Colorado in the Civil War

From Warriors of the Rebellion
(Redirected from Colorado)
Jump to navigationJump to search
Colorado was still a territory at the time of the War of the Rebellion. No county organizations existed at this time.

The Territory of Colorado was formally organized on February 28, 1861 from pieces of the existing Territories of Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Utah. It remained pro-Union throughout the war despite activities of Confederate agents and partisans. Colorado sent several infantry units (some later reorganized as cavalry units) and an Independent Artillery Battalion into northwestern Oklahoma Territory and New Mexico during the New Mexico Campaign. When the main threat from Confederate forces had diminished in 1862, Colorado troops were also used to counter activities of hostile Indian Nations living in the area, sparking a short sub-conflict known as The Colorado War. Throughout these conflicts and for many years after, several attempts at gaining statehood were thwarted by Confederate sympathizers and a presidential veto in 1865 by Andrew Johnson. Colorado was finally granted statehood on August 1, 1876 after much pressure on President Grant's administration against a reluctant Reconstruction-era Congress.

Antebellum Colorado

Several Spanish explorers scouted parts of Colorado, including Francisco Vázquez de Coronado in 1540 and the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition of 1776. These expeditions generally only reached into southern portions of the future state boundaries. Several small Mexican and American trading posts and mining camps were established in the years leading up to Colorado's territorial ambitions.

Colorado's parent territories in 1860, image credit to Wikipedia user Rcsprinter123

The discovery of gold in 1858 spurred a sudden influx of over 50,000 settlers in what later became known as the Pike's Peak or Colorado Gold Rush in far-west Kansas Territory. This population boom required a more local and responsive territorial government, as the official territorial Kansan government based in Topeka (and its pro-slavery counterpart in Lecompton) were embroiled in the bitter border struggles known as "Bleeding Kansas". Delegates from various gold field camps met in 1859 and established an unofficial "Territory of Jefferson" to encompass as much of the potential mining and agricultural area as possible. This territorial claim included the modern Eastern and Western borders of the state, but extended farther north into modern Wyoming and Nebraska and farther south into modern New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. When Congress approved Colorado's statehood in 1861, it approved the East-West boundaries of the unofficial territory but shortened the North-South boundaries in favor of the creation of Washington, the Dakotas, Wyoming, and the previously established borders of Oregon.

Population and Demographics

Several American Indian Nations were present in Colorado during the Civil War:

Several Nations also lived in territory that included very small portions of modern Colorado:

Many of the white settlers that came to Colorado in the 1850's were Southerners in search of new opportunity. At the outbreak of the war, many returned to the South to defend their homes. Those who stayed began to form militia groups in Fairplay, Leadville, Denver, and Mace's Hole (present-day Beulah).

Conflict

In Summary

This feature is not yet available. Check back soon for updates!

1861
  • No engagements or operations recorded during this year
1862
  • No engagements or operations recorded during this year
1863
1864
1865

Units from Colorado

Artillery
Cavalry
Infantry
  • 3rd Colorado Infantry - This unit was organized at Camp Weld and Denver between September 1862 and January 1863. It saw limited action in Colorado Territory before being consolidated with the 2nd Colorado Infantry to form the 2nd Colorado Cavalry in October 1863

Casualties from Colorado

This feature is not yet available. Check back soon for updates!

Recordkeeping in Colorado

Army Official Records Series

This feature is not yet available. Check back soon for updates!

Notes

  1. ↑ Unit is also listed as McLane's Independent Battery in multiple sources.

Sources

Retrieved from "https://warriorsoftherebellion.shoutwiki.com/w/index.php?title=Colorado_in_the_Civil_War&oldid=104148"