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What if the Confederate invasion of New Mexico was not defeated at the Glorietta Pass? This battle, known as the "Gettysburg of the West," was the turning point in the far western theater and put down Confederate ambitions of an "Arizona territory" (OTL New Mexico).

According to "The Bonanza West," William Gilpin, the territorial governor of Colorado, raised local troops and paid them with drafts on the nat'l treasury amounting to roughly $400,000. Washington did not honor them at first, but later paid them. Gilpin's forces helped defeat the Confederates at Glorietta Pass.

Let's take the POD that perhaps these drafts on the treasury aren't honored and Gilpin has to disband his army. Without the Colorado troops, will the Confederates win? If so, how much damage can they do? "The Bonanza West" posits that they could potentially invade Colorado, and I had the notion of them carrying gold and silver back to the Confederacy proper to help prolong the war, or requiring Union forces be sent from the East, impinging on campaigns that were important in OTL.

Do y'all agree? Any thoughts?
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