DEAR NEWS:--We have already had two pretty hard battles. The first was fought on the 26th of March, between a detachment under command of Major Chivington, of the Col. First, and Majors Pyron and Sheaf, of the Confederate army.
    The forces under Major Chivington consisted of sixty men of Company A, Capt. Wynkoop, sixty men of Company E, Capt. Anthony, and sixty men of Company D, Capt. Downing, of the Colorado First, infantry, and twenty-eight men of Company C, six men of Company D, six men of Company ---, ten men of Company K, Third Cavalry, under Capt. Howland, and Lieuts. Wall and Falvey; fifty men of Company E, 3d Cavalry, commanded by Capt. Walker and Lieut. Banks; fifty men of Cos. G and D, 1st cavalry, under Capt. Lord and Lieut. Bernard, (all of the U. S. A.,) and eighty-eight men of Company F, cavalry, First Colorado Volunteers, under Capt. Cook; and Lieuts. Kelson and Marshall, making the total force on our side, four hundred and eighteen men, while the enemy's was estimated at seven hundred.
    Our force marched from Bernall Springs, for Santa Fe, on the afternoon of the 25th inst., intending to surprise the enemy in small force, at that place. After a march of thirty-five miles, and learning that they were in the vicinity of the enemy's pickets, they halted about midnight. At two o'clock A. M., Lieut. Nelson, with twenty men, was sent out to surprise their pickets, which they did, and captured them, at ten o'clock. The detachment again moved forward, and just as they entered the Apache Canon, discovered the advance guard of the foe, and captured two Lieutenants. In a few minutes they planted their battery, and began to shell and grape us in good earnest. To most of us, this was a new business, and it would have amused you to see our preacher Major, as he stood in advance of our troops about one hundred yards, giving orders, when whiz came the first shell, right over his head. He instinctively dodged, and it went over the infantry and cavalry, (all bowing very low,) but doing no damage. In "double quick," Companies C and E were deployed as skirmishers on the right side, and Company D on the left; Cavalry being reserved to charge the battery, whenever it should give way before the fire of our skirmishers. A few vollies from our boys, with their Minie muskets, convinced the Texans that they were not fighting "Greasers" and they retreated, in haste, about one mile, and made another stand, deploying skirmishers. We pursued them, and after a severe contest of more than two hours, they retreated from the Canon.
    In the engagement, our loss was two killed and thirteen wounded, two of whom have since died. The enemy's loss was about thirty-five or forty killed and wounded, and sixty-three taken prisoners by us.
    After picking up our killed and wounded, we fell back to Pigeon's Ranch, a distance of five miles,--the nearest water--and went into camp. During the night we were reinforced by four small mountain howitzers, (heretofore having had nothing but small arms,) and about four hundred men. The next day we buried our dead and the dead of the enemy that fell into our hands, and in the afternoon fell back to Camp Lewis, where we camped the first night out. During the night we were reinforced by Col. Slough, with six hundred troops.

    On the morning of the 28th, Capt. Lewis' battalion, consisting of Cos. A and G, 5th infantry, Lieuts. Barr and Norral, Co. B, 1st Col. Vols., Capt. Logan and Lieut. Jacobs, and Capt. Ford's Colorado batteries, (in all one hundred and ninety-two men,) and Capt. Wynkoop's consisting of Cos. A H and E, in charge of their officers--Co. A Lieut. Shaffer, Co. H Capt. Sanborn and Lieut. Sanford, Co. E Captain Anthony and Lieut. Davison--were sent out under Major Chivington, to descend a verry [sic] rugged mountain and harrass the enemy in their stronghold, and at the same time the main column was to move on the route to Santa Fe.
    Maj. Chivington moved with his force half an hour ahead of Col. Slough, and after a hard march of fifteen miles, reached the top of a mountain overlooking the camp of the foe. Their main force had left to meet the columns under Cols. Slough and Tappan, leaving their train in charge of about two hundred and fifty men. The Major and his force descended the mountain side, under a sharp cannonading opened on them by the forces under Capt. Scott in charge of the camp and train. A few shots from Wynkoop's sharp shooters, however, soon made the gunners leave their brazen-mouthed dealer of destruction. Capt. Lewis soon spiked the gun, and hurled it down the mountain precipice, rendering it useless.
    We burned their wagons eighty in number, containing all their ammunition and supplies, captured thirty or forty mules and horses, and stampeded the rest, during their fire on us. We killed four and wounded seven of the Texans, and recaptured five prisoners which they had taken in the fight going on between the main forces on both sides, which began at ten a. m., and continued for six long hours.
    At times it seemed as if we would be outflanked; then the enemy would give way a little, and at four p. m., our troops withdrew from the field, but not whipped by any means; for while we lost twenty-nine men killed, forty wounded, and ten or twelve taken prisoners, their loss was six times as many killed and wounded, twenty-three taken prisoners. Besides, we were out numbered. Their force was about fourteen hundred and ours only nine hundred.
    I will not give preference to any one of our boys, either officers of privates. This much will I say, and this, only, because of what was said by the Herald, before we left Camp Weld. If any man could have seen Capt. Jacob Downing of Co. D, in the battles of the 26th and 28th inst., and then call him a "traitor," or think him guilty of writing a traitorous article for the NEWS, he must either be a knave or a fool. The battle-grounds of Apache Canon and Pigeon's Canon will answer in thunder tones to refute such a foul calumny and base slander.
                                                                                           1ST COL. VOL.
    San Jose, March 3d, 1862.

Source:

Unknown, "Details of the Battles of Apache Canon and Pigeon's Canon, New Mexico," Daily Rocky Mountain News, Denver, Colorado, Tuesday, 6 May, 1862, Page 2.