Annual Events

Experience three battle re-enactments during the annual Civil War the Southest event.

March 13 & 14, 2010: Civil War in the Southwest

Each year hundreds of spectators descend on Picacho Peak State Park to watch re-enactments of an Arizona Civil War skirmish and the New Mexico battles of Glorieta and Val Verde.

Visitors travel from around the country to experience the three fascinating historic re-enactment's complete with lifestyles of the soldiers in the southwest during the 1860s. More than 200 re-enactors come in from many states and will camp at the park with their authentic Civil War camping gear. Food and beverage concessions are also available, including the popular Kettle corn vendor.

Civil War battles across America were well documented and history teachers carefully covered each battle across the East Coast, but few ever thought what was happening in the West during this time. A battle of the American Civil War was a skirmish fought near a rocky spire called Picacho Peak located between Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona. The new highway follows the old wagon route that passed Picacho in 1862.

In 1860 the New Mexico Territory, which consisted of the lands that would become the states of Arizona and New Mexico, was sparsely populated. It ranked 34th in population out of 43 states and territories with only 83,009 inhabitants. It was 37th in black populations, with just 8 whom were all free. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, the U.S. Government recalled the majority of its troops from the West to build the Union army for the fighting in the east. Henry Hopkins Sibley joined the Confederacy and convinced Jefferson Davis that he would raise an army in Texas and invade New Mexico territories. He proposed that mineral resources would fill the coffers of the Confederacy and fund their massive war effort.

Re-enactor Liaison: Christopher DeMille, (520) 586-4117

See 2008 Civil War in the Southwest Photo Gallery

Historical Re-Enactor information about this event

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March 13 & 14, 2010: Civil War in the Southwest