Background
Due to perceived neglect by the Federal government, Confederate sympathies were high in Tucson among the southern-born Anglo-American population. The Confederates proclaimed Tucson the capital of the western district of the Confederate Arizona Territory, which comprised what is now southern Arizona and southern New Mexico. Mesilla, near Las Cruces, was both the territorial capital and seat of the eastern district of the territory. Confederate dreams included influencing sympathizers in southern California to join them and give the Confederacy an outlet on the Pacific Ocean. The Federal government was anxious to prevent this, and Union volunteers from California, known as the California Column and led by Colonel James Henry Carleton, moved east to occupy Arizona, using Fort Yuma, California, as a base of operations.
Like most of the Civil War era engagements in Arizona (Dragoon Springs, Stanwix Station, and Apache Pass) Picacho Pass occurred near remount stations along the former Butterfield Overland Stagecoach route, which opened in 1859 and ceased operations when the war began. This skirmish occurred about one mile northwest of Pichaco Pass Station.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Picacho Pass
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