Charles Lynn Pyron (May 10, 1819 – August 24, 1869) was a soldier in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

and a

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

officer in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. He fought at the

Battle of Monterrey In the Battle of Monterrey (September 21–24, 1846) during the Mexican–American War, General Pedro de Ampudia and the Mexican Army of the North was defeated by the Army of Occupation, a force of United States Regulars, Volunteers, an ...

in the Mexican–American War, and during the Civil War fought in the West, including at the battles of Valverde and

Glorieta Pass Glorieta Pass (elevation 7500 ft.) is a mountain pass in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico. The pass is at a strategic location near the southern end of the Sangre de Cristos in east central Santa Fe County southeast of ...

Early life

Pyron was born in 1819 in

Marion County, Alabama Marion County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census the population was 29,341. The county seat is Hamilton. The county was created by an act of the Alabama Territorial General Assembly on February 13, 1818. The coun ...

, the son of Charles Pyron. He served with the

during the

. After the war, he purchased a ranch along the

San Antonio River The San Antonio River is a major waterway that originates in central Texas in a cluster of springs in midtown San Antonio, about 4 miles north of downtown, and follows a roughly southeastern path through the state. It eventually feeds into the ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, and also became married in 1849.

Civil War

During the

, Pyron served in Confederate Brigadier General

Henry Hopkins Sibley Henry Hopkins Sibley (May 25, 1816 – August 23, 1886) was a career officer in the United States Army, who commanded a Confederate cavalry brigade in the Civil War. In 1862, he attempted to forge a supply route from California, in defiance ...

New Mexico Campaign The New Mexico campaign was a military operation of the trans-Mississippi theater 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 invasion of New Mexico and

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

with the goal of capturing the Southwest United States, including the Colorado gold fields and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He raised a company of cavalry for the Confederates at

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, which served as Company B of John Baylor's Second Texas Mounted Rifles at

Fort Lancaster Fort Lancaster is a former United States Army installation located near Sheffield, Texas. The fort was established in 1855 on the San Antonio–El Paso Road to protect migrants moving toward California through Texas. The US Army occupied Fort L ...

and

Fort Stockton Fort Stockton may refer to: *Fort Stockton (San Diego, California), a historical fort *Fort Stockton, Texas Fort Stockton is a city in and the county seat of Pecos County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 10 in Texas, Interstat ...

. Pyron was a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the Confederate Army and in March 1862 commanded a Confederate force of 200–300 Texans on an advance expedition over the

. The pass was a strategic location on the

Santa Fe Trail The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, the ...

at the southern tip of the

Sangre de Cristo Mountains The Sangre de Cristo Mountains (Spanish language, Spanish for "Blood of Christ") are the southernmost mountain range, subrange of the Rocky Mountains. They are located in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico in the United States. The mountai ...

southeast of Santa Fe. Control of the pass would allow the Confederates to advance onto the High Plains and to make an assault on Fort Union, the Union stronghold along the invasion route northward over

Raton Pass Ratón Pass is a 7,834 ft (2,388 m) elevation mountain pass on the Colorado–New Mexico border in the western United States. It is located on the eastern side of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains between Trinidad, Colorado and Raton, N ...

. After a few small battles, Union forces forced the withdrawal of the Confederates. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel after the New Mexico campaign and was given command of Baylor's Second Texas Mounted Rifles, which was reorganized as the Second or Pyron's Texas Cavalry. He was later promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Later life

After the war, he lived on his ranch in San Antonio, Texas, and died on August 24, 1869.

External links

Handbook of Texas Online

Baylor's Command

Texas Cemetery Records
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pyron, Charles L. 1819 births 1869 deaths Confederate States Army officers American military personnel of the Mexican–American War People of Texas in the American Civil War People of Alabama in the American Civil War