Saturday, August 7, 2004

BURIED CONFEDERATE CANNONS

Paul Harden For El Defensor Chieftain

Earlier this year, the three-part series on the Civil War in New Mexico prompted a number of letters and e-mail to the El Defensor Chieftain. Several asked if we knew anything about the stories of "buried Confederate cannons or gold" and where they might be. There have long been legends about the cannons and other treasures buried by the Confederates in New Mexico. Some stories are true, others are not. Many buried Confederate cannons have been found over the years, including one in Socorro County!

THE CONFEDERATE ARTILLERY

During the Civil War, the Texas Mounted Volunteers attempted to conquer New Mexico for the Confederacy. The historical record shows the Texans fought with a fair amount of fire power with several batteries of artillery. On Feb. 21, 1862, these artillery units inflicted great damage to the Union soldiers at Valverde, including the capture of McRae's Union Battery. This gave the Texans an additional five guns: three 6-pounders and two 12-pound howitzers.

The Texas Artillery, including the captured Valverde guns, fought decisively at the Battle of Glorietta a month later. However, the Texans suffered a devastating blow when a detachment of Colorado Volunteers destroyed the entire Confederate supply train during the battle. About 70 supply wagons were set ablaze and over 500 mules and horses, used for hauling the wagons and artillery, were driven off.

With the loss of the supply train, the Texans lost just about everything they owned, except the clothes on their backs. Food, medical supplies, ammunition, regimental records, blankets and the personal belongings of the men literally went up in smoke. The only supplies left were Col. Steele's supply wagons in Mesilla, nearly 300 miles away, and some captured stores in Albuquerque. A few days after Glorietta, the hungry Texans marched into Albuquerque, the first leg of their 1,000-mile retreat back to San Antonio, Texas.

It is no known with certainty how many cannons the Texans had after the Battle of Glorietta, how many were buried during the retreat, and how many arrived in San Antonio, Texas. Much of what is known has been pieced together over 100 years after the fact.

THE BURIED CONFEDERATE CANNONS

Gen. Sibley made the decision to abandon about half of his artillery in Albuquerque to lighten their load and to use the carriages for hauling the few supplies they had left.

Late Friday night, April 11, the Texans dug a hole in a corral northeast of the Albuquerque Plaza, and secretly buried eight cannons of Reily's and Wood's artilleries. This was to ensure the discarded cannons would not fall into Union hands.

The following morning, they began their trek to San Antonio, Texas, with the four 6-pound guns of Teel's Light Artillery and the five cannons of the captured McRae's Battery, now Capt. Sayers Valverde Battery. The Texans ran into the Union forces at Peralta. Teel's 6-pounders, and a couple of the Valverde cannons, were used against Canby's men in the day-long skirmish.

Following Peralta, Sibley moved his command to the west side of the Rio Grande, while Canby remained on the east bank. The two enemy forces marched down opposite sides of the Rio Grande for several days.

On April 17, the Texans camped at the confluence of the Rio Puerco and Rio Grande, only to find the Union Army camped directly across the river. After sundown, the Texans left this camp, marching toward Ladrone Peak in the pitch dark. About noon the following day, they finally reached water at Silver Creek on the Rio Salado, about 12 miles west of present day I-25.

ALONG THE RIO SALADO

On April 19, they continued west along the Rio Salado towards "the box," then southward along the La Jencia canyon. Pvt. Albert Peticolas described the day in his diary: "We have no road, and today the first mile or two was through a very narrow canion with perpendicular walls of rock (the Rio Salado west of Silver Creek) ... We halted 15 or 20 minutes at the spring at the head of the creek (probably Saracino Springs at the head of La Jencia Creek) ... When we got to the point where you must leave the canion, the hill was extremely steep and high. Scurry got down from his horse, called for volunteers to help the artillery up the hill, and took hold of the cannon rope himself. Men flocked to the piece and the whole 5 (McRae's five cannons) were soon dawn safely to the top of the hill. Green has the other battery (Teel's four cannons)." Peticolas clearly identifies NINE cannons with the brigade in the La Jencia. This becomes very important in just two more days.

The La Jencia is a hidden geological wonder of Socorro County. Driving between Socorro and Magdalena, it appears the land from U.S. 60 to Ladrone peak is perfectly flat. In reality, the La Jencia and Rio Salado carve a chasm through this country that is more than 300 feet deep in places, forming a miniature Grand Canyon. Traveling along the Rio Salado and La Jencia, the Texans found themselves virtually trapped in these canyons. Several miles into the La Jencia, the Texans came to a very rocky narrows. This is where Peticolas described the place "where they had to leave the canion." Historians never experiencing these deep and desolate canyons can never fully appreciate the plight of the Texans through this part of their retreat.

After leaving the La Jencia, the Texans marched across the plains and camped at Ojo del Pueblo, near present day Magdalena. Hauling the artillery along the route of the sandy and mountainous retreat was becoming cumbersome, as expressed by Peticolas: "Sunday, 20 April 1862. Some talk of spiking the artillery and leaving it; 2nd Regt. And Green have gotten tired in one day of helping their battery along, but it was not done. Scurry undertakes to take them through and will not consent to leave behind us the only trophies we have been able to keep of our victories."

From this diary entry, it was clear that the McRae cannons, the "trophies," were with Scurry's command (Peticolas' regiment) and Teel's Battery assigned to Lt. Col. Green. This also seemingly proves that none of McRae's five cannons were buried in Albuquerque, as some historians believe.

From Ojo del Pueblo (Magdalena), the Texans marched along the western edge of the Magdalena Mountains to Texas Springs, then south along the San Mateos, roughly following what is now N.M. 107. On April 21, Peticolas wrote: " ... passed in sight of Ft. Craig ... Climbed a high steep hill, dragging up the 8 heavy guns ... " Historians have struggled with this entry for years. If the Texans had nine cannons on April 19, what happened to one of them by April 21? That answer has been in Socorro for over 50 years.

THE MISSING CANNON — FOUND

In the early 1950s, several ranch hands were moving cattle across the La Jencia onto the plains for grazing. They were passing through a natural driveway caused by a collapse of the arroyo wall. Robert Fajardo, one of the ranch hands, noticed a large black pipe sticking out of the sand at the top of the arroyo. He asked Harry Badger, owner of the La Jencia Ranch, of that was an irrigation pipe or perhaps an old well casing. Nobody seemed to know. Fajardo went over to the black pipe to investigate and discovered it was a cannon barrel! Fajardo brought it into Socorro and showed it off for several years. Many identified it as a Civil War 12-pound howitzer.

The cannon passed from hand-to-hand over several years. In the 1960s, it was obtained by local history buff Herbert Ross. Many Socorroans remember well the cannon in front of the Ross home on Abeyta Street, until it disappeared in the late 1970s.

The cannon was stolen by an Albuquerque man named Howard Elam, who had just gotten out of prison for stealing historical documents from the UNM Library. He used the stolen barrel as a mold to make fake cannons, which he planted out in the desert near the Ladrones. Elam scammed investors into financing expeditions to find the missing Confederate cannons. And sure enough, now and again, Elam's expedition would find one! The scam went on for several years, milking people for thousands of dollars. Elam was eventually arrested, tried, and sent to prison — again.

After the trial, Bernalillo court records show the cannon barrel was returned to Gabe Ross by the New Mexico State Police. The author, along with friend Claude Ramzel, was shown the cannon barrel shortly after it's return. (If memory serves correctly, it was either Serial Number 47 or 247). Unfortunately, Mr. Ross refuses a quick inspection to properly identify the cannon or record the serial number. Is it one of Teel's 6-puonders or McRae's 12-pounders? (Note: the history of this cannon and Howard Elam will be presented in a future El Defensor Chieftain article.)

It can only be speculated how the cannon ended up buried west of Socorro. Likely, the axle or one of the carriage wheels broke while hauling the cannon out of the La Jencia. The soldiers buried it where it was rendered useless, knowing they were being followed by Capt. Graydon's Spy Company.

Until recently, the La Jencia Ranch was owned by Orbin and Pam Winton. In 1984, their son, Kurt, found a cannon ball in the La Jencia, about a quarter mile south of the ranch headquarters, or about a mile south of where the cannon was found.

This verifies the Texans climbed out of the La Jencia at different locations. It is possible this second location is where the limber wagons were being pulled out of the arroyo. One may have tipped, spilling some of its contents, such as cannon balls, into the sand. One of those spilled cannon balls was found by Kurt Winton not long ago.

OTHER BURIED CANNONS?

Years after the Civil War, Maj. Teel told a newspaper reporter, "We had buried some guns in the mountains west of Fort Craig," but could not remember the exact number. Was Teel referring to the single gun buried on the La Jencia? Or, were two or three more buried elsewhere along the path of the retreat?

If indeed buried, as Teel reported, these 6-pound brass guns have never been found. If buried along the route of retreat, this author believes they are likely somewhere between the Rio Salado and Monticello Canyon.

The Texans arrived in San Antonio, Texas, with their trophies, the McRae canons. The July 12, 1862, San Antonio Herald reported their arrival as follows: "The splendid battery captured from the Lincolnites at Valverde arrived in town last Monday. It consists of six bras pieces; two twelve pound filed pieces, three six pound guns and one twelve pound howitzer, all in fine condition."

This, of course, is an incorrect accounting of the captured McRae battery, known to be five guns, three 6-pounders and two 12-pound howitzers. Either they picked up a gun along the way, or only one gun remained of Teel's battery. What is for certain, of the nine guns in the Rio Salado, six arrived in Texas. This seemingly verifies three pieces never left New Mexico (or perhaps, Socorro County!) Gabe Ross has one. Where are the other two?

Most historians are oblivious to the cannon found in the La Jencia. Only Don Alberts, in his book "Rebels on the Rio Grande," acknowledges the cannon found west of Socorro. Proper identification of the Socorro cannon would verify whether it was one of Teel's or McRae's that was abandoned in the La Jencia.

YEARS LATER ...

After the war, Trevanion Teel became a very successful criminal lawyer, practicing in San Antonio, and later El Paso, Texas. As the story goes, Teel was in Albuquerque and happened to run into Capt. Jack Crawford, of Ft. Craig. Teel told about burying the canons in 1862, not far from where the two were, no doubt, sharing stories over a beer. Teel claimed he could point out the exact location where he had them buried 27 years before.

On Aug. 18, 1889, Crawford and a small crowd of interested persons followed Teel to a location northeast of the Albuquerque plaza, about 500 yards from the San Felipe Church — just about where the Albuquerque museum stands today. The landowner objected and sought to halt the excavation. However, Judge William Lee (A Union Army veteran) ruled against the injunction and added, "Besides, I'm curious if those rebels really buried them there myself."

The excavation began, well witnessed by numerous onlookers, as eight canons were pulled from the dirt. All were marked "U.S." and "C.A. & Co., Boston," the manufacturer.

Due to the "U.S." markings, it was believed these were the captured McRae cannons, while others claimed they were original Confederate guns.

This obviously caused quite a dispute regarding ownership. Since Teel buried these cannons and knew exactly whose canons they were, it is curious why he was silent during this argument. There are many stories as to how these eight cannons were distributed. This author's research suggests four were given to New Mexico, two to Colorado, with one each to Capt. Crawford and Trevanion Teel.

Some of these cannons exist today to support this belief.

Deborah Slaney, curator of the Albuquerque Museum, verifies one original is on display at the museum and a second in storage.

Responding to a request for this article, she graciously inspected the cannons to verify they are Serial Numbers 222 and 223. The two cannons on the Old Town Plaza are actually replicas. The other two were sent to Santa Fe, later melted down in a World War I metal drive — the fate of many Civil War cannons.

In Colorado, one is at the Colorado History Museum and the other is on display at the state Capitol, honoring the service of the Colorado Volunteers.

Crawford supposedly sent his cannon to St. Joseph, Mo., his hometown. It is not known if this gun still exists. Teel was very specific. He requested a cannon his regiment had named "Blue Whistler" due to a unique sound the barrel made when fired. It still exists.

THE BLUE WHISTLER

Teel presented the Blue Whistler, cannon Number 39, to a musical band in El Paso, Texas, called the McGinty Band. It was used by the band for a dozen years, being fired on special occasions.

Trevanion Teel died in Ysleta, Texas, on July 6, 1899, at the age of 74. Following his death and the McGinty Band being, well, disbanded, the cannon was moved to the El Paso City Hall Plaza. Here it remained for 10 years.

On the evening of March 17, 1911, it was stolen and smuggled into Mexico by Francisco Madero and used during the Mexican Revolution. The Blue Whistler, and another called "Long John," were used by the Insurrectos in the attack of Juarez, fought in plain sight of the peoples of El Paso.

The Mexican troops in Juarez surrendered to the insurgents, President Diaz dethroned, and peace was restored to Juarez and northern Mexico. As fate would have it, the man who stole the cannon, Francisco Madero, became the new President of Mexico!

Teel's Number 39 was ceremoniously returned to El Paso on Aug. 18, 1911. The cannon was pulled by mules with two companies of Mexican soldiers to the center of the International Bridge, and draped with Mexican and American flags.

There, it was formally returned to the mayor of El Paso by Mexican Gen. Orozco, with an expression of gratitude for its "loan." The Blue Whistler was returned to the City Hall Plaza.

In 1936, Teel's cannon was moved to the Texas College of Mines. A few years later, it was stolen again by some students who thought it was cute to haul it around the streets of El Paso late one night. Unfortunately, this prank broke the carriage. The broken canon was place din storage for the next 20 years.

When I visited Eastwood High School to photograph the cannon several years ago, a group of students quickly formed and proudly led me to the cannon. Serial Number 39 is clearly stamped on the muzzle. The school's pledge is to keep the history of the cannon alive, which it has respectably done.

If it wasn't for Trevanion Teel, these eight cannons would be lost to history — still buried in the dirt under Albuquerque's Old Town. I think Teel would be proud to know his Blue Whistler is still being cared for so well, even if possibly misidentified.

MCRAE'S CANNONS

So where are McRae's cannons? Following their return to San Antonio, Texas, they were used in Louisiana and in the Red River campaign where Lt. Col. Green, second in command of the Sibley Brigade, was killed. After the war, they were buried on a ranch in East Texas, rather than relinquish them to the Union Army under the terms of the Confederate surrender.

During WWI, a couple of surviving veterans pointed out where the cannons had been buried and they were unearthed. The two 6-pound guns were deteriorated beyond repair and were melted down for the war effort.

The two 12-pound brass howitzers, Serial Numbers 250 and 255, were in reasonably good shape and restored. Serial Number 250 is now on display at the Freestone County Courthouse in Fairfield, Texas; and Serial Number 255 is at the Civil War Memorial near Mexia, Texas.

That leaves one of McRae's cannons unaccounted for — the one recovered from the La Jencia, or the one now at Eastwood High School?

OTHER CONFEDERATE TREASURES

There are numerous stories about treasures buried by the retreating Texans. Most of these seem to revolve around buried gold bars, gold coins or paper money buried near Ladrone Peak or along the Rio Salado. It seems very unlikely such stories could be true.

The Texans lost just about everything they owned at the Battle of Glorietta when their supply wagons were burned. As mentioned before, they had very little food, medical supplies, blankets or extra clothing, and most had lost their horses. The majority of the 1,800 survivors literally walked back to San Antonio, Texas.

If Sibley's army had any gold or money left after Glorietta, why was it buried in the desert instead of buying food, ammunition or horses for his men? They were a destitute army. They simply had no "treasures" left to bury.

At best there might be two of Teel's cannons buried in the San Mateos. Of course, there may be a couple of Elam's cannons still out there somewhere as well!

References used for this article: "Rebels on the Rio Grande," Don Alberts; "Turmoil in New Mexico," William Kelleher; "Destiny at Valverde," Marion Grinstead; Elam Theft Papers, UNM Special Collection Number 330; personal interviews with Phil Fajardo and Bob Baldwin (1983), Orbin and Pam Winton and Si Benjamin, La Jencia Ranch; Deborah Slaney, curator, and James Moore, director, of the Albuquerque Museum; and a special thanks to John Hardman for use of photos.

For the complete stories of the Blue Whistler cannon, visit www.netdotcom.com/revmexpc

Future articles: September and October — a two-part series on the Lost Adams Diggings, possible locations and the Socorro/Catron County connection; November — the 150th anniversary of Fort Craig. Any information on this or future articles is always appreciated.

NA5N@zianet.com

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