CWT Marker 6

Fierce fighting in the center – Main Phase – Late morning and afternoon, March 28th

This is the center of the battlefield which included several arroyos, or gullies.  Down this sloping, cultivated field, Lt Colonel Scurry led his center assault column of approximately 500 Texans.  However, the Union center at Pigeon’s Ranch was too strong.

Captain John Ritter’s four 12-pounders and field howitzers, joined by Claflin’s three mountain howitzers, blew the Confederate charge to a bloody halt.  Scurry retreated, but later returned for a second unsuccessful frontal attack.  North of the Santa Fe Trail, however, the Texans were successful, driving the Federals from Sharpshooter’s Ridge, and forcing a retreat from Pigeon’s Ranch.  Confederate Major Raguet was killed in this fighting.  About 4:30 pm, Lt Colonel Scurry mounted a successful third charge against a rear guard of Federals, which was protecting the Union withdrawal.  Scurry then came upon the third Union defensive line a mile east of Pigeon’s Ranch along the Santa Fe Trail.

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