In 1862, a force of about 2500 Confederate soldiers were camped near Fort Craig (near Socorro, NM). Union Captain James "Paddy" Graydon and a handful of men took two old mules and loaded them with improvised bombs made from howitzer shells. Under the cover of darkness, he sneaked them into the enemy camp and lit the fuses; he assumed the mules would join the mules in camp. However, as Graydon ran back to Fort Craig, the mules followed him, and the bombs eventually exploded; neither Graydon nor the Rebel soldiers were injured.