OFFICIAL BATTLE REPORT WRITTEN BY CAPTAIN JOHN H. MINKS
FIRST ACTION OF THE CIVIL WAR IN NEW MEXICO INVOLVING NATIVE NEW MEXICANS
September 29, 1861
"In pursuance of orders from the commanding officer at Fort Craig, I proceeded with my company about forty miles southward from Fort Craig to a town called Canada Alamosa, in order to establish a camp there, leaving behind only ten men as an escort for a train to Albuquerque and five sick in the hospital at Fort Craig. On my arrival at Canada Alamosa, I at once took the necessary steps to secure men and horses against a sudden attack, but I was not able to accomplish the work in one or two days as it ought to have been done, on account of my being occupied in purchasing forage and making many necessary preparations in my camp to enable me to keep out constantly several small scouting parties. The operations were also retarded on account of the unwillingness of some my men to use the spade and the pick ax.
Before I finished my corral and breastworks, September 25th, at about 5 P.M., I received information that mounted men had been seen in a southern direction from our camp. I immediately ordered six men already in the saddle to scout in the direction of Laguna in company with a (New) Mexican well acquainted with the topography of the country to start and bring more positive information. They returned and reported said men to be a scouting party from Captain Hubbell's Company in command of a certain Colisnara (Sisneros?) who had come over on the right bank of the river (Rio Grande) to pasture their horses. Well aware that this was only an excuse for having abandoned their post on the Jornada, my intention was to arrest the party the next morning and send them back to Captain Hubbell. At a later hour that evening a similar report was relayed of having seen mounted men, but, as I considered this already explained, I only cautioned my men not to leave camp, and to keep silence during the night, so that they could always hear my voice and be at all hours ready to repel a night attack. The teamsters, who were ready to start next day, were ordered to leave early at 3 A.M. for Fort Craig. I sat up writing until one or two o'clock A.M. before I retired…"
But he was up before daybreak. The men were figgidy and restless. Reports and counter-reports arrived by the hour of Confederates of occupying the settlement of Canada Alamosa. Long before breakfast he had men searching from house to house but they found no signs of the enemy.
"I thought that the enemy must have either evacuated the town," he continued in his report, "or it was a ruse to get us out. I did not deem it prudent to go any further. I went back to my camp where I found that the number of my men had again diminished. I ordered Lt. Sanchez to bring some of my men back if there was any possibility of doing so before daybreak, and called on volunteers to ride with me into town to drive out the enemy if they were only few in number, or to set fire to some of the small outside houses, from which the enemy could fire at us, and which, at all events would break the eternal darkness. Provided with matches and some dry wood, in company with Lt. Medina, Lt. Mennett, and a few others, we mounted and advanced toward the town, where to our great surprise, we had made a wrong calculation as to the strength of the enemy, and in ten minutes we were at the very spot where we started. At this hour of the morning the enemy took position at an elevated place to our right; near the road leading to Fort Craig, so that a retreat en masse would have been observed and provoked the enemy not only to pursue us, but also those of my company who had gone after their horses and men in less than an hour. At this time -nearly daybreak- I found my whole force reduced to ten men. Nothing else could be done but entertain the enemy and prevent the pursuit of the main body of my company. This was done by loud commands, as if the whole company were present, and an occasional firing of arms for more than an hour, with the loss of one teamster (John Morrin) who was wounded in the leg.
Seeing at last by the aid of my spy glass that the horsemen were more than sixty strong and preparing to charge us; that retreat was utterly impossible for the few still with me, and further resistance could only lead to useless butchering, I surrendered between seven and eight A.M. after having saved nearly all the men, horses and arms of my company, but bound to lose three wagons, twelve mules, a few horses, and about fifteen arms, carbines and pistols - besides all our camp equipage, one and a half boxes of cartridges, rations on had, and a small lot of old saddles and blankets, which were mostly all destroyed by the enemy. The enemy had one excellent horse killed and few others wounded. After my surrender, I found the enemy's forces consisted of Captain Coopwood's Spy Company, forty-five men strong; a detachment of Captain Pyron's Company - forty-five men strong, and twenty-four men detached from another company. The total proved one hundred and fourteen men. They say that some of my men were killed but I am not aware of this, although I took great pains to ascertain this fact before we left Alamosa. Peter Deus, of Las Cruces is taking care of the wounded Medina."
Colonel E. R. Canby who was in charge of Union forces sent a relief force consisting of Companies C, G and K of the Regiment of Mounted Riflemen in an effort to save Mink's command. Captain Hubbell's Company and the 2nd New Mexico Volunteers also joined in the contest. In the hour and a half fight that ensued, six men were wounded in Companies C and K of the Regiment of Mounted Riflemen with the Confederates losing 2 killed, 2 severely wounded and 6 slightly wounded. Mink's command was saved.