2 January 1861, Boise City, Oklahoma: Head of the Department of New Mexico, Col. Thomas T. Fauntleroy, commanding at Fort Union, ordered Lt. Col. George B. Crittenden to chastise the raiding Kiowas and Comanches at any opportunity. When news of depredations in the mountains along the Santa Fe Trail came in, Crittenden led out 88 men and four officers of Companies D, H, and K and a detachment of Company E, Mounted Rifles.
In the meantime, the raiders had moved east of the Raton Mountains and were harassing travelers along the Cimarron River. Crittenden ordered forced marches to catch up with them. Near the Cimarron, about ten miles north of Cold Springs, the soldiers found a camp of 175 sleeping Kiowa and Comanche lodges. They surprised the Indians, killing 10 and wounding about 10 more. Three Mounted Riflemen were wounded. Crittenden's men destroyed the camp and took 40 horses back to Fort Union with them.
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