Relive history at the Picacho Peak Civil War Reenactment on March 18-19, 2017 at the Picacho Peak State Park in Eloy, Arizona. Join with thousands of spectators who come to watch the reenactment of the Arizona Civil War skirmish, the Battle of Picacho Pass — and the New Mexico battles of Glorieta and Val Verde.
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Visitors travel from around the country to experience the Picacho Peak Civil War Reenactment with its three exciting and historic battle reenactments complete with lifestyles of the soldiers in the southwest during the 1860s. More than 200 reenactors come from many states to camp at the park with their authentic Civil War camping gear.
Food and beverage concessions will be available. Visitors are encouraged to bring plenty of water, as well as lawn chairs, hats and sunscreen. Pets are not permitted (they don’t much care for cannon and musket fire!).
In addition to the battle reenactments, spectators can see artillery and cavalry demonstrations, presentations on women in the Civil War and soldiering in the Southwest, plus the “period-appropriate” musical entertainment.
The Battle of Picacho Peak
Civil War battles across America were well documented and history teachers carefully covered each battle across the East Coast, but few ever thought what was happening in the West during this time. A battle of the American Civil War was a skirmish fought near a rocky spire called Picacho Peak located between Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona. The new highway follows the old wagon route that passed Picacho in 1862.
In 1860 the New Mexico Territory, which consisted of the lands that would become the states of Arizona and New Mexico, was sparsely populated. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, the U.S. Government recalled the majority of its troops from the West to build the Union army for the fighting in the east. Henry Hopkins Sibley joined the Confederacy and convinced Jefferson Davis that he would raise an army in Texas and invade New Mexico territories. He proposed that mineral resources would fill the coffers of the Confederacy and fund their massive war effort.
Tucson was the capitol of the Confederate Territory of Arizona between February 20, 1862 when some 120 Texas Rebels took control of El Presidio San Agustin del Tucson and late April, when the 1,800-strong Union army of the California Volunteers entered this dusty, dirty little Mexican town without firing a shot.
During that short period, 50 miles NW of Tucson, an engagement was fought between a Union cavalry patrol and a party of Confederate pickets from Tucson. Every year in March, dedicated men and women from all over come together at Picacho Peak State Park to reenact The Battle of Picacho Peak.
Mark your calendar so you won’t miss any of the action at the Picacho Peak Civil War Reenactment at the Picacho Peak State Park in Eloy, Arizona!