The “California Column” embarked on a 900 mile march through the deserts of California and Arizona to prevent rebel Texans from invading the Arizona Territory

The California Column was the name given to the California Volunteers who fought the Confederacy the most directly. Five thousand Union volunteers from California made up the group. General James Carleton had them under his control. The 1st Regiment California Volunteer Cavalry, 1st Battalion of Native Cavalry, and the 1st, 5th, and 7th Regiment California Volunteer Infantry all served with the Column at various points in time.

During the summer of 1862, the California Column marched 900 miles to El Paso, Texas in an effort to keep the Confederate Texans from entering the Arizona Territory and to remove them from New Mexico. This army operated against the Apache, Navajo, Comanche, and other tribes while serving in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. It drove out the Confederate force from the Arizona Territory and protected New Mexico Territory and the southern overland route to California. They fought two minor skirmishes with Confederate forces while on the march, one at Stanwix Station and the other at Picacho Peak, in which they suffered a few minor casualties. No one perished throughout the 900-mile march from non-battle reasons, despite the hard desert environment.