The Battle of Embudo Pass was part of the

Taos Revolt The Taos Revolt was a populist insurrection in January 1847 by Hispano and Pueblo allies against the United States' occupation of present-day northern New Mexico during the Mexican–American War. Provisional governor Charles Bent and severa ...

, a popular insurrection against the American army's occupation of northern New Mexico. It took place on January 29, 1847, during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

, in what now is New Mexico.

Background

Following the Battle of Cañada,

Sterling Price Major-General Sterling "Old Pap" Price (September 14, 1809 – September 29, 1867) was a senior officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded infantry in the Western and Trans-Mississippi theaters of the American Civil War. Prior to ...

on 27 Jan. advanced up the Rio del Norte ( Rio Grande), to Luceros where he was joined by Capt. Burgwin's Company, 1st Dragoons, Lt. Boone's Company A, 2d Regiment Missouri Mounted Volunteers, and Lt. Wilson's 1st Dragoons, bringing Price's force to 479 men. On 29 Jan., Price marched to La Joya, where sixty to eighty insurgents were posted on either side of the canyon. Finding the road by Embudo impractical for artillery or wagons, Price detached three companies under Captain John H.K. Burgwin, Captain

Ceran St. Vrain Ceran St. Vrain, born Ceran de Hault de Lassus de Saint-Vrain (May 5, 1802 – October 28, 1870), was the son of a French aristocrat who immigrated to the Spanish Louisiana in the late 18th century; his mother was from St. Louis, where he was b ...

and Lieutenant B.F. White, amounting to 180 men.

Battle

Capt. Burgwin discovered the insurgents at El Embudo, near present-day

Dixon, New Mexico Dixon is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community located in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States, on New Mexico State Road 75, just east of New Mexico State Road 68, in the north-central part of t ...

, in the thick brush on each side of the road where the gorge becomes constricted.Hughes, J.T., 1847, ''Doniphan's Expedition'', Cincinnati: U.P. JamesSterling Price's Official Report on the Revolution in New Mexico, in ''The Conquest of California and New Mexico'', Cutts, J.M., 1847, Philadelphia: Carey & Hart, pp. 223-231 Embudo_Pass

Sterling Price's official report of the battle describes it as follows:

"The rapid slopes of the mountains rendered the enemy's position very strong, and its strength was increased by the dense masses of cedar and large fragments of rock which everywhere offered shelter. The action was commenced by Capt. St. Vrain, who, dismounting his men, ascended the mountain on the left doing much execution. Flanking parties were thrown out on either side, commanded respectively by Lieut. White, 2d regiment Missouri mounted volunteers, and by Lieutenants Mellvaine and Taylor, 1st dragoons. These parties ascended the hill rapidly, and the enemy soon began to retire in the direction of Embudo, bounding along the steep and rugged sides of the mountains with a speed that defied pursuit. The firing at the pass of Embudo had been heard at La Joya, ow called "Velarde"and Captain Slack, with twenty-five mounted men had been immediately dispatched thither. He now arrived, and rendered excellent service by relieving Lieutenant White whose men were much fatigued. Lieutenants Mellvaine and Taylor were also recalled; and Lieutenant Ingalls was directed to lead a flanking party on the right slope, while Captain Slack performed the same duty on the left. The enemy having by this time retreated beyond our reach, Captain Burgwin marched through the defile and
debouch In hydrology, a debouch (or debouche) is a place where runoff from a small, confined space discharges into a larger, broader body of water. The word is derived from the French verb ''déboucher'' (), which means "to unblock, to clear". The term ...
ed into the open valley in which Embudo is situated, recalled the flanking parties, and entered that town without opposition, several persons meeting him with a white flag."

Aftermath

Price's forces then marched on to Taos where they engaged in the

Siege of Pueblo de Taos The siege of Pueblo de Taos was the final battle during the main phase of the Taos Revolt, an insurrection against the United States during the Mexican–American War. It was also the final major engagement between American forces and insurgent ...

. Local tradition states that a series of crosses were chipped into several large rocks marking the spots where defenders were killed. These can still be seen today (2008).

Background

Battle

Aftermath

See also

References

Further reading