Taking nineteen years of research by the author, this is the story of the Civil War as the Volunteers of New Mexico lived and fought it. One chapter deals with the scene in Washington, DC, ten years before the first gun was fired at Fort Sumter; another chapter deals with the Texas claim to all the area of New Mexico bordering the Rio Grande and the near war with the United States over Santa Fe County, Texas. The last chapter gives the alphabetical list of all the New Mexico Volunteers from A to Z as found in the records of the War Department. The author included this list in order to enable any relatives to trace the war record of the heroic men who fought at Valverde, Peralta, Santa Fe, Glorieta, Pigeon's Ranch, and the Indian campaigns. The march of the Colorado Volunteers and the California Column is completely covered as well as the work of these men during the war years. The New Mexico Volunteers were unjustly maligned by Edward Canby, the author said, and authors ever since have echoed his sentiments without investigating the facts. This book corrects many misconceptions that may be useful to all interested in the Civil War in New Mexico. Includes bibliography.