The Post meets on the third Saturday at 2PM at Soldado’s Hall, which is located behind the car wash next to the
Taos VA Clinic – 1351 Paseo del Pueblo Sur.

This space will change in the spring, likely April. Stay tuned here for the new location.

A note from the historian

(from a Facebook post, February 3, 2025)

Every now and then, I’m asked to do something that completely surprises me.  To be quite candid, I am really thrilled to undertake a request for which I have absolutely no experience and certainly no background.  Recently, I was appointed as the Historian for Post 16 of the American Legion in Taos, New Mexico.  I admit I have no background whatsoever as historian in any context and, to date, no one is quite sure what a historian does for the Legion. The National Headquarters has a Historian position, which was vacant at the time of my call.  I had hoped to discover the duties of the Post Historian, but lacking firm direction, I set off on my own.

American Legion Post 16 bears the name of Sisneros-Martinez.  I asked our Post Commander who these two individuals were. Unfortunately, he had no idea. He provided me with some contact info for the previous Post Historian.  I reached out to him and he was able to inform me these men had served in WWI and their names were Thomas Sisneros and Abraham Martinez. So began my voyage of discovery.

I began by going by the Taos News which is a paper of considerable regional coverage.  Regrettably, they only had records back to the year 1950, but the staff suggested I inquire at the Taos library. I did so and was able to confirm the names from a historic file, as Tomas Sisneros and Abraham (Abran or Abram) Martinez.  I also found a book entitled, SOLDIERS OF THE GREAT WAR, published in 1920, which is a compilation of the names of all military personnel who died during WWI from combat wounds, disease or accidents.  Sure enough, I was able to review this book and locate the names of both soldiers. Tomas Sisneros, lived in Taos, but died at Camp Kearney in California on 23 Dec., 1918 during the great Spanish flu pandemic. Abran Martinez, from Ranchos de Taos, was killed in action in France on 5 Oct., 1918.  I discovered Pvt. Martinez was originally interred in France, however his remains were brought back to New Mexico in the 1920’s. He was laid to eternal rest at a now-forgotten and seemingly abandoned cemetery in Pilar, NM.  Pvt. Sisneros was laid to rest at the Kit Carson Cemetery in Taos.  I visited the Kit Carson Cemetery first, and located Tomas’s grave site.  It was easily located and well-cared for; I also took photos which will be framed and displayed at Post 16.

Locating the final resting place for Abraham or Abran Martinez turned out to be a more challenging process. He was listed in SOLDIERS OF THE GREAT WAR as having been interred at the La Cieneguilla Cemetery in Cieneguilla, NM.  I looked up the name of that town which has become Pilar, NM.  I contacted the Taos County Engineer and asked if he might know where the Cieneguilla Cemetery was located in the Pilar area. Upon checking the detailed county maps, he noted it lies within federal lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and within the Orilla Verde Recreation area. I was a Ranger for the BLM for many years and had been to Orilla Verde hundreds of times while on patrol. I never knew that a cemetery existed in the area!

I contacted the BLM Taos Field Office and spoke with Mr. Chris Anderson who is the District Archaeologist.  Luckily, he knew where the Cemetery was, but informed me it had been abandoned and left unattended for many decades, so was unsure if a burial site and headstone could be located for a soldier from WWI.  He agreed to meet me at the Rio Grande Gorge Visitor Center and take me to the cemetery.

I met Mr. Anderson and his fellow BLM Archaeologist at the Visitor Center. Mr. Anderson had already located the grave and headstone.  The now-abandoned grave yard is located just a few hundred yards behind the “Pilar Yacht Club”, a store and snack bar located along Highway 68 and across from the Rio Grande Gorge Visitor Center. The only clearly marked grave site was for that of Abran and it was a solid headstone, so I took a number of photos for future framing. Based on our visit to the site, Mr. Anderson said he would begin looking into the history of the abandoned grave yard which is truly great!

Lest you think that my duties have concluded with regard to Tomas Sisneros and Abraham Martinez, you are mistaken.  I will be requesting information on both men from the Bureau of Vital Statistics in Santa Fe. Post 16 will no longer simply bear a name, but will know the history of two good and brave men who answered the call of duty 108 years ago.  My next task will be to begin searching records for the rosters of veterans who had served and been members of Post 16 as formed in 1919 to give recognition to those brave souls. Lest we forget…