Battle of Glorieta Pass

Texans march through New Mexico Territory attempting to claim the southwest for the Confederacy. Union troops from Colorado engage them in battle between Santa Fe and Albuquerque enlisting a few poorly trained New Mexican soldiers. The Battle at Glorieta Pass proves a turning point in the war in the southwest as Union troops defeat the Confederate soldiers by burning their supply wagons forcing them to return to Texas.

Or something like that. This weekend there was a re-enactment of the battle held at Rancho Las Golondrinas, a living history museum near Santa Fe. The New Mexicans were represented by about 5 guys dressed in Mexican peasant garb (see photo of one captured by Confederate soldiers). They spoke Spanish and broken English during the skirmishes. The Union soldiers outnumbered the Confederate soldiers and were much more organized, but then the Confederate soldiers were the ones with the horses. Apparently neither army was particularly popular among the native New Mexicans during the Civil War. As an easterner, I never knew there were Civil War battles this far west. One person said it was because the Confederacy wanted the gold recently discovered in Colorado.

Las Golondrinas was quite impressive. There are historic buildings of several eras including 2 working water mills for grain and a simple molasses mill. People were on hand to demonstrate various crafts such as weaving, iron work, and bread baking in adobe ovens. They were quite entertaining with good analogies or contrasts with present day technology. The woman in the kitchen described grinding corn on a stone as "the aerobic upper body workout" for the women of the era. An acequia runs through the property watering small fields and an orchard. Sheep and goats are kept at the farm and probably other animals during the summer. The landscape is quite varied with small ponds, dry hills and enormous cottonwood trees.

On the way home we stopped to check out the "World Series of Trailer Roping". It turned out to be a team calf roping contest. We think the winner gets a horse trailer. It was a very local event with no stands for spectators, you just hang out by the rail or sit on the back of your pickup truck. It is not easy to rope a calf over the horns and back legs. Most teams failed but a few managed the impressive feat of coordination. There were some women in the competition so it wasn't completely a male dominated activity. The small food booth's menu was in Spanish mostly, but the announcer spoke in English.