The Santa Fe Plaza has been a National Historic Landmark for more than 400 years in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico. The plaza, or “city-square”, was originally, and is still to this day, the center gathering place in town. Many know it as “the heart of Santa Fe”. This beautiful landmark has since grown into a playground for many tourists, hosting art markets, community gatherings, concerts and more.

The monument in the plaza is inscribed, on its four sides:

TO THE HEROES OF THE FEDERAL ARMY WHO FELL AT THE BATTLE OF Valverde, FOUGHT WITH THE REBELS FEBRUARY 21, 1862

TO THE HEROES WHO HAVE FALLEN IN THE VARIOUS BATTLES WITH INDIANS IN THE TERRITORY OF NEW MEXICO

TO THE HEROES OF THE FEDERAL ARMY WHO FELL AT THE BATTLES OF CANON DEL APACHE AND PIGEON’S RANCH (LA GLORIETA) FOUGHT WITH THE REBELS MARCH 28, 1863 AND TO THOSE WHO FELL AT THE BATTLE FOUGHT WITH THE REBELS AT PERALTA APRIL 15, 1862.

ERECTED BY THE PEOPLE OF NEW MEXICO THROUGH THEIR LEGISLATURES OF 1866 – 7 – 8. MAY THE UNION BE PERPETUAL.^[6]

An interpretive plaque nearby explains the context, that the monument was dedicated in 1868 at a time of intense strife which had set northerner against southerner, white against Indian, Indian against Indian, and notes that prejudices reflected in the wording hopefully dissolve eventually.

A great video by Antonio Martinez

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