San Elizario Spy Company
Encyclopedia
The San Elizario Spy Company or Coopwood Spy Company was an Independent Volunteer Company of cavalry formed by Captain Bethel Coopwood
and mustered into Confederate service on July 11, 1861 in El Paso
, Texas. It had four officers, eight NCOs and 36 personnel, some from California but most from the El Paso area. By the time it was attached to Baylor's Command in Mesilla, New Mexico
on October 3, 1861 it had 61 enlisted personnel, the additional men recruited in the Mesilla area. On January 25, 1862 two NCOs and seven privates from the Company were detached to help form Sherod Hunter
's Company A, Arizona Rangers
, that were sent to occupy Tucson, Arizona.,
The Company served in the Army of New Mexico
during the New Mexico Campaign
and fought in the Battle of Valverde
, Battle of Glorieta Pass
and the Battle of Peralta
.
Bethel Coopwood
Bethel Coopwood was a soldier in the Mexican American and Civil Wars, lawyer, judge, and historian.-Early Life:Coopwood was born on May 1, 1827, in Lawrence County, Alabama. He moved to Texas in 1846 and fought in a cavalry regiment in the Mexican-American War. In 1854 he moved to California,...
and mustered into Confederate service on July 11, 1861 in El Paso
El Paso
El Paso, a city in the U.S. state of Texas, on the border with Mexico.El Paso may also refer to:-Geography:Colombia:* El Paso, CesarSpain:*El Paso, Santa Cruz de TenerifeUnited States:...
, Texas. It had four officers, eight NCOs and 36 personnel, some from California but most from the El Paso area. By the time it was attached to Baylor's Command in Mesilla, New Mexico
Mesilla, New Mexico
Mesilla is a town in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 2,180 at the 2000 census...
on October 3, 1861 it had 61 enlisted personnel, the additional men recruited in the Mesilla area. On January 25, 1862 two NCOs and seven privates from the Company were detached to help form Sherod Hunter
Sherod Hunter
Sherod Hunter was the commander of the Confederate unit operating against Union Army forces in present day Arizona during the American Civil War...
's Company A, Arizona Rangers
Company A, Arizona Rangers
Company A, Arizona Rangers was one of the Confederate military units raised in the Confederate Arizona Territory.- Origin of the Arizona Rangers :...
, that were sent to occupy Tucson, Arizona.,
The Company served in the Army of New Mexico
Army of New Mexico
The Army of New Mexico was a small Confederate army in the American Civil War. It operated in Confederate Arizona and New Mexico Territory during the New Mexico Campaign in late 1861 and early 1862, before it was transferred to Louisiana. At first the force was tasked with securing Confederate...
during the New Mexico Campaign
New Mexico Campaign
The New Mexico Campaign was a military operation of the American Civil War from February to April 1862 in which Confederate Brigadier General Henry Hopkins Sibley invaded the northern New Mexico Territory in an attempt to gain control of the Southwest, including the gold fields of Colorado and the...
and fought in the Battle of Valverde
Battle of Valverde
The Battle of Valverde, or the Battle of Valverde Ford from February 20 to February 21, 1862, was fought near the town of Valverde at a ford of Valverde Creek in Confederate Arizona, in what is today the state of New Mexico. It was a major Confederate success in the New Mexico Campaign of the...
, Battle of Glorieta Pass
Battle of Glorieta Pass
The Battle of Glorieta Pass, fought from March 26 to 28, 1862 in northern New Mexico Territory, was the decisive battle of the New Mexico Campaign during the American Civil War. Dubbed the "Gettysburg of the West" by some historians, it was intended as the killer blow by Confederate forces to break...
and the Battle of Peralta
Battle of Peralta
The Battle of Peralta was a minor engagement near the end of Confederate General Henry Hopkins Sibley's 1862 New Mexico Campaign.-Battle:...
.
Reference
- Hall, Martin Hardwick & Long, Sam. The Confederate Army of New Mexico. Austin, TX: Presidial Press, 1978. Information on Baylor’s activities in New Mexico and on Bethel Coopwood. Includes roster of members of Coopwood’s San Elizario Spy Company (said to be mostly Californians & Arizonians).