Skirmish at Stanwix Station

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The battle at Stanwix Station was a conflict in the course of the Civil War between the Union and the Confederates and took place on March 29, 1862.

place

The Stanwix station was a stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail route in western Arizona . It was built near the Gila River in the late 1850s . Originally the station was called Flap Jack Ranch , later Grinell's Ranch or Grinell's Station . In 1862 the station was part of the California Column itinerary . Stanwix Station was the westernmost location that was fought during the Civil War.

Skirmish

Capt. William P. Calloway and his 272 California Column pioneers discovered a Confederate force trying to light hay that was being held at Stanwix Station for the California Column animals. An exchange of fire ensued, in which the Confederates lost. They retired to Tucson , then the Confederate capital of Arizona. Before the Confederates evacuated Tucson, they destroyed and disposed of all supplies that were stored there for the California Column.

meaning

The significance of the event is, on the one hand, that the burning hay (hay burned not only at Stanwix Station, but also at five other stations along the Gila River) significantly delayed the advance of the California Column to Tucson and Mesilla . On the other hand, it is also because the delay caused Sherod Hunter, a Confederate commander in Tucson, to be warned of the approaching enemy in good time. Hunter brought his troops to strategically favorable positions, which among other things led to the battle at the Picacho Pass. The fight there differed from that at Stanwix Station in that there were more dead and wounded.

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Coordinates: 32 ° 56 '0.7 "  N , 113 ° 23' 33.2"  W.