got his nickname while fighting Indians the New Mexico Territory with the Regiment of Mounted Rifles. Born in Augusta, Georgia in 1836, he had attended the United States Military Academy at West Point and had been promoted to second lieutenant when the Civil War broke out. He became a first lieutenant in the Georgia state militia artillery and then was promoted to colonel, in command of the newly formed 19th Alabama Infantry Regiment. He later became a major general. He later served in the U.S. army again, in the Spanish American War and in the Philippines, and is one of the few Confederate officers buried in Arlington Cemetery.
Lucius Loomis Rich was born September 1831 in Liberty, Missouri. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the 5th Infantry Regiment. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant six years later. He was stationed in New Mexico with the Fifth Infantry when the Civil War began and he resigned his commission. He was given command as Colonel of the 1st Missouri Infantry, CSA, and died as a result of wounds received at the battle of Shiloh, April 6, 1862
James Longstreet was born in Edgefield District, South Carolina in 1821. He the United States Military Academy at West Point, Longstreet and was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant. He served in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War, then became an Army recruiter in Poughkeepsie, New York, served at Carlisle Barracks in Pennsylvania, and was Chief Commissary for the Department of Texas, responsible for acquiring and distributing food to the department's soldiers and animals. Longstreet served on frontier duty in Texas at Fort Martin Scott near Fredericksburg, then was transferred to Fort Bliss in El Paso. After that, he became major and paymaster for the 8th Infantry in Leavenworth, Kansas. Longstreet was in Albuquerque, New Mexico, serving as paymaster for the department when the Civil War broke out. He resigned his commission and accepted a commission as a lieutenant colonel in the Confederate States Army. Within a month he had become a brigadier general.
James Longstreet was born in Edgefield District, South Carolina in 1821. He the United States Military Academy at West Point, Longstreet and was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant. He served in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War, then became an Army recruiter in Poughkeepsie, New York, served at Carlisle Barracks in Pennsylvania, and was Chief Commissary for the Department of Texas, responsible for acquiring and distributing food to the department's soldiers and animals. Longstreet served on frontier duty in Texas at Fort Martin Scott near Fredericksburg, then was transferred to Fort Bliss in El Paso. After that, he became major and paymaster for the 8th Infantry in Leavenworth, Kansas. Longstreet was in Albuquerque, New Mexico, serving as paymaster for the department when the Civil War broke out. He resigned his commission and accepted a commission as a lieutenant colonel in the Confederate States Army. Within a month he had become a brigadier general.
Dabney Herndon Maury had been born in Fredericksburg, Virginia in 1822. He studied law and graduated from the University of Virginia in the class of 1841 and then finished his studies at Westpoint, the United States Military Academy. In 1846 he was brevetted as a second lieutenant in the Regiment of Mounted Rifles, in which he served during the Mexican–American War. After that, he taught at West Point, then in the Oregon Territory and on the Texas frontier before commanding the Cavalry School at the Carlisle Barracks. When the Civil War broke out, Maury was the Assistant Adjutant General in the New Mexico Territory, based in Santa Fe. He resigned from the United States Army and travelled back to Virginia, where he entered the Confederate Army as a colonel. After the Battle of Pea Ridge, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.
Two men not included on this list, since I have written about them before, are H. H. Sibley and William Loring, both of whom were also West Point grads who went on to become generals in the Confederate Army.
New Mexico was just a territory at the time of the Civil War, but it held a large number of soldiers because of the Apaches, Navajos and Comanches that threatened settlements and travel on the Santa Fe trail. Many of these men had served primarily on raids against the Indians. Most had gone to West Point. The older men had served in the Mexican American War. When they resigned, they left a power vacuum that was filled by Richard Canby, a capable administrator but cautious battle leader, who looked to native New Mexicans and Coloradans to fill the void.
Jennifer Bohnhoff is a former educator who has published a trilogy of historical fiction novels set in New Mexico during the Civil War. Rebels Along the Rio Grande is written for middle grade readers, but enjoyed by adults as a quick and informative introduction to a period that is largely unknown by the reading public.
