I did by-pass several other areas with ACW history, such as Shreveport, La. The city was the target of US General NP Banks during his Red River campaign of March-May 1864. CS General R Taylor at the Battle of Mansfield halted his advance and Banks’s retreat was further “encouraged” after the Battle of Pleasant Hill. I also followed the route taken by CS General HH Sibley for his New Mexico campaign of February-March 1862.

Sibley started in San Antonio and marched west to El Paso, and then north towards Santa Fe. The major action of this campaign was Battle of Glorieta Pass, east of Santa Fe in the Pecos National Historical Park. He later withdrew to Texas, leaving the Union forces to hold the territory for the remainder of the war. Unlike Sibley, I did not visit Santa Fe rather I drove to Albuquerque and headed west to Flagstaff, Az.