Research Paper — Unknown Author

Albert H. Pfeiffer was associated with William Mortimore as early as the 1850's in New Mexico. They are both mentioned in a deed filed in San Miguel County in 1855. In the 1850 census of Santa Fe, an Anton Fifner is listed on the same census sheet as Mortimore. His age was given as 35 and he was born in Switzerland. In 1860, Anton Pfiffner is listed in Santa Fe. Spelling of names in both censuses is notoriously inaccurate. Therefore it appeared that this man may be Albert H. Pfeiffer the friend of William Mortimore. However, both Anton and Albert are listed in the 1870 census and are different people.

On January 30, 1855 Pfeiffer was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in Captain Charles Deus Company, New Mexico Mounted Volunteers in the battalion commanded by Lt. Col. Ceran St. Vrain. The company served for a period of six months until July 30, 1855 during the Indian campaign of 1855. The campaign consisted of a number of expeditions against the hostiles during March through May causing the surrender of the Muache Utes and the Jicarilla Apaches.

In 1861, both Albert H. Pfeiffer and William Mortimore were commissioned Captains in the New Mexico Volunteers and commanded companies for the Union Forces. After the Texan Rebels were driven out of New Mexico, Captain Pfeiffer and Mortimore were active in the reorganized New Mexico Volunteers. Under the Command of General Carleton and Colonel Kit Carson, both were in service late in 1862 during the operations to control the depredations by Indians.

Albert H. Pfeiffer and his wife, Maria Antonia Salinas, baptized three Indian children May 11, 1862 as listed in the Abiquiu Index of Baptisms. The eldest was a 17 year old Ute Indian girl named Maria Antonia Pfeiffer; a Navajo boy named Jose Lazaro Pfeiffer who was 7 years old; and a 5 yr. old Navajo girl named Maria Juliana Pfeiffer.

On March 24, 1863, Major Morrison along with Captain Pfeiffer's company of New Mexico Volunteers was enroute to Fort McRae from Fort Stanton. They encountered a wounded man at Nicolas Spring who had been a member of a train conducted by Martin Lujan from Socorro, Texas. The man had survived an attack by Indians upon the train and was left for dead after nearly all the party of the train had been killed. The loss in this action was seven killed and seventy head of cattle stolen.

June 20, 1863 Captain Pfeiffer, his wife, girls and escort troops were attacked by Apaches at a hot spring near Fort McRae. Pfeiffer was wounded, his wife and one girl were killed as were two soldiers.

An account of the incident is related by Surgeon George Gwyther as quoted from "The Army Of The Pacific" pages 275 and 276 as follows: "Although not recognized as a psychiatrist, Surgeon Gwyther knew the mental agony of the man who locked the memory of a great tragedy in his mind. He was stationed at Fort Garland, Colorado, with Captain Albert H. Pfeiffer, company H, first New Mexico volunteers, when he became acquainted with the gruff old Dutchman, gained his confidence and respect, and learned why he never mentioned one of his encounters with the Indians. It was June 1863 and Captain Pfeiffer was stationed at Fort Craig when his eyes began to trouble him so he decided to spend a few weeks at Ojo Caliente below Fort McRae where he hoped to be benefited by the spring water. He was accompanied by his wife and child, one servant, and six soldiers. They pitched their tents in a grove of cottonwoods near the spring and in a short time Captain Pfeiffer's health began to improve.

"One morning at sunrise, he went down to the spring to bathe and just as he was leaving the pool, he heard the howl of the Apaches followed by the shrieks and groans of his wife and child. He was utterly powerless to save them. The Indians rushed toward him but he ran for the Colorado river. Upon reaching the bank, he plunged from a twenty-five foot bluff into the current and swam across. He reached a heavy thicket in safety and by crawling through it managed to escape

"The Apaches burned all his camp equipment, killed his wife and child, two soldiers, and severely wounded a servant girl, but she

hid among the rocks and was rescued by soldiers from Fort Craig. Captain Pfeiffer was not found until the following day. His body was covered with blood from an arrow wound in his side and from the numerous scratches from the brush and cacti as he had not had time to dress after the Indians attacked. He was blistered from the hot desert sun and delirious from shock and exposure." (it is footnoted that this account is from Overland Monthly, vol. v, 1st series, p. 520, Surgeon George Gwyther)

At about this same time, Captain Pfeiffer's old friend, Captain William Mortimore, had been granted a commission in the reorganized New Mexico Volunteers. His company had been discharged after the battle of Valverde in which he suffered severe wounds three times during the engagement. Confined to the Fort Craig hospital for some time, he had, by November, recovered enough to request that General Carleton accept his application for service in any rank available. In May, the General had an opening in Company M for a 2nd lieutenant and ordered Mortimore to Fort Union by the first stage to join the company. The company was soon transferred to Fort Defiance.

While at Fort Defiance, Lieutenant Mortimore, carrying not only the physical wounds from the lost battle at Valverde, became embroiled in a terrible fight with Lieutenant Stephen Coyle July 31, 1863 in the presence of the men of the company. As a result, Adjutant Percy J. Eyre placed Mortimore under house arrest, however, Mortimore refused to comply. Had this not have happened, Mortimore and Pfeiffer would have served together in and around Fort Defiance during the Navajo campaign. Instead, Mortimore effected his resignation during the month of August which, to his credit, the General accepted backdated to the day of the incident, July 31, 1863.

As a part of Colonel Carson's expedition from Fort Canby at Pueblo Colorado (present day Ganado, Arizona) to the Canyon de Chelly, Captain Pfeiffer commanded one of the four companies under Colonel Carson. By late August, his company was on station at Fort Defiance. "On August 20, 1863, the soldiers left Fort Defiance and after traveling sixteen miles, camped on a high barren bluff overhanging Canyon de Los Trizos. They passed many singular and grotesque formations of rock-caves, domes, arches, towers and steeples.

"It was an all day's job, so they left camp without breakfast to explore Canyon de Los Trizos. After a two mile hike, thirty men were deployed as flankers on each side of the canyon while the main body of troops kept to the middle. For a distance of three or four miles the canyon was only fifty to one hundred fifty yards wide and the walls rose perpendicularly to two hundred feet.

"At two o'clock in the afternoon Captain Pfeiffer ordered all, except thirty, of his men to return to camp. He remained behind with his detachment until dark to ascertain whether the Indians would return. Eight or ten did and were fired upon without effect. The Captain returned after dark and prepared to start for Canyon de Chelly the following day.

"They continued their journey -- 'Where to - no one knows but the chief,' wrote the volunteer. On August 24, they came to La Ventana, the Window." (This is the present site of Window Rock, Arizona.)

"On the same day they examined the nearby petrified trees of all sizes and in all stages of preservation ..."

"Captain Pfeiffer (later colonel) reported to Colonel Carson that he had passed from the east to the west entrance of Canyon de Chelly without casualty. The walls were almost perpendicular for the first twelve miles, he reported, and high among the rocks were the forts and castles of the Navajos in this Gibraltar of Navajodom. One structure, in particular, was substantial and of beautiful masonry.

He was surprised to find a large peach orchard nearby the canyon.

"The Navajos evaded direct combat with the troops and retreated to the mountains where it was difficult to find them."

U. S. Census Information

In reference to the census information regarding Albert H. Pfeiffer, the 1870 census indicates that there were four Pfeiffers listed in New Mexico. Albert Pfeiffer was in the Town of Costilla in Taos County on August 3rd listed as age 46, born at Hanover, Germany. Listed separately in dwelling #134 as family # 126, he had no others in his household.

OTHER PFEIFFER"S IN NEW MEXICO

It appears that Albert H. Pfeiffer's son, Alberto Pfeiffer was in the family of another well known Civil War figure, Captain John H. Mink, in San Miguel County, Town of Las Vegas on July 9th:

D#338F#318 MINK, JOHN H. 53, Lawyer 1300/400 Prussia

MARTINEZ, Ma. ANTONIA 37, Seamstress NM
MINK, Ma. MANUELA 18, Seamstress NM
PFEIFFER, ALBERTO 11, At Home NM
MINK, MARIA 11, At Home NM
ROSENSTEIN, ANTa 17, Seamstress NM
MARTINEZ, MANUEL 23, Cook NM
MINK, PEDRO 3, Male Indian

A Fredrick Pfeiffer was a 27 year old gold miner from Prussia on July 7, 1870 at Elizabeth City, Colfax, County. He was living in with another gold miner named John Hurley, also age 27.

At Fort Wingate, there was a Sergeant Peter Pfeiffer from Baden, Germany, listed September 17, 1870 in the census of Valencia County. There was also the Anton Pfeiffner 54, from Switzerland, living in the family of wealthy farmer from Hessia, George Berg. This listing was in Golondrinas, Mora County on the 14th of August 1870.

Another Pfeiffer, spelled in the census with one "f", is found in the 1880 census of Colfax County in Cimarron:

D263,F287 PFEIFER, JOHN 30, Miner Penn/Prussia/Prussia
MARIA 23, Wife NM/NM/NM
JUDIA 5, Son NM/PA/NM
JANE 3, Daughter NM/PA/NM
MARIA 1, Daughter NM/PA/NM

Questions

Who was the wife of Albert H. Pfeiffer?

Answer: MARIA ANTONIA SALINAS apparently the daughter of Jose Guillermo Salinas and Juana Sandoval and granddaughter of Juan Jose Salinas & Maria Josefa Ramirez, and Hemeregildo Sandoval & Juana Lobato. She was born June 11, 1830 and

baptized June 13th when 3 days old as listed in the Santa Fe Baptismal records.

Maria Antonia Salinas was officially married to Albert H. Pfeiffer in Abiquiu on July 28, 1860 after certain religious impediments had been removed by Bishop Lamy. She was listed as a widow of Jose Lujan and had married Pfeiffer about 1856 when they both were in Santa Fe. Albert Jr. was born in Santa Fe October 4, 1857.

How many children did he have? Who were they?

Answer: One son, Albert H. Pfeiffer, Jr. Three Indian children, 1 boy and two girls baptized 5/11/1862 Note: Maria Antonia was pregnant with their second child when she was killed by the Apaches.

When did he come to NM? From where?

Answer: Pfeiffer came from East Freisland, The German Empire

(Prussia) about 1840-46 to America. He came to the West arriving in New Mexico in 1847.

When, where, how did he die? Was He a Colonel?

Answer: Died Wednesday April 6, 1881 at 11 a.m. buried near Del Norte, Colorado. He was commissioned Major by the Governor of NM., Nov. 23, 1864. Note that a newspaper article mentions his year of death incorrectly as 1888. He was a brevetted Lt. Colonel upon recommendation of General Carleton in 1865.

NOTE: Albert H. Pfeiffer and his son, Albert Jr., were listed in the index of the 1880 census of Rio Grande County, Colorado as was a Juanita Pfeiffer. This Juanita was at first omitted but the enumerator made the correction at the end of the precinct that she is the wife of Albert H. Pfeiffer, Jr. The census was taken June 29, 1880.

#153/166 Pfeiffer, Albert H. WM 65 Ranchman
Prussia, Father from Prussia, Mother from Prussia

Pfeiffer, Albert H., Jr. WM 24 works on ranch.
New Mexico, Father from Prussia,
Mother from Mexico

Pfeiffer, Juanita WF 16 housekeeping,
from New Mexico,
Father from NM, Mother from NM

Albert Jr. was married in June of 1879 to Mary Elizabeth Chamberlain. She was referred to as "LIZZIE".

The census of 1880 was apparently botched up since it is clear from family information that Lizzie was 16 and he 22 when married on the Ranch in 1979.