Colorado, New Mexico Guard Marks Glorieta Pass Anniversary

DENVER (AP) - Members of the Colorado and New Mexico National Guard are honoring Civil War soldiers who died in a battle known as the "Gettysburg of the West."

A memorial ceremony is planned Wednesday morning at Santa Fe National Cemetery to honor troops who died in the battle at Glorieta Pass.

The battle unfolded 150 years ago this week in what was then New Mexico Territory.

Union soldiers, consisting of members of Colorado and New Mexico guardsmen and some federal soldiers, defeated Confederate forces.

The Confederates retreated to Santa Fe - and eventually back to Texas - securing a strategic Union victory in a key point of the conflict in the West.

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