The location of the four fallen soldiers near Dragoon Springs Butterfield Stage Stop. The Confederate and Union soldiers had met in battle near Picacho Pass shortly before this locaton. The unit was a mixture of CSA and Union POW's when Chiricahua Apaches came down from the area known as Cochise's Stronghold to raid their horses. Four solders fell in the conflict.

To reach the cemetery, travel to Dragoon, Cochise, Arizona and on the outskirts you will find the remains of the Butterfield Stage. There is a worn trail that leads from the stop to the location of the cemetery. Boy Scouts of America have posted plaques describing the events and once a year in May the Sons of Confederate Veterans return to pay honor to all those located here. The drawing of the station is from Our Whole Country, by John Warner Barber and Henry Howe. It was made in 1860 by H. C. Grosvenor, of Tubac, manager of the Santa Rita Mines. Two graves can be seen in the lower left corner and are exactly in the position of the existing graves. The other two graves were added on May 5, 1862. There are only a total of five in the four graves. With the drawing is a description of the station and the graves: "This station, or corral, is 85 miles east of Tucson. It is a rectangular enclosure, protected by a stone wall eight foot high. One third of the space is occupied by storehouses and the sleeping apartment of the station master. These structures are covered by thatched roofs. The mules are kept in the other part, ready for change on the arrival of the mail. A heavy wooden gate defends the entrance. The two graves in the foreground are mementos of a tragedy that occurred on the night of September 8, 1858. Rude wooden slabs at their head bear brief inscriptions." From "The Butterfield Trail and Overland Mail Company in Arizona, 1858-1861." This drawing was made at least a year before the Civil War and shows that the historical marker at the gravesite incorrectly identifies all four graves as those of Confederate Soldiers. The graves marked "S. Ford" and "Ricardo" are, but the two outside graves are those of the Butterfield Overland Mail Company employees that were massacred there on September 8, 1858. Silas St. John, the survivor of the massacre, stated that two of the employees were buried in one grave, thus the need for only two graves for all three that were massacred.