C.W.S.W.
Civil War South West
ARIZONA

May 31, 2009 - June 19, 2009

While campaigning in the Southwest, Your Correspondent discovered that this area of the country played a crucial part in the Civil War. In fact, the Battle of Picacho Pass, the westernmost point of hostilities during the Civil War took place just north of Tucson, Arizona. A little known historical fact (to Easterners) is that Confederate President Jefferson Davis was determined to wrest the New Mexico and Arizona Territories from the Union and clear a path to Southern California. From Fort Bliss, Texas (modern El Paso) the Confederate Army launched an invasion of the Southwest that resulted in the occupation of cities such as Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and even Tucson. Few easterners are aware of this theater of the War and how the Southwest nearly wound up as part of the Confederacy. Annual reenactments are held on the actual battlefield of Picacho Pass in March and given this totally alien & hostile environment compared to our region... the rattlesnakes, scorpions, and Cacti, we should all tip our forage caps & slouch hats to those that commemorate this battle.