The Execution of Sgt. Darius Philbrook, 1st Colorado Volunteers

By Robert W. Philbrook

(Originally published in the August 2001 issue of the PPFA Newsletter) 

    During the Civil War, executions of our own soldiers was not uncommon.  Discipline was severe, and sometimes even minor infractions carried heavy penalties.  Over 200 executions took place during the Civil War, most for desertion.  Among this list is found the name of Darius Philbrook, 1st Colorado Volunteers.  DARIUS A.⁹ PHILBROOK  (SAMUEL⁸, HENRY⁷, SAMUEL⁶, WALTER⁵, WALTER⁴, WILLIAM³, THOMAS² PHILBRICK, THOMAS¹) was born June 11, 1832 in Rushville, Yates Co., New York, and was executed by firing squad on April 08, 1862 at Ft. Union, Mora Co., New Mexico.  Sgt. Darius was a member of Company K, as was his brother, Leander Philbrook.

    In 1862, Confederate and Union forces clashed in the Battle of Glorieta in New Mexico.  It was near there, at Ft. Union that Darius and the rest of the 1st Colorado soldiers found themselves in early March.  They had been sent from Colorado to stop the invasion of Confederate forces from Texas.  The Colorado Volunteers were made up of rowdy frontiersmen and miners.  In the weeks before the battle, these “Pike Peakers” as the men of the 1st Colorado were sometimes called, were restless awaiting the coming battle.  With not much to do, the soldiers quickly began to get into trouble.  They raided the local sutler (a man who sold items to soldiers and often at exorbitant prices) stealing whiskey, wine and other food items.

    Darius may have been one of the raiders or perhaps he had purchased the whiskey on his own, either way, it was to lead to his downfall.  About March 12, 1862 the drunken Darius was confronted by Lieutenant Isaac Gray of Company B.   Lt. Gray attempted to arrest Sgt. Philbrook for drunkenness and noise.   Eyewitnesses to the events provided conflicting stories, but what is certain is that Darius pulled a pistol and fired five shots at the Lieutenant, hitting him once.  “The ball struck on the bridge of the nose between the eyes, and glancing down lodged in the lower part of the face” wrote unit historian Ovando J. Hollister in is book, “History of the First Regiment of Colorado Volunteers.  Amazingly, Gray was not seriously injured.  Other officers near by fired their pistols at the fleeing Sergeant but Darius was soon captured and confined.

    Word spread quickly and the soldiers of Company B were ready to lynch Philbrook, while Darius’ comrades in Company K felt that there were possibly reasons favorable to the Sergeant.  Captain Sanborn, officer of the day at Fort Union, intervened and “the excited passions of all parties allowed time to cool.”

    Ovando Hollister wrote that too many of the soldiers felt “whiskey justifies anything” but that Sgt. Philbrook had no right to shoot at Lt. Gray.  On March 21, 1862 Darius went on trial before a general court-martial.  Hollister logs in his diary, “As his offense is utterly subversive of all military authority, he stands a slim chance of escape.  But such is life – a seething mixture of weakness and crime, involving penalties inexorable as fate.  Lieut. Gray is almost well.”

The men of the 1st Colorado did not have much time to think about Darius Philbrook and the possible penalty for his actions.  For a week later on March 28, 1862, Union and Confederate forces fought the Battle of Glorieta.  The battle was considered a victory by both sides.  Later events would prove that, just like at Gettysburg, the Confederate failure to defeat the Union troops ultimately lead to their defeat in the West.

    After the battle, Union forces pursued the Confederates south and Hollister writes on April 11, “The infantry camp is full of rumors.  One, that they had captured forty deserters from our regiment up above Maxwell’s – false; another that Sergeant Philbrook had been shot at Union, in pursuance of sentence by general court-martial, for shooting Lieut. Gray in March – true.  As none of our men were at the Post I have not heard the particulars, but whatever they were let me here record that he died the victim of whisky, nothing else.”  (Colorado State Archive records indicate that Sgt. Darius Philbrook was executed on April 8, 1862.)

    It is unknown at this time what part Darius’ brother, Leander may have played in the drama in New Mexico.  Hollister’s book never mentions him, nor is his name found among the unit roster dated February 28, 1863 or as a casualty of the battle at Glorieta.  Additional research is needed to discover more on Darius and his brother Leander.  Leander is recorded as dieing December 6, 1907 in a Soldier’s Home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is buried in Brookfield, Waukesha Co., Wisconsin.  He married Nancy J. Graham in April 1863 in Ottawa, Illinois.

Sources:

Colorado State Archives

Ovando J. Hollister, History of the First Colorado Volunteers

Don E. Alberts, The Battle of Glorieta

Michael Philbrook - Bucyrus, Ohio