Glorieta: Battle of Three Ranches Ranch One: Kozlowski's Ranch
The decisive battle of the New Mexico Campaign of the Civil War took place on March 26-28, 1862. Called the Battle of Glorieta, it ranged through a narrow mountain just east of Santa Fe. Three ranches owned by three very different characters were settings for this battle. 
Martin Kozlowski in front of his trading post. The Pecos River meets Glorieta Stream in a wide, flat area at the far east of the valley. It was here that Martin ( who in some records is called Napoleon) Kozlowski established his ranch.
Kozlowski wasn't the first person attracted to this area. The Santa Fe Trail passed through this area, providing opportunities for those who wanted to provide food and lodging for travelers. Some of the earliest surviving buildings on the site date from the 1810s, and thus predate the trail. But even earlier, the Pecos Pueblo had been established around AD 1100. The Pueblos was inhabited until 1838, when Comanche incursions made the remaining inhabitants relocate to the Walatowa Pueblo in Jemez. Kozlowski used some of the timbers and bricks from the pueblo to build his buildings.
Martin Kozlowski came to the area by a circuitous route. He was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1827 and fought in the 1848 revolution against the Prussians. He was a refugee for two years in England, during which time he met and married an Irish woman named Ellene. The two immigrated to American in 1853, and Martin enlisted in the First Dragoons, who were fighting Apaches in the Southwest.
Martin must have fallen in love with New Mexico during his Army years. In 1858 he mustered out and used his 160-acre government bounty land warrant to purchase the land on which he built his ranch. His 600 acre spread included 50 improved acres, which included a home for the family, a trading post, a tavern, and rooms for travelers. It had a spring for fresh water, and lots of forage for horses and mules. The 1860 agriculture census shows that Kozlowski grew corn and raised livestock, but a lot of his livelihood came from accommodating for travelers on the Santa Fe trail.
Kozlowski's ranch became the headquarters for the Union Army during the Battle of Glorieta. The forces were comprised mostly of men from the Colorado Volunteers who had come down through Raton Pass and were planning to engage the Confederates in Santa Fe. Their journey from Camp Wells in Denver seemed to be one long foraging expedition; many of the towns and ranches they passed complained to the government that they had lost provisions and animals to the Army. By the time they reached Kozlowski's ranch and established Camp Lewis, they seemed to have learned their lesson. After the war, Kozlowski complimented them, saying “When they camped on my place, they never robbed me of anything, not even a chicken.” Perhaps their good behavior was because Kozlowski was former military himself.
After the Battle, the Union Army maintained a hospital in Kozlowski's tavern for another two months.
The early 1870s appear to be the high point for the Kozlowski family's enterprises. In 1873, U.S. Attorney T.B. Catron sued him for violating a federal law that prevented non-Indians from settling on pueblo land grants. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, but ultimately Martin paid $1,000 and was able to keep his land. In 1880 the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad ran its line through the canyon, effectively ending the lucrative Santa Fe Trail traffic. Soon thereafter Kozlowski moved to Albuquerque, where he died in 1905. After that, the ranch traded hands several times, alternating from working ranch to dude ranch. In 1939 it was bought by a Texas oilman and rancher named Buddy Fogelson, who married the actress Greer Garson. The ranch was donated to the National Park Service in 1991, and is now part of Pecos National Park.
Martin Kozlowski in front of his trading post. The Pecos River meets Glorieta Stream in a wide, flat area at the far east of the valley. It was here that Martin ( who in some records is called Napoleon) Kozlowski established his ranch.Kozlowski wasn't the first person attracted to this area. The Santa Fe Trail passed through this area, providing opportunities for those who wanted to provide food and lodging for travelers. Some of the earliest surviving buildings on the site date from the 1810s, and thus predate the trail. But even earlier, the Pecos Pueblo had been established around AD 1100. The Pueblos was inhabited until 1838, when Comanche incursions made the remaining inhabitants relocate to the Walatowa Pueblo in Jemez. Kozlowski used some of the timbers and bricks from the pueblo to build his buildings.
Martin Kozlowski came to the area by a circuitous route. He was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1827 and fought in the 1848 revolution against the Prussians. He was a refugee for two years in England, during which time he met and married an Irish woman named Ellene. The two immigrated to American in 1853, and Martin enlisted in the First Dragoons, who were fighting Apaches in the Southwest.
Martin must have fallen in love with New Mexico during his Army years. In 1858 he mustered out and used his 160-acre government bounty land warrant to purchase the land on which he built his ranch. His 600 acre spread included 50 improved acres, which included a home for the family, a trading post, a tavern, and rooms for travelers. It had a spring for fresh water, and lots of forage for horses and mules. The 1860 agriculture census shows that Kozlowski grew corn and raised livestock, but a lot of his livelihood came from accommodating for travelers on the Santa Fe trail.
Kozlowski's ranch became the headquarters for the Union Army during the Battle of Glorieta. The forces were comprised mostly of men from the Colorado Volunteers who had come down through Raton Pass and were planning to engage the Confederates in Santa Fe. Their journey from Camp Wells in Denver seemed to be one long foraging expedition; many of the towns and ranches they passed complained to the government that they had lost provisions and animals to the Army. By the time they reached Kozlowski's ranch and established Camp Lewis, they seemed to have learned their lesson. After the war, Kozlowski complimented them, saying “When they camped on my place, they never robbed me of anything, not even a chicken.” Perhaps their good behavior was because Kozlowski was former military himself.
After the Battle, the Union Army maintained a hospital in Kozlowski's tavern for another two months.
The early 1870s appear to be the high point for the Kozlowski family's enterprises. In 1873, U.S. Attorney T.B. Catron sued him for violating a federal law that prevented non-Indians from settling on pueblo land grants. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, but ultimately Martin paid $1,000 and was able to keep his land. In 1880 the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad ran its line through the canyon, effectively ending the lucrative Santa Fe Trail traffic. Soon thereafter Kozlowski moved to Albuquerque, where he died in 1905. After that, the ranch traded hands several times, alternating from working ranch to dude ranch. In 1939 it was bought by a Texas oilman and rancher named Buddy Fogelson, who married the actress Greer Garson. The ranch was donated to the National Park Service in 1991, and is now part of Pecos National Park.
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