General Stephen Watts Kearny had good reason to be pleased on the morning of August 22, 1846. Three days earlier, his troops had raised the American flag over Santa Fe, the capital of the New Mexico Territory. The Mexican-American War was going well for the United States. "everything is quiet and peaceable," Kearny wrote that morning in a message to Brigadier General John Ellis Wool at Chihuahua, Mexico. "The people now understand the advantages they are to derive from a change in government and are much gratified."

The people to whom Kearny referred were mostly Mexicans, Pueblo Indians and small groups of French Canadians, Delaware Indians and Mormons. The Mexicans, though not enthusiastic about the new government, seemed ready to accept it. The Pueblo were concerned only with continuing their traditional way of life; they were highly civilized and generally peaceful. For centuries, their advanced irrigation system and their relative isolation enabled them to grow a surplus of grain, which they traded to the Apache, Ute, Comanche and Navajo for meat and furs.

The Pueblo Indians were not easily subjugated. In 1680, they rose up against their Spanish conquerors, slaughtering more than 20 Catholic missionaries and 400 colonists. It took the conquistadors 12 years to reestablish themselves in Pueblo territory. Although the Indians adjusted to the new situation, their devotion to independence remained strong.

Despite the favorable military situation, Magoffin persuaded Armijo not to attempt to resist Kearny's advance. Many historians have since claimed that Magoffin bribed Armijo, but there is no documentary evidence to support it. In an event, Armijo decided to flee to Albuquerque, despite urgings from his second-in-command, Colonel Diego Archuleta, to defend the territory to the last man. Archuleta could have been a problem, but Magoffin met with him, too. He told Archuleta that Kearny intended to remain east of the Rio Grande. With Armijo out of the picture, Magoffin suggested, Archuleta could issue a pronunciamento and seize all the territory west of the river. Rather than risk battle against the Americans, Archuleta agreed to this deal. Armijo fled, Archuleta dispersed the troops, and the Americans marched through Apache Pass unopposed. Kearny entered Santa Fe at sundown on August 18. New Mexico had been seized without a shot being fired.

Charles Bent, who along with his brother William had built the famous Bent's Fort on the Arkansas River, was named the first American governor of the territory. Bent was one of the pioneers of the Santa Fe trade and had wide experience on the frontier. He settled in the town of Taos. On August 25, Kearny left Santa Fe for California. Two days later, Colonel Sterling Price arrived in Santa Fe with 1,200 mounted volunteers from Missouri and a battalion of 500 Mormons. When the war began, Price had resigned his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in order to raise this regiment. A strict disciplinarian and a gifted leader, Price was respected by his men, who called him "Old Pap" Price.

Magoffin had not known that Kearny had no plans to stop at the Rio Grande. When Kearny proclaimed U.S. jurisdiction over the entire New Mexico Territory, Colonel Archuleta quite naturally felt he had been double-crossed. A clever and ambitious man, Archuleta began meeting with other disenfranchised Mexican officials, the most prominent among these being Tomas Ortiz, the former alcalde of Santa Fe. Others began to join the budding conspiracy. The Pueblo Indians, led by the war chief Tomasito, were persuaded by Archuleta and Ortiz that the Americans were weak. They were promised great plunder and greater autonomy.

An uprising was planned for December 19. Church bells would ring, and the Pueblo braves and Mexicans would seize the artillery in the plaza and turn it on the American soldiers. This attack would be the signal for a general revolt throughout northern New Mexico. But communications to outlying areas were slow. Archuleta and Ortiz decided to postpone the rebellion until Christmas Eve.

Fortunately for the Americans, a woman of shady reputation went to Colonel Price on the 21st with the details of the uprising she had overheard. An officer recorded Price's speedy moves to quash the rebellion: "Sentinels had been placed in every direction, all the field pieces and heavy guns had been parked in the plaza, everything was in a state of preparation and everybody in a state of vigilance." Several ringleaders were arrested, but Archuleta and Ortiz fled to Mexico. The Americans felt that the Mexicans had taken their last, best shot, but they overlooked one very important group: Pueblo conspirators continued to meet without the two Mexicans.

On January 14, 1847, despite rumors of unrest, Governor Bent decided to travel to his home in Taos. All though the night of January 18, Taos was in an uproar. People swarmed into the saloons and plazas, where they were harangued into a frenzy by the conspirators. Alcohol flowed freely while Tomasito and Mexican General Pablo Montoya, the self-styled "Santa Ana of the North," worked the crowd.

Early on the morning of January 19, Sheriff Stephen Lee arrested three Indians for stealing and placed them in the city jail. Still together after a night of festivities, a mob of Pueblo headed for the jail, confronted Sheriff Lee and demanded that their friends be set free. Lee, with a large and angry crowd in front of him, quickly moved to comply. Unfortunately, city prefect Cornelio Vigil happened by. Whatever his motivation, Vigil displayed extraordinarily poor judgment by first berating the sheriff for backing down, and then by shouting racial insults at the Indians. The Pueblo were in an unforgiving mood, and they cut Vigil to pieces.

While the Indians freed their three compatriots, Lee fled to his house and tried to hide on his roof, but the crowd spotted him and shot him to death. Next they turned on James Leal, the territory's circuit attorney. The crowd cornered him, pushed arrows into his body, tied him up and used him for target practice, scalped him alive and left him lying in the street. Remarkably, Leal survived the assault, but hours later, another group of Pueblo killed him with more arrows.

The crowd now headed for Governor Bent's house, where he was holed up with his family and Mrs. Kit Carson. Bent's 10-year-old son grabbed a shotgun and said, "Papa, let us fight them." But Bent did not want to endanger his family. He told his wife, "At present, my death is all these people want." A group of Mexicans and Indians led by Chief Tomasito chopped a hole in Bent's roof and dropped into his bedroom. Mrs. Carson, Mrs. Bent and children were allowed to leave. Bent confronted Tomasito's band, reminding them that he had tried to take care of their interests. At this they howled with laughter and drive three arrows into his body. As he fell he was shot once. Tomasito then stood over Bent's scalp and nailed it to a flat board with brass tacks. The mob then went off, carrying the scalp like a battle standard.

Many other Americans were killed as the violence spread. Two mountain men were murdered and mutilated on the Rio Colorado by a rebel band that had disarmed them with promises of safe conduct. Eight Santa Fe traders were ambushed, captured and murdered near the town of Mora. The revolt spread quickly through the towns in northern New Mexico, save Tecolote and Las Vegas.

Twelve miles north of Taos, out on the Arroyo Hondo, stood a mill owned by a longtime resident named Simon Turley. On January 19, Turley had been entertaining eight trapper friends when one of his workers returned hurriedly from an errand in town with news of the massacre of the Americans. Turley was highly regarded by the local population, so he doubted that his home was in danger. Nevertheless, the mountain men began to inspect their rifles, while Turley barred the gates.

Soon the rebels approached the mill under a white flag. Turley went out to speak with them. A Mexican told him: "As a friend of the Indians and the Nuevo Mexicanos, we don't want to shed your blood, but all other Americans in the valley must die. Give up the men and you'll be spared." Turley was not one for oratory. He simply replied: "I'll never surrender my house nor my men. You want 'em, you come and get 'em!"

Turley barely got back to cover before shots began to ricochet around him. The trappers, barricaded behind sacks of grain and stacks of firewood, returned fire with discipline, making every shot count. The besiegers took up positions behind boulders and trees and peppered the house with bullets. The crowd outside soon grew to 500. Despite all the gunfire, night fell with no casualties.

During the night, eight Indians crept to a shed near the stables and attempted unsuccessfully to break down the door. When dawn came, they were caught in an exposed position, and a Pueblo chief fell dead. Turley's men began to chalk up a deadly toll as brave after brave was shot dead trying to retrieve the body of the chief.

Infuriated, the Pueblo loosed a massive volley against the house, and two trappers fell, mortally wounded. Several Indians managed to set fire to the building, but the trappers put it out. With the mob beginning to burn other ranch structures, Turley and the mountain men decided their best hope was to make a breakout attempt in the dark.

Details of the breakout are sketchy. A trapper named John Albert and one other man charged out the postern gate, guns blazing. Albert dove to the ground and hid under a fence, to watch in horror as his companion was knocked down and knifed to death. Albert crept away at daybreak and made his way to safety. Two other trappers also escaped, and Turley himself eluded capture and headed for the mountains. Spotting a Mexican friend of long standing on the trail, Turley offered him his watch in exchange for his friend's horse. Turning down the deal, the man said he would ride for help. Instead, he set out for the mill, which was still being looted, and told the Pueblo where Turley could be found. They returned to Turley's hiding place and brutally murdered him.

The news of Governor Bent's death spread, reaching the ears of Captain Isaac Hendley, who was in command of a grazing detachment on the Pecos River. Told that the insurgents were gathering an army at Las Vegas, he scraped together some 200 men and set off immediately. Meanwhile, on the evening of January 20, the insurgents read a message in the Las Vegas plaza announcing a general uprising and urging the inhabitants to join the rebel forces. The courageous alcalde of Las Vegas, Juan de Dios Maes, immediately declared against the revolt. He persuaded the citizens not to join the insurgency, and Hendley's troops entered the town on the 21st and occupied it.

Leaving the greater part of his force in Las Vegas, Hendley headed for the town of Mora with 80 men on January 24. Near Mora, Hendley's force spotted a small detachment of Mexican cavalry riding down from the hills and tried to cut them off. As Hendley drew near the cavalry detachment, the main Mexican force sallied out from Mora to attack the Americans. In the brisk melee that ensued, Hendley's troopers gained the upper hand. The Mexicans retreated to town, regrouping at an old fort inside Mora. Hendley's men charged the fort and seized an adjoining building. As the troopers gathered brush to set the fort ablaze, a rifle shot pierced the wall, killing Hendley instantly. Unprepared for a room-to-room battle, his men retreated, suffering three more wounded. Mexican casualties totaled 25 killed and 17 taken prisoner. The retreat of Hendley's detachment was the high-water mark for the rebels.

Ceran St. Vrain had been a resident of New Mexico for many years prior to the American occupation. He was one of the men who controlled the fur trade along the Santa Fe Trail. Outraged by the death of Governor Bent, he decided to gather together a company of horsemen. Merchants, clerks, mountaineers, teamsters, assorted other Americans and friendly Mexicans joined St. Vrain's force, and Price had the 65-man cavalry unit sworn in on January 23. St. Vrain gave them an appropriate name: the Avengers.

Before 24 hours had passed, Price's force was challenged by a rebel army of more than 1,000 Pueblo warriors and Mexicans under General Pablo Montoya. Montoya and his subordinates, Jesus de Tafoya and Pablo Chaves, had their force dug in along the rims of the canyon in which sat the town of Santa Cruz de la Cañada. Since the heights flanked the road, Price would have to dislodge the Pueblo-Mexican force to continue to Taos.

Price commenced battle with a cannonade, but Montoya's men were well-entrenched. Seeing that Price's powder wagons were still more than a mile away, Montoya detached a company of cavalry to cut off the wagon train. Price saw the danger and sent the Avengers to head them off. St. Vrain's volunteers charged with such ferocity that Montoya's cavalry turned and fled.

While the wagons were being brought up, the rest of Price's army hunkered down. Lieutenant Dyer described in a letter how the battle proceeded: "For an hour and a half my battery was exposed to a heavy fire of small arms from two houses and surrounding walls at 180 to 200 yards distance and during that time I had six men wounded out of command of 20 and several others shot through the clothes. After the wagons were brought up, a charge was ordered."

Price sent Angneys company of infantry up the hill to dislodge the enemy from the houses opposite the American right flank. Sniping at the Americans from the safety of the heights was good sport for Montoya's men, but faced with the disciplined ranks coming steadily toward them, they lost some of their nerve, fired once and fled. Angney took the hill without sustaining any casualties.

From the behavior of the insurgent troops, Price judged that they were unwilling to engage in a set-piece battle. He therefore ordered an advance all along the line, with the Avengers circling to the rear to cut off retreat. Despite a 3-to-1 advantage in men, possession of the higher ground and a sound tactician in Montoya, the Pueblo-Mexican force was quickly beaten back. Tafoya warned Montoya of the Avengers' circling tactics, and a retreat was ordered. The broken ground made pursuit extremely difficult, and most of Montoya's force escaped, though the Avengers thoroughly bloodied the rebel rearguard. By sundown, the Americans had full possession of Santa Cruz de la Cañada and quartered there for the night. Their losses were two killed and eight wounded. The insurgents' losses were 36 killed and 45 taken prisoner.

On January 27, Price and his soldiers resumed their march, stopping for the night at the town of Los Luceros. The next morning, Captain Burgwin arrived with a company of the U.S. Army 1st Dragoons, another company of the 2nd Regiment under Lieutenant Boone, and a single 6-pounder gun. Their arrival swelled the task force to 479 men and five guns. When the army reached the town of La Joya on January 29, scouts informed Price that some 80 rebels were entrenched on both slopes of the canyon south of Embudo. Price halted his column and ordered Burgwin, St. Vrain and 180 men to clear the way. Dismounted, St. Vrain and his men moved up the left slopes while Burgwin and his dragoons moved up the right. St. Vrain discovered that he faced not a small blocking force of 80, but a large contingent of 700 to 800 rebels. Rather than retreat, St. Vrain and Burgwin charged the rebel positions in open order, firing rapidly. Once again, the enemy broke and retreated north. The insurgents suffered 20 killed and 60 wounded; the Americans lost one man killed and one wounded.

On January 30, Burgwin and St. Vrain reached La Trampas and secured it while Price brought up the artillery. Then the weather deteriorated. On February 1, Price's reunited army continued toward Taos. On the same day, miles away, Captain Morin and 200 men marched into Mora, scene of the death of Isaac Hendley, and, finding the village deserted, proceeded to burn it to the ground. The end of the insurrection was near. All that remained was the final, decisive battle.

The march from La Trampas was an arduous one, as the American troops had to trudge through 2 feet of newly fallen snow up Taos Mountain and down into the valley beyond. Frostbite was rife, and two officers contracted fevers that later killed them. Still, the stoic band grimly marched on.

On the evening of February 3, Price reached the foot of the Taos Valley, but he did not pause in his march. He sent a reconnaissance force directly to the Taos Pueblo, wherein waited some 650 Pueblo Indians and Mexicans. In the northeastern and southern corners of the stronghold were two lodges, seven and eight stories high, with Taos Creek flowing between them. In the northwestern corner was a large adobe church, the Mission Church of San Gerónimo, with a corral behind it. Throughout the pueblo the ladders had been drawn in, and the windows were manned by riflemen. Price immediately deployed his guns and had Lieutenant Dyer commence firing. For two and a half hours, the howitzers battered at the three-foot-thick adobe walls, but to no effect. As the sun went down, Price withdrew his tired, frozen men into the town of San Fernando de Taos, while the pueblo's defenders taunted and jeered.

On the morning of February 4, Price deployed his troops as he later described in his detailed report to Congress: "Posting the dragoons under Captain Burgwin about two hundred and sixty yards from the western flank of the church, I ordered the mounted men under Captains St. Vrain and Slack to a position on the opposite side of the town, whence they could discover and intercept any fugitives who might attempt to escape toward the mountains or in the direction of San Fernando. The residue of the troops took ground about three hundred yards from the north wall. Here, too, Lieutenant Dyer established himself with the 6-pounder and two howitzers, while Lieutenant Hassendaubel, of Major Clark's battalion, light artillery, remained with Captain Burgwin, in command of two howitzers. By this arrangement a crossfire was obtained, sweeping the front and eastern flank of the church. All these arrangements being made, the batteries opened upon the town at nine o'clock a.m."

Lieutenant Dyer's guns fired steadily for two hours, but when the dust and smoke cleared, the adobe walls were undamaged. Price had seen enough. At his signal, Captains Burgwin and McMillen, opposite the west wall, and Captains Angney and Barber and Lieutenant Boone, opposite the north wall, dressed their ranks and signaled the charge.

American infantry companies and dismounted dragoons approached in order, flags waving, drums and fifes marking the tempo, with officers leading the way, drawn swords gesturing overhead. But if the defenders of the pueblo felt any awe, they quickly overcame it and fired away at the advancing ranks. Dyer's artillerymen raised sights and began spraying the roofs with grapeshot. That artillery support diminished the return fire, and Burgwin's company made it to the west wall of the church without losing a man. The Pueblo on that side attempted to drive them back with rifle fire, but Burgwin's men pressed themselves up against the wall.

The dragoons then began to hack away at the wall with pickaxes, while Burgwin looked for an easier way into the church. He gathered three other officers, and they climbed over the corral behind the church and attempted to batter in the door. But the door was barred, and Burgwin was now exposed to fire from adjoining buildings. A Delaware Indian fired, and the captain fell dead. As his companions scrambled for safety, the dragoons tried to provide covering fire, but five more were shot down by the Indians.

With the enemy kept away by Lieutenant Dyer's artillery, the dragoons cut several small holes in the church wall. Dyer then brought them some explosive charges, which they lit by hand and tossed into the church. The explosions rocked the church and decimated the defenders.

Most of the Pueblo who had survived the assault on the church escaped to the lodges on the east side. But 54 Mexicans and Indians left Taos Pueblo altogether and fled to the mountains beyond. Price had anticipated this, and St. Vrain's Avengers were waiting. Thoughts of their murdered friends fed their rage as they closed in on the fleeing rebels. Any inclination for mercy was discarded when St. Vrain spotted Jesus de Tafoya, one of the leaders of the rebellion, wearing Governor Bent's coat and shirt. St. Vrain shot him down. Seeing that no quarter would be given, the rebels fought desperately. But the Avengers' blood was up, and they killed 51 of the 54 escapees.

 St. Vrain had just dismounted when a Pueblo who had been playing possum jumped up and attacked him with a lance. St. Vrain grappled with him and was about to be overpowered when an Avenger brained the Indian with a tomahawk. St. Vrain's savior was famed mountain man "Uncle Dick" Wootten.

Back in the pueblo, Price decided to quarter his troops inside the church. He had planned to start early the next day and assault the eastern buildings. Price submitted this report on what happened as dawn arrived: "On the next morning the enemy sued for peace and, thinking the severe loss they had sustained would prove a salutary lesson, I granted their supplication on the condition they should deliver up to me Tomas[ito], one of their principal men, who had instigated and been actively engaged in the murder of Governor Bent and others. The number of the enemy at the battle of Pueblo de Taos was between six and seven hundred, and of these one hundred and fifty were killed, wounded not known. Our own loss was seven killed and forty-five wounded; many of the wounded have since died."

With the capture of Taos Pueblo, the uprising effectively came to an end. The trials of the surviving conspirators were not shining examples of the fairness of the American justice system. Judge Carlos Beaubien presided, even though his son had been killed in the massacre. A juror by the name of Baptiste Brown slept throughout the proceedings, but in the jury room he declared, "Hang them all! They may not be guilty now, but they soon will be." Pablo Montoya and 13 others were convicted of treason and hanged. Tomasito was shot "trying to escape" from his death sentence.

The American chroniclers of the uprising, Sterling Price and Alexander Dyer, went on to distinguished military careers - Price as a major general in the Confederate Army and Dyer as chief of ordnance in the Union Army. But on February 4, 1847, they had conducted and won the closest thing to a medieval siege the American Southwest would ever see. The American response to the Pueblo Uprising was brutal but effective. As one historian pointedly put it, "Never again did the Pueblo Indians deviate from the strict path of peace and loyalty to the United States government."