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North America » United States » New Mexico » Socorro
January 30th 2013
Published: January 30th 2013
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VALVERDE FORDVALVERDE FORDVALVERDE FORD

From Socorro go south on I-25 about 25 miles to the San Marcial exit. Turn right onto Hwy 178 and go about 3 miles southeast to the battlefield. There is nothing there. It is now part of a wildlife refuge.
VALVERDE FORD



Until the day he was murdered in peace talks by the Modoc chieftain, Captain Jack, General Edward R. S. Canby swore loudly and with deep conviction that the reason why he lost the Battle of Valverde Ford was because the damned Mexican soldiers would not fight. The Battle of Valverde Ford was fought on the Rio Grande River in New Mexico during the War Between the States. It was within an easy walk of Fort Craig. Canby was the commanding officer of the federal forces arrayed there in opposition to a Confederate Brigade from Texas commanded by Henry Hopkins Sibley. Canby and Sibley chewed the dirt of many battlefields together in mostly parallel careers going clear back to West Point. Sibley graduated from there in 1837 and Canby in 1838. Both of them served in the Second Seminole War, in the War with Mexico, on the plains of Texas, and during the occupation of Utah. Canby attained rank more quickly than Sibley did. Alcohol may have been a factor in a bit trouble that Sibley got into in Utah; he was quite fond of the bottle. Canby sat on the court martial board that
FORT CRAIGFORT CRAIGFORT CRAIG

From the battlefield return toward the Interstate but turn left onto Hwy 1 and follow the signs to Fort Craig. It is a National Historic Landmark administered by the Bureau of Land Manglement. The photo was taken atop the earthen bastion protecting the fort. in the foreground are ruins of the warehouses. The commanding officer's quarters are the light colored ruins in the middle grounds. The battlefield is to the left of the mesa in the background. When Sibley had been posted at Fort Craig the defensive bastions had not been built. They could not be successfully assaulted by Sibley's command. Mexican troops held the fort during the battle.
cleared him. When Sibley’s field tent and stove were adopted for use in the army Canby promoted him to major. On the day that promotion came through Sibley resigned from the army, went to Texas and joined the Confederacy. On February 21, 1862 the two old friends were adversaries at Valverde Ford and it may have had an impact on the outcome of the battle. The federal forces had an advantage of numbers and occupied better ground. They controlled access to the river, had more artillery, better guns, and more supplies. There is no reason at all, except for poor leadership that the federal army should not have easily won that battle; and they were doing so until Canby arrived on the field late in the day to take credit for defeating Sibley. The Confederates were on the verge of being driven from the field when Old Drunken Sibley got too plastered and turned over command to Col Green. Sibley did not want to be in command of a loss to Canby. When Canby finally arrived he changed the disposition of the troops and moved McRae’s Battery across the river to a much less defensible location. Green saw that weakness and exploited it with a desperate charge that drove elements of a Mexican regiment into the river and captured McRae’s Battery. Canby panicked and ordered a withdrawal back to Fort Craig just as Kit Carson was about to lead other Mexican troops to go get those guns back. All of the Mexican troops fought valiantly that day because they despised Texans with good reason. Those driven into the river had sustained heavier casualties than any other unit on the field. The Mexican troops led by Carson had crushed the Confederate left flank and were in possession of that part of the field. Yes. They could have recovered McRae’s Battery had Canby not ordered the withdrawal. The same Mexican troops that were driven into the river had earlier in the day captured a good part of the Confederate supply train including many of their mules and much of their ammunition. Sibley’s Brigade won the Battle of Valverde Ford, but they were greatly weakened by those Mexican troops. They were the First and Second Regiments of New Mexico Volunteers. Safely ensconced behind the bastions of Fort Craig some of Canby’s regular army officers began heatedly to call him a traitor. In the face of those allegations Canby chose to blame the damned Mexican soldiers. One of the regular officers killed that day was Captain George N. Bascom, the man who had brought Cochise to the warpath. Canby was transferred out of New Mexico along with the rest of the regular army and the new commander, Col Carleton, chose to use those Mexicans to defend the territory from Apache and Navajo depredation. They were damned good soldiers.

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8th January 2018

Colonel Canby
When Canby first came to New Mexico before the Civil War broke out he had a run in with the commanders of the New Mexican Militia over a Navajo prisoner the New Mexicans hung. Canby tried to take the young officer who did the deed into custody but the New Mexican's wouldn't allow it. Canby lost face over this and never forgot it. When the battle at Valverde Ford was lost due to Canby's battlefield maneuvering that left his left flank weakened and then overrun, Canby wouldn't accept the blame, laying it on the New Mexicans. Kit Carson commanded the First New Mexico Volunteers and although he was a good soldier and didn't argue with Canby, he knew what kind of man he was and privately was known to say so. Canby got his at the hands of the Modoc Indians in California while talking peace...
4th January 2019

What I find most interesting about Canby is his long record of service with Sibley. They go way back to West Point together although they were in different classes. After that they both served in the Seminole War, and then in the Mexican War, and then in Texas and New Mexico. Canby was an administrative soldier and knew how to get things done and attained higher rank. Sibley was a line soldier. Canby saw that Sibley was promoted to major after he designed the tent and stove, but Sibley resigned and joined the Confederacy. Next thing you know they were fighting one another at Valverde Ford.

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