July 2009
History Lessons
Racking Up History column by Bill Rakocy
See also: At the Museum
Menu of this month's listings, stories and columns
Midnight Paranormal tour -- Paso Del Norte Paranormal Society hosts a midnight paranormal investigation midnight to 3 a.m. Saturday, July 4, at historic Concordia Cemetery (meet just before midnight Friday, July 3). Reservations required. Cost: $10 (ages 18 and older welcome). Reservations/information: 373-1513 or ghosts915.com.
Fort Selden State Monument -- The monument, in Radium Springs 13 miles north of Las Cruces, is open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Monday (closed Tuesday). Admission is $3; (ages 16 and under free). Sunday admission for New Mexico residents is $1. Information: (575) 526-8911 or nmmonuments.org.
A Living History Military Encampment is 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, July 11, with 1800s period Union and Confederate military re-enactors hosted by Friends of Fort Selden.
Fort Selden was a 19th-century adobe fort established to protect early settlers from Indian raids. The monument seeks to preserve the remaining ruins and has a visitors center with exhibits of military life at the post. From Las Cruces, take I-25 north to Exit 19.
RWVA Appleseed Shoot Clinic -- Revolutionary War Veterans Association of El Paso will host two-day marksmanship and heritage clinics 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, July 11-12, at El Paso Community College’s Mission Del Paso Campus Law Enforcement Range. Also featured are lectures on little-known Revolutionary War history. Suitable for all levels of marksmen. Pre-registration encouraged. Walk-in fees: $50 one-day; $80 both days (pre-registration discounts offered). Free for women, shooters under 21 and active military (including guards and reserves). Information: 449-5079 or rwva.org.
Students should bring a centerfire or .22 rimfire rifle, or both. Scope okay. Sling strongly recommended, and 250 rounds of ammunition needed per day, per rifle. Also bring eye and ear protection, mat or ground cloth, hat and sunscreen, rain gear, layered clothes, water, lunch and snacks.
‘Visit Our Ancestors’ series -- The City of Las Cruces Branigan Cultural Center will host a special program of “Roadside Memorials” at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 11, at the center, 501 N. Main in the Las Cruces Downtown Mall, as part of its cemetery tour series. Information on the County Cemetery on East Griggs Street will be presented. Admission is free; no registration required. Information: (575) 541-2154 or las-cruces.org/museums.
Roadside memorials are the crosses and mementos seen along highways. They serve as a reminder of a lost loved one, often marking the location of a fatal accident. The tradition goes back to the Spanish colonial period in New Mexico where simple wood crosses were placed at crossroads leading to gravesites.
Bayard Mining Tour -- Tour of the historic mining district are 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 14, departing from Bayard City Hall, 800 Central, in Bayard, N.M. (turn north from 180). No walking required. Information: (575) 537-3327.
Fort Davis Junior Ranger Day -- Fort Davis National Historic Site in Fort Davis, Texas, will host free history-related activities for kids age 6 to 13 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, July 18, sponsored by the National Park Service. Information: (432) 426-3224, ext. 20 or nps.gov/foda.
Fort Davis was named after U.S. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis, who later became president of the Confederacy.
Magoffin Home State Historic Site -- 1120 Magoffin. Built in 1875 by pioneer El Pasoan Joseph Magoffin, the Magoffin Home exemplifies the Territorial style of the period, combining Southwestern building techniques and Eastern design. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Closed Monday. Cost: $3 (12 and under free). Group tours available with advance registration. Information: 533-5147, thc.state.tx.us or magoffinhome.org.
Special “Visits with Spirits” tours featuring stories of spirits and odd events at the Magoffin Home State Historic Site and how they relate to the Magoffins are offered at 10 a.m. the second Saturday of the month. Reservations required. Admission: $5.
Magoffin Street runs one way going east from San Antonio Street (a few blocks from the County Courthouse and Federal Building).
Fort Stanton Live! -- The fort’s annual celebration of living history, hosted by Fort Stanton, Inc./Fort Stanton Foundation, is 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7-9, at Fort Stanton, 20 miles northeast of Ruidoso on Hwy 220.The event features a Wild West Show, Civil War reenactments, Buffalo Soldiers, Mountain Men, food, vendors and live entertainment. No pets or alcohol allowed. Admission is free; donations accepted. Information: (575) 430-1698 or fortstanton.com.
Fort Stanton was established and built in 1855 by troopers of the 1st Dragoon Regiment to serve as a base of operations against the Mescalero Apache Indians. The site served various purposes through 1995.
El Paso Museum of History -- 510 N. Santa Fe. Regular hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Closed Mondays. Admission is free. Information: 351-3588. For exhibit and special event information, see “At the Museum” listing.
Old Fort Bliss -- Building 5051, corner of Pershing and Pleasanton Roads, Fort Bliss. The Old West days of the “Soldiers of the Pass” are relived through replicas of the original adobe fort buildings and military artifacts, Magoffinsville Post 1854 to 1868. Admission: free. Hours: Daily 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Information: 568-3137.
Los Portales Museum and Visitor Center -- 1521 San Elizario Road. The museum is operated by the San Elizario Genealogy and Historical Society, and is housed in an 1850s Territorial-style building across from the San Elizario church. It offers gifts, family trees, historical artifacts and the veterans’ room, as well as information on the “First Thanksgiving” and the Salt War of 1877. Hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. Information: 851-1682.
Chamizal National Memorial -- 800 S. San Marcial. The National Park Service operates the memorial on land once claimed by Mexico as part of a decades-long dispute over the international boundary. A similar park in Juárez lies across the Rio Grande, whose shifting nature in earlier years triggered the dispute. The visitor center has an exhibit on the history of the Chamizal dispute, including a video presentation. Park grounds and picnic area open 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily; visitors center open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; closed Sunday and Monday. Admission is free. Information: 532-7273.
Free ranger guided tours and interpretive programs at are offered at 10 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. The tours last 45 minutes to an hour and consist of walking short distances on the park grounds, as well as visiting various museum exhibits and displays located in the visitor center. Interpretive programs will include U.S./Mexico history and treaties, Cordova Island, the park’s mural Nuestra Herencia by Carlos Flores, the establishment of the Memorial, and a variety of other items related to the borderland community.
Concordia Heritage Association -- Anyone interested in learning about, preserving and promoting history is invited to join the association, which meets at 7 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month, at Zion Lutheran Church, 2800 Pershing. Information: 581-7920.
The nonprofit group takes care of Concordia Cemetery, home to over 60,000 famous, infamous and other eternal residents. The association also helps people locate ancestors buried there and researches requests related to the historic burial ground that once was the home of rancher Hugh Stephenson and his wife, Doña Juana Ascarate de Stephenson.
The group also sponsors the annual Walk Through History in October at Concordia Cemetery as well as other events involving characters from El Paso’s past, particularly those buried at Concordia.
Shakespeare Ghost Town -- A small pioneer settlement and mining town on the trail to California, Shakespeare, N.M., lives on thanks to a single family that has owned the townsite (2 1/2 miles from Lordsburg) since 1935. Information: (575) 542-9034 or shakespeareghostown.com.
Also on display: the Jim Emanuel Western Collection of antique and reproduction guns, custom-made holsters, saddles and tack.
To get there: From Lordsburg, take the Main Street exit (Exit 22) from Interstate 10 and turn south. Follow signs to Shakespeare.
Racking Up History column by Bill RakocyBattle of Brazito, Christmas 1846
American Manifest Destiny was the guiding principle of the 1840s, and the main force behind the Mexican-American War. Justified or not, the war resulted in adding much of what is now the Western United States, including El Paso. The battle that won El Paso was fought at a now-forgotten site along the Rio Grande in what is now Vado, N.M.
Col. Alexander Doniphan and his army, under Stephen W. Kearney on his march to California, had taken Santa Fe in a bloodless campaign. Now Doniphan was ordered southward to Mexico through the “Journey of Death” desert and finally to Doña Ana in New Mexico. His goal was El Paso del Norte.
On Christmas Day 1846, after a grueling march southward along the Rio Grande, they reached an offshoot of the river called “Brazito,” which in Spanish means, “little arm.” They planned to rest there, but were surprised by forces 1,300-men strong, mounted and decorated for battle in plumed hats and colorful attire. They were ready to do battle and stop Doniphan’s forces.
Here’s part of the account recorded by regiment member Isaac George:
“Before the battle commenced, and while the two armies stood marshaled front to front, the Mexican commander, General Ponce de Leon, dispatched a lieutenant to Col. Doniphan, bearing a black flag. This messenger coming with the speed of lightning, halted when within sixty yards of the American lines, and waved his ensign in graceful salutation.”
Negotiations broke down quickly, and the Mexican messenger, “waving his black flag over his head, galloped back to the Mexican lines. At the sound of the trumpet, the Vera Cruz dragoons, who occupied the right of the enemy’s line of battle, first made a bold charge upon the Americans’ left. When within a few rods the yagermen (riflemen) opened a most deadly fire upon them, producing great execution.”
As is the case in all fierce battles, the first thrust and attack often wins the fight, so was the case with the Doniphan-seasoned troops at Brazito:
“The Chihuahuan infantry and cavalry were posted on their left, and consequently operated against our right wing. They advanced within gunshot and took shelter in the chaparral, discharging three full rounds upon our lines before we returned the fire. At this crisis, Col. Doniphan ordered the men to ‘lie down on their faces, and reserve their fire until the Mexicans come within sixty paces.’ This was done. The Mexicans supposing they had wrought fearful execution in our ranks, as some were falling down, while others stood up, began now to advance, and exultingly cry out ‘bueno, bueno,’ where upon our whole right wing suddenly rising up, let fly such a galling volley of yager balls into their ranks, that they wheeled about and fled in the utmost confusion.”
In less than an hour, the complete fight was over and done with. The colorful Mexican cavalry was in full retreat, riding into the hills and southward. Doniphan’s losses were small — eight wounded, with 79 Mexicans killed and 150 wounded. Doniphan’s army feasted on all the packaged corn tortillas, cheese and meats, plus wine, made in Paso del Norte but now deserted by the fleeing Mexican army.
The colorful Mexican cavalry was in full retreat — heading to the hills and southward.
December 25, Christmas Day, 1846, this great battle was fought 40 miles north of El Paso. Two days later, Doniphan had taken Paso del Norte without a shot being fired. Manifest Destiny was alive and well at the pass.
*?*?*
My wife and I recently visited the battleground of Brazito, and were surprised to learn that the Brazito, the cul-de-sac arm of the Rio Grande of Christmas Day 1846, no longer exists. We stopped and visited in the little town of Vado, N.M. (formerly known as Brazito) and inquired of a few people as to where the battle site was. No one could tell us for sure. The State has a decorative-post graphic sign a few miles south, but no State marker exists to identify where the actual battle was fought.
Yet, Gloria and I did get lucky when we chatted with Paul Koenig, a man who operates “SunGlo,” a professional farm and horticulture firm. It seems he took over the old deserted school building that existed more than 20 years ago (as I recalled the recent building then). He has collected dozens of books and folders on the Doniphan and Mexican battle area. Gloria and I ran down a dozen leads and found him to be a good historical source. He also told us of a road repair crew dating to the 1920s that had unearthed a mass burial grave of skeletons near a large, meandering, double-story ranch house south of town. Indeed, that could have been the last Doniphan and Mexican battleground site of December 1846. We agreed that the State needs to do a better job in marking this important historic treasure.
Bill Rakocy is an El Paso artist and
historian. Information: 584-9716.
El Paso Scene MONTHLY
This month's listings, stories and columnsFeature story
Roundup
Music
Dance
Here's the Ticket
Program Notes
On Stage
Sports
Southwest Art Scene
At the Museum
History Lessons
Nature
Film Scene
Keep on Bookin'
Becoming Bicultural
Liner Notes
Stage Talk
Gallery Talk
Better ParentingCopyright 2009 by Cristo Rey Communications.