The Battle of Mount Gray was a little known engagement of the Apache Wars

Apache Wars

The Apache Wars were a series of armed conflicts between the United States and Apaches fought in the Southwest from 1849 to 1886, though other minor hostilities continued until as late as 1924. The Confederate Army participated in the wars during the early 1860s, for instance in Texas, before being...

 fought at the foothills of Gray Mountain, then known as Mount Gray on April 7, 1864. A troop of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Army's California Column

California Column

The California Column, a force of Union volunteers, marched from April to August 1862 over 900 miles from California, across the southern New Mexico Territory to the Rio Grande and then into western Texas during the American Civil War. At the time, this was the longest trek through desert terrain...

 attacked a superior force of Chiricahua

Chiricahua

Chiricahua are a group of Apache Native Americans who live in the Southwest United States. At the time of European encounter, they were living in 15 million acres of territory in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona in the United States, and in northern Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico...

 Apache

Apache

Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...

s at their camp and routed them from the field.

Background

When the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 began in 1861, Confederate Arizona was established so the Union

Union (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...

 raised a volunteer force of California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

ns to march through Arizona to capture the territory and to reinforce the Union army in New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

. During the 900 mile journey in 1862 and 1863, the California Column constructed or occupied several camps and forts and when the column moved on, men were left behind to garrison

Garrison

Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....

 them. One of these posts was Camp Mimbres. On March 15, 1864, Apaches raided a herd of livestock

Livestock

Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...

 at Cow Springs. By March 27, the garrison of Camp Mimbres was informed of the attack so Captain James H. Whitlock organized an expedition to retrieve the stolen livestock. The expedition was made up of forty-six men from of the 5th California Infantry

5th Regiment California Volunteer Infantry

The 5th Regiment California Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It spent its entire term of service in the western United States, attached to the Department of the Pacific and Department of New Mexico....

 along with ten men from the 1st California Cavalry

1st Regiment California Volunteer Cavalry

The 1st Regiment California Volunteer Cavalry was a cavalry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was first formed of five companies as 1st Battalion, 1st Regiment California Volunteer Cavalry between August and October 31, 1861, at Camp Merchant near Oakland...

. A few militia

Militia

The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...

 scouts also went along to be used as trackers. They headed towards Stein's Peak in the Sierra Bonita Mountains

Peloncillo Mountains (Hidalgo County)

The Peloncillo Mountains of Hidalgo County, , is a major 35-mi long mountain range of southwest New Mexico's Hidalgo County, and also part of the New Mexico Bootheel region. The range continues to the northwest into Arizona as the Peloncillo Mountains of Cochise County, Arizona...

 and when they arrived, an Apache trail was spotted and led north into the San Simon Valley

San Simon Valley

The San Simon Valley is a broad valley east of the Chiricahua Mountains, in the northeast corner of Cochise County, Arizona and southeastern Graham County, with a small portion near Antelope Pass in Hidalgo County of southwestern New Mexico. The valley trends generally north-south but in its...

. After a few more days of marching the Apache trail turned west and it was followed to the base of Mount Gray within present day Hidalgo County, New Mexico

Hidalgo County, New Mexico

-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*85.3% White*0.6% Black*0.8% Native American*0.5% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*1.8% Two or more races*11.0% Other races*56.6% Hispanic or Latino...

.

Battle

At about 4:00 am on April 7, while marching through the foothills, Captain Whitlock noticed campfires in the distance and he immediately assumed it to be an Apache camp. Quickly Whitlock advanced his troop to the camp where around 250 Apaches warriors were resting with the herd of livestock. Whitlock decided to separate his command into a few groups to surround the camp, they would then attack at first light. So when the sun rose above the horizon, the American soldiers began their assault. The captain led the charge into the Apache camp which was defended by the Chiricahua for over an hour before they retreated up the mountain. When the Americans were finally in control, they set fire to the wickiups and destroyed about 300 pounds of dried mescal, an Apache food source. While burning the mescal, thirty of the retreating Apaches turned around and attacked the soldiers to try to stop the destruction of their food but they were driven off by effective volleys of rifle fire. Twenty-one Apaches were killed and left on the field, others were wounded but escaped and forty-five horses and mules were captured. There were no American casualties.

Aftermath

The battle at Mount Gray was one of the more significant engagements fought between the California Column and the Apache. Similar to the earlier Battle of Apache Pass

Battle of Apache Pass

The Battle of Apache Pass was fought in 1862 at Apache Pass, Arizona in the United States, between Apache warriors and the Union volunteers of the California Column as it marched from California to capture Confederate Arizona and to reinforce New Mexico's Union army...

, the Californians were outnumbered but managed to defeat a larger force of hardened warriors. On May 3, 1864 another battle between the California Column and Apaches was fought near Stein's Peak in Doubtful Canyon. Around 100 Apaches were defeated by fifty-four men of the 5th Infantry under Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 Henry H. Stevens. Whitlock Valley

Whitlock Valley

The Whitlock Valley is a small valley in southeast Arizona, USA, lying between three mountain ranges. The valley lies on the south perimeter region of the White Mountains in eastern Arizona, and lies south of the west-flowing Gila River, and the region transitions south into Cochise County and...

 and the Whitlock Mountains were later named after Captain Whitlock.