About the Coalition
en español

Position Statement

• WHAT: The mission of the Glorieta Battlefield Coalition is to "protect the Santa Fe Trail and Glorieta Battlefield within Pecos National Historical Park through preservation and public education." Membership is free and is open to all who share an interest in New Mexico's history and our unique 'chapter' of the Civil War.
  
  
• WHERE: The Coalition has chosen to focus its current efforts on the vision to restore-and make accessible to the public-the Pigeon's Ranch unit of the battlefield. These lands are under ownership of the National Park Service and are located along New Mexico Road 50 from its intersection with County Road 63 to about 1 mile east of the Glorieta/Interstate 25 interchange.
  
  
• WHEN: Although any plan to fully restore the battlefield at Pigeon's Ranch would not be realized at the earliest for some 5 to 7 years, an immediate opportunity exists to secure federal money that would begin the process of exploring whether or not alternatives exist that could lead to the creation of a park that celebrates New Mexico's unique role in the Civil War. In its 2004 Transportation Appropriation Bill, Congress is considering funding a study of options to restore Glorieta Battlefield. If approved in its current form, the bill would provide the National Park Service next year with $750,000 to undertake extensive public involvement and environmental and engineering review of a variety of options that might be employed to restore the battlefield at Pigeon's Ranch. The current federal money being sought, however, would not be used to begin restoring the battlefield but only to study what options might exist. Any effort to actually restore the battlefield would come only after such studies identified that there were prudent and feasible alternatives; any funding for battlefield restoration would have to be appropriated by Congress and would be granted only if there was widespread local support for the effort.
  
  
• WHY: Glorieta Battlefield is hallowed ground. In addition to being a unit of the National Park System, Glorieta is a National Historic Landmark and is on the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties. Some historians refer to Glorieta as "the Gettysburg of the West" because it represented the turning point of the Civil War in New Mexico Territory. Despite its local and national importance, however, the battlefield at Pigeon's Ranch is unsafe and closed to the general public primarily because of vehicular traffic on New Mexico Road 50, which bisects the battlefield.
  
  Restoring Glorieta Battlefield would allow families, school groups, veterans groups, and visitors of all ages to learn about the Civil War in New Mexico in an environment that properly honors the many New Mexicans, Texans, Coloradoans and others who fought and died there. It would have the added benefit of greatly enhancing tourism to the Pecos Valley by creating the only Civil War battlefield park in the Western United States. A battlefield park could also highlight the contribution of Hispanics--like that of Lt. Col. Manuel Cháves of the New Mexico Volunteers--to the Union victory at Glorieta, a story that often is overlooked by Anglo historians.
  
  A study performed by Dr. Frank Ward of New Mexico State University determined economic benefits under the scenario that Glorieta Battlefield were fully restored and made safe for public visitation. The study demonstrated that opening Glorieta Battlefield to public visitation had numerous positive economic benefits, including providing a sustainable, stabilizing force in the rural economy of both the Pecos area and the broader tourism economy of New Mexico. In short, Dr. Ward's data demonstrated that tourism associated with a restored battlefield would generate over $3.1 million in annual income in San Miguel and Santa Fe counties and 182 new jobs within ten years of the battlefield being restored and open to the public. Copies of the study are available from the Glorieta Battlefield Coalition by contacting:
  
  Glorieta Battlefield Coalition
  Attn: James P. Houghton, President
  c/o Modrall Sperling Roehl Harris & Sisk PA
  PO Box 2168
  Albuquerque, NM 87103
  

September 2003