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Blog Entry 14 of 16 Old Fort Carson

A running history of Fort Carson, from its beginnings in World War II. I know some of it. You fill in the rest.

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The Gazette Boots it Again

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Contributed by: Dave Hughes on 5/26/2008

On Saturday, the 24th of May, first day of the three day Memorial Day Weekend, the Gazette Telegraph managed NOT to mention the coming - that day and for three days following - the large Territory Days Festival - where over 100,000 people would attend.

Then Sunday it managed to take one picture, and with the throwaway caption line it said it would continue for the next day.

Then MONDAY, Memoral Day itself the GT outdid itself. EVEN in it Calendar of the Day's Events it managed NOTHING. So I wrote to both Jeff Thomas Editor AND the Editorial Page Editor. the following:

"Well I guess you set a record this time. Today, Memorial Day, you managed to insure there was not ONE word, not one LINE, not even in your Metro Section 'Calendar of Events' in today's paper that Territory Days was taking place again on the Westside. Yeah, I read that scintillating news that the Banks are Closed, Federal offices are Closed, AND the Gazette is closed today. As if that doesn't happen EVERY Memorial Day Monday.

There was attached to today's Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News's articles on the original meaning of Memorial Day. Blog/comment space. So I posted the below.

"Well, here in Old Colorado City - now the westside of Colorado Springs, some of us pause to remember the Civil War dead (the original meaning of Memorial Day) - six buried in Pioneer Park and others in the westside's very old Fairview Cemetery.

Very few modern residents of El Paso County at the foot of Pikes Peak even know that volunteers from the original Colorado City and Denver City saved Colorado Territory for the Union in 1862.

Yep, the Civil War was here as Jeff Davis tried to send 4,000 Texas confederates up the Rio Grande through New Mexico to capture the Colorado gold fields. But the hardy 1,200 strong '1st Colorado Volunteer Infantry Regiment' marched on foot 400 miles south through Colorado City that was the Territorial Capital at the time, and in a hard fought campaign at Glorieta Pass, New Mexico threw the Confederates all the way back to Texas. Now they come with money instead of guns. It was called the 'Little Gettysburg of the West'

And I for one tip my hat to fellow West Pointer, first Territorial Governor William Gilpin, who saw the military threat early enough to raise the money on Federal promissory notes, to organize the 1st Colorado - for there were no Federal troops around. Had he not done that, Denver would have been occupied by the Confederacy.

[in the RMN blog I also posted] Now I suppose it would be impolite on this Memorial Day to mention that it was the Rocky Mountain News, miffed in 1862 because Republican Gilpin didn't award the printing contract to the RMN in 1861, instead to the 'Colorado Republican' paper, that badgered Gilpin unmercifully editorially (in part for its own conflict of interest) until President Lincoln had to remove him from office.

So every year during our three day "Territorial Days' celebration in the Old Colorado City part of Colorado Springs - which wasn't even founded until after the Civil War was over, we remember, even if nobody else does.
Colonel_Dave"

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