La Paz Incident
Part of the American Civil War
Location La Paz, Arizona Result Two Union soldiers killed.
Belligerents
United States	Confederate States
Commanders and leaders
James A. Hale	William Edwards
Casualties and losses
2 killed	none
One civilian was wounded by gunfire. Willam Frog Edwards died after the shooting while trying to escape the Union Army.

The La Paz Incident occurred in May 1863 at La Paz in Confederate Arizona and was the western most confrontation of the American Civil War. Confederate minuteman William "Frog" Edwards ambushed a pair of United States Army soldiers when they stopped at La Paz to purchase supplies. Though successful in ambushing the federals, Edwards died of exposure while making his escape.^[1]

Incident

When Confederate Arizona was created in 1861, the Union California Column was formed to march across Arizona for and occupation and to reinforce the Union Army engaged in the New Mexico Campaign. In 1862 General James H. Carleton arrested several Arizona citizens and detained them at Fort Yuma as political prisoners, Edwards was one of these detainees. By 1863, La Paz and a handful of other American settlements had been established along the Colorado River which was an important army route since the Yuma War. The army constanty had a presence by steaming up and down the waterway on river steamers, generally in pusuit of supplies to maintain thier forts. On the night of May 20, 1863, the army steamer named Cocopah arrived at La Paz. A small group of toops, under the command of Lieutenant James A. Hale of the 4th Infantry, disembarked the ship to visit Cohn's Store. There they were to puchase some supplies before returning to Fort Mohave.^[2]

Wainting in the shadows was William Edwards,or the 'Frog", a name the Union troops later called him. As the soldiers were gathering in front of the store, Edwards opened fire with his revolver and fired several shots into the crowd. Both Private Ferdinand Behn and Private Thomas Gainor of Company H were hit and killed instantly. One bystander was also struck by a bullet and sustained serious wounds. Lieutenant hale immediately searche dthe town with his remaining men but he could not find Edwards who had already made his escape. The Union troops were forced to return to base where the lieutenant informed his commander what had happened. In response a troop of forty men were deployed to hunt the "Frog". Edwards was found lying in the desert, apparently he had no water and he died of thirst.^[3]