Blood & Treasure

Blood and Treasure tells the fascinating story of the Confederacy's ambitious plan to conquer the Southwestern territories of New Mexico and Arizona. Led by Lieutenant Colonel, and later Arizona governor, John R. Baylor and General H. H. Sibley, Texan soldiers trekked from San Antonio to Fort Bliss in El Paso, then northward up the Rio Grande, to Santa Fe. Fighting both Apaches and Federal troops, the half-trained, undisciplined army met success at the Battle of Val Verde and defeat at the Battle of Apache Canyon. Finally, the Texans won the Battle of Glorieta Pass, only to lose their supply train - and eventually the campaign. Pursued and demoralized, the Confederates abandoned their dream of empire and began a dispirited journey back to El Paso and San Antonio. Using narratives of veterans of the campaign and official Confederate and Union documents, the author explains how this seemingly far-fetched fantasy of building a Confederate empire was an essential part of the Confederate strategy. Military historians will be challenged to modify traditional views of Confederate imperial ambitions. Generalists will be drawn into the fascinating saga of the soldiers' fears, despair, and struggles to survive.