"Brig. Gen. Henry Hopkins Sibley and his brigade of over 2,500 men, consisting mostly of Texans, marched up the valley of the Rio Grande toward the territorial capital of Santa Fe and the Union storehouses at Fort Union. The Union Fort Craig sat in his path on the west side of the Rio Grande, garrisoned by 3,800 men under Col. Edward Canby. Rather than attack the fort head-on, Sibley instead opted to draw the garrison out and fight a pitched battle outside.
The following day, February 21, 1862, Sibley sent an advanced party of four companies of the 2nd Texas Mounted Rifles under Maj. Charles Pyron and the 4th Texas Mounted Volunteers under Lt. Col. William Read Scurry to scout ahead and cross Valverde Ford, six miles ahead of Fort Craig. Canby anticipated the Confederates and sent a force of infantry, cavalry and artillery under the command of Lt. Col. Benjamin S. Roberts, 5th New Mexico Infantry, to hold it.
By late morning both sides were engaged in desultory firing across the ford, and as reinforcements began to arrive the fight grew larger and the battle swayed back and forth. Many of the Texans were, however, not properly armed for long range combat, most with only shotguns and pistols. A few companies were armed with rifles and those men were deployed as skirmishers or acted as sharpshooters…"
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