American civil war buffs, historians, and general readers will enjoy these 5 books about the battle of Glorieta Pass, otherwise known as The Gettysburg of the West.

1. The Battle of Glorieta Pass: Gettysburg in the West by Thomas S. Edgerton

via amazon.com

“In 1862 a small army of Texans invaded New Mexico in order to win it for the Confederacy. Following the third day of the Battle of Glorieta Pass, the Texans realized their predicament: “Here we are between two armies, one double ours and the other four times our number, 1,000 miles from home, not a wagon, not a dust of flour, not a pound of meat.” While the Confederates had forced a Union retreat on the rocky, forested battlefield around Pigeon’s Ranch, they could not press their advantage. The most crippling blow had come in the surprise destruction of all seventy supply wagons at Johnson’s Ranch by Colorado Volunteers. So complete was their devastation that during a truce in the early evening, the Texans even had to borrow Union shovels to bury their dead.”

2. Theater of a Separate War: The Civil War West of the Mississippi River by Thomas W. Cutrer

via amazon.com

“Theater of a Separate War details the battles between North and South in these far-flung regions, assessing the complex political and military strategies on both sides. While providing the definitive history of the rise and fall of the South’s armies in the far West, Cutrer shows, even if the region’s influence on the Confederacy’s cause waned, its role persisted well beyond the fall of Richmond and Lee’s surrender to Grant. In this masterful study, Cutrer offers a fresh perspective on an often overlooked aspect of Civil War history.”

3. The Whisper of a Distant God by David L. Gersh

via open-bks.com

“The untold story of the Angel of Santa Fe and the Gettysburg of the West.

“This is the story, based on historical events, of the little known War of New Mexico, of Henry Sibley, who commanded the Texas Mounted Volunteers, Edward R. S. Canby, the Union commander, and his wife Louisa, the Angel of Santa Fe. It explores the desperate struggle at the Battle of Glorieta Pass, called the Gettysburg of the West, and the men who fought on both sides. It examines the tragedies of war and the passion and compassion of those men and women who played a part. Through letters, diaries, newspaper articles and both first and third person exposition and dialogue, this deeply-researched historical fiction tells of those who heard The Whisper of a Distant God.”

4. Glorieta Pass by P.G. Nagle

via pinterest.com

“The lives of three young men, two of whom are on opposing sides, and one young woman will be shattered and intertwined by the bloody Civil War battle in New Mexico’s Glorieta Pass.”

5. The Battle of Glorieta: Union Victory in the West by Don E. Alberts

via amazon.com

“On the morning of March 26, 1862, Confederate and Union armies met in Glorieta Pass in the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico. A series of skirmishes, jockeying for position, and a pitched battle on March 28 took a heavy toll on both sides and left the Rebels under Gen. Henry Hopkins Sibley apparently victorious over Gen. John P. Slough’s troops.”

Receive top book recommendations directly in your inbox.