Louisa Hawkins Canby - Civil War Nurse Behind Enemy Lines

Civil War Nurse Behind Enemy Lines

When in January 1862 the newly minted Brig. Gen. Sibley led a Confederate brigade into New Mexico Territory and began marching up the Rio Grande toward Colorado, Colonel Canby (subsequently promoted to brigadier general in March of that year) was in charge of the defense of the entire territory, which included what is today the states of Arizona and New Mexico as well as the southern tip of Nevada. He assigned to himself the command of Fort Craig, which, at that point, was the southern-most fort in the Confederates' line of march that had not yet been captured. While her husband fought Sibley in the pitched Battle of Valverde, Louisa awaited the outcome of the campaign at Santa Fe, the territorial capital. On March 2, the Confederates captured Albuquerque and eight days later took Santa Fe. The Federal army and territorial government had evacuated the capital, burning or hiding any supplies they were unable to carry with them to Fort Union, which was northeast of Santa Fe.

Louisa, along with the wives and families of other Union officers chose to remain behind. They soon had misgivings, not for fear of the approaching rebel army so much as because the evacuation of territorial authorities had encouraged looters and other criminal elements. The Confederates who entered Santa Fe on March 10, 1862 were thus surprised to find a welcoming committee consisting of the wives of Union officers led by the wife of Colonel Canby. As expected, the Confederates established martial law and then conducted a mostly fruitlessly search for hidden supplies. On March 29, 1862 Confederate forces returned to Santa Fe from a Pyrrhic victory at Glorieta Pass. On their way to attack Fort Union, the Confederates had met a force made up predominantly of inexperienced Colorado volunteers. While the Confederates had won a technical victory, a unit of about 500 Coloradans had gone behind Confederate lines and destroyed more than 70 wagons loaded with Confederate food and gear. Without sufficient provisions to lay siege to Fort Union, the rebels had no alternative but to retreat.

It was late winter and snow still fell in the region. Without even enough blankets to keep their sick and wounded warm, the bedraggled Confederates who returned to Santa Fe must have made a pitiable sight. Louisa went to visit their wounded and was so moved by their suffering that she revealed hidden stores of blankets and turned her home into a field hospital; she personally led a hastily organized company of nurses to care for the sick and dying men and made trips to outlying encampments to bring her patients into Santa Fe or, failing that, to treat in situ those soldiers who could not be brought into the city. It was not until April 1 or 2 that General Sibley, who had been at Albuquerque most of this time, arrived at Santa Fe and personally met with Louisa. It is not known what transpired between them, but it can be presumed that he thanked her for caring for his men and reminisced about their earlier encounters when he and her husband had been on the same side.