Until the late 1850s, when gold was discovered in Russellville Gulch in present-day Douglas County and along Cherry Creek near where it joins with the Platte River, Colorado only had about 7,500 settlers. By 1859, an estimated 100,000 men had entered the gold fields. Because many of these men came from Georgia and other southern states, the area had a distinctive lean towards southern sympathies.
On April 12, Confederate forces fired on Ft. Sumter. The U.S. government’s focus shifted to calling up troop in the east, and the needs of Colorado was forgotten. Concerned that the Confederacy would try to conquer the territory for its vast mineral deposits as well as its strategic location, Gilpin began organizing the Territorial military that summer. Morton C. Fisher, his newly appointed Purchasing Agent, was immediately sent out to buy and collect all the arms he could, both supply the new troops and to keep those arms out of the hands of Southern sympathizers. Not having the money to organize and equip the men, Gilpin issued $375,000 worth of drafts, known as Gilpin Scrip, directly upon the United States Secretary of the Treasury. These drafts were used as money in the Territory and were passed along to Washington, who honored payment for some of the script at a value considerably below face value. A year later, this illegal action would cost him his position as Territorial Governor, and he was forced to resign the next year.
On February 14, 1862 orders arrived that asked that all available forces that Colorado could spare be sent south to aid Colonel Canby, the commander of the Department of War in New Mexico. On February 22, the main body of the First Colorado Regiment, including Captain Cook’s Co. F, set out amid intense snow storms. They arrived at Fort Union on March 10th and were joined the next day by Ford’s Company. Slough would march most of these men south, where they participated in the Battle of Glorieta before joining forces with Canby to shepherd the retreating Confederates back to their own territory, ensuring that both New Mexico and Colorado Territories would remain in Union hands.