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Colonel Manuel Chaves
nicknamed "El Leoncito" meaning little lion, was born on October 18,1818 and died in 1889. He was born in the town of Atrisco, opposite the city of Albuquerque and died in Valencia County, at home in San Mateo, New Mexico.

Colonel Manuel Chaves was an Indian fighter and took part in a bitter campaign against the Navajos when only sixteen years of age. He was a resident of Santa Fe when General Kearney took possession of the city.

He held a commission under General Manuel Armijo and was one of the officers under that general who was in favor of holding the Apache pass against Kearney and his troops. He was accused of being one of the conspirators for the uprising of December, 1846, and was placed in prison by order of General Sterling Price;

Colonel Chaves was tried by court martial, defended by Captain Angney, one of Price's officers, and acquitted.

When the revolution broke out at Taos in January, 1847, Colonel Chaves enlisted as a private soldier under Colonel Ceran St. Vrain and fought with the American troops in all the battles ending with the engagement at Taos. In 1855 he was in command of troops in a campaign against the Utes and Jicarilla Apaches.

In a fight with these savages, a young Apache chief, lance in hand, charged upon Chaves, and killed him with a shot from his rifle.

During this campaign, he participated in engagements with the Indians at Cochotopa pass, Nepesta, Cerro Blanco, and El Rito, in which his troops were victorious. In 1859, he took part in the campaign against the Apaches under Mangas Coloradas.

When the Civil War broke out he was offered a commission in the Confederate Army by Colonel W. W. Loring, then in command of the department at Santa Fe. He declined with thanks and later became lieutenant-colonel of the 2nd regiment, New Mexico Volunteers, taking part in the battles of Valverde and Apache Canyon.

Colonel Chaves was a man of small stature, but his powers of endurance were remarkable. In fights with Indians, he was pierced with arrows many times. Indeed, these old wounds were the ultimate causes of his death.