New Mexico Territory in the American Civil War facts for kids
The New Mexico Territory was a huge area during the American Civil War. It included what are now the states of New Mexico and Arizona, plus the southern part of Nevada. Even though it was far from the main battles in the east, this territory played an important role. Both the Confederate and Union governments wanted to control it. Several key battles and military actions happened here.
In 1861, the Confederacy claimed the southern half of New Mexico Territory. They called it their own Arizona Territory. They launched a big plan called the New Mexico Campaign. Their goal was to control the American Southwest and reach California, which was held by the Union. However, the Confederates lost control of New Mexico Territory after the Union won the Battle of Glorieta Pass in 1862. Even so, the Confederate Arizona government kept operating from Texas. Confederate troops continued to fight under the Arizona flag until the war ended. Also, more than 7,000 soldiers from New Mexico Territory fought for the Union.
Contents
Early Days of the Territory
The New Mexico Territory became a U.S. territory in 1850. For many years, its exact borders were not clear. In 1853, the territory grew bigger when the U.S. bought land south of the Gila River in the Gadsden Purchase. People started suggesting that the territory should be split up. They wanted to create a separate Territory of Arizona as early as 1856.
These early ideas for an Arizona Territory were different from today's Arizona. They suggested a north-south split, not an east-west one. People in the southern part of the territory felt that the government in Santa Fe (the capital) was too far away to manage their area well.
- In August 1856, a meeting in Tucson asked the U.S. Congress to create a new territory.
- A bill for this was introduced in Congress in 1857 but failed. Lawmakers thought there weren't enough people in the proposed territory.
- The idea was also controversial because some worried it was a way for Southern supporters to expand slavery into the Southwest.
In 1858, the New Mexico territorial government itself supported creating Arizona. They suggested a border along the 109th meridian west. In April 1860, people in Tucson held their own meeting. They created a temporary government for the area south of 34 degrees north. They even chose a temporary governor, Dr. Lewis S. Owings.
However, the U.S. Congress still refused to recognize these efforts. Things got worse on March 2, 1861. The U.S. government ended its contract with the Butterfield Overland Stagecoach Company. This company delivered mail from San Antonio through El Paso, Texas, Mesilla, Tucson, and on to California. Losing this important mail service angered settlers in the Arizona region. This happened just as many Southern states were leaving the Union.
Political Sides in the War
New Mexico had only recently become part of the U.S. after the Mexican–American War. Most of its people, who were mainly Hispanic, didn't care much about the secession crisis. They also had a history of not getting along with Texans. So, when they had to choose a side, many in New Mexico Territory supported the Union.
However, many settlers in the southern part of the territory, especially in the land gained from the Gadsden Purchase, sided with the Confederate States of America. The northern part of the territory had strong trade ties with the North through the Santa Fe Trail. This trail connected them to Kansas and Missouri.
- On March 16, 1861, a meeting in Mesilla voted to leave the Union. They asked people in western New Mexico (now southern Arizona) to join them.
- On March 28, a meeting in Tucson agreed with the Mesilla decision. They elected temporary leaders for the new Arizona Territory. Dr. Lewis S. Owings became governor, and Granville Henderson Oury became their first representative to the Confederate Congress.
Early in the war, the Confederacy saw Arizona Territory as a way to reach the Pacific Ocean. They hoped to capture California. In July 1861, a small Confederate force from Texas, led by Lieutenant Colonel John R. Baylor, captured Mesilla. When Union soldiers left their fort there, Baylor's troops surrounded them and forced them to surrender.
On August 1, Baylor announced that he was taking control of the territory for the Confederacy. He made Mesilla the capital and declared himself governor. He said the Arizona Territory would include all of New Mexico south of the thirty-fourth parallel of north latitude.
Baylor then removed the Union forts in the territory. This left white settlers unprotected from local Apache Indians. The Apache quickly took control of the area, forcing many settlers to flee to Tucson. Still, the people of Arizona supported Baylor. They held another meeting on August 28, 1861, in Tucson, agreeing with Baylor's actions. G.H. Oury was again chosen as their representative to the Confederate Congress.
Delegate Oury met with Confederate leaders, including President Jefferson Davis. On November 22, 1861, a bill was introduced to formally create the Territory of Arizona. After two months of discussion, it passed on January 13, 1862. President Davis officially created the territory on February 14, 1862.
The next month, in March 1862, the U.S. House of Representatives passed its own bill to create an Arizona Territory. This version used a north-south border along the 107th meridian west. This was different from the Confederate's east-west border. The U.S. bill said Tucson would be the capital and that slavery would be illegal in the new territory. The Arizona Organic Act passed the Senate in February 1863. President Abraham Lincoln signed it into law on February 24. This date became the official start of the U.S. Arizona Territory. Its first capital was Fort Whipple, then Prescott, in the northern Union-controlled area.
At the start of the Civil War, Abraham Rencher was the New Mexico territorial governor. Even though he was from North Carolina, he did not support leaving the Union. He called out the local soldiers to fight against the Confederate invasion in July 1861. That month, Henry Connelly, a New Mexico native, became governor. He served for the rest of the war. Under his leadership, slavery laws in the territory were ended. Also, Native American tribes were moved onto reservations.
Military Actions
The New Mexico Campaign
The Confederates launched a major attack to truly take control of New Mexico Territory. This was called the New Mexico Campaign, fought from February to April 1862. The Confederate Army of New Mexico marched west from Texas. They arrived in February 1862 and tried to push north into Colorado. Their goal was to capture Colorado's valuable mineral resources.
Union troops took back the territory in early 1862. They forced the Confederates to retreat after the Battle of Glorieta Pass in March. Confederate troops had to leave because a group of soldiers from the 1st Colorado Infantry burned their supply wagons. Even though the Union soldiers were defeated on the battlefield, they won the overall campaign. The Battle of Glorieta Pass is sometimes called the "Gettysburg of the West."
As the war continued, Union troops were sent to fight in other places. Famous explorer and frontiersman Kit Carson helped organize and lead the 1st New Mexico Cavalry. This group of local soldiers fought against the Apache, Navajo, and Comanche in New Mexico and Texas. They also fought against the Confederates in the earlier Battle of Valverde.
Other Conflicts
When federal troops left Arizona in early 1861 to fight in the east, the territory was left open to Apache attacks. Important Apache leaders like Mangas Coloradas and Cochise led many raids on white settlers. These attacks killed many people and caused great fear. The Apache seemed to fight both Union and Confederate forces. Both armies tried to control them. These fights are often seen as part of both the Civil War and the American Indian Wars.
The remaining Union troops in New Mexico Territory gathered in forts near the Rio Grande. The Union commander, Colonel Edward R.S. Canby, began forming regiments of New Mexico volunteers and local soldiers. These new units replaced the regular army units that had been sent east.
Captain Sherod Hunter, leading the Confederate Arizona Rangers, took control of southern Arizona in the spring of 1862. He had orders from Governor Baylor to trick the Apache into peace talks in Tucson and then kill the adults. However, Hunter's men spent most of their time chasing away Union supporters and fighting with Union troops. So, this terrible order was never carried out. A group of Hunter's soldiers traveled along the Butterfield Overland Mail route. They destroyed piles of hay to prevent Union forces from using them. They traveled to within eighty miles of Fort Yuma.
In April 1862, a small group of Confederates moving northwest from Tucson met a Union cavalry patrol near Stanwix Station. A short fight happened there, where one Union soldier was wounded. This is often considered the westernmost battle of the Civil War. The Confederate goal of expanding their influence into southern California and reaching the Pacific Ocean was never achieved.
After the Battle of Picacho Pass at Picacho Peak, about 50 miles northwest of Tucson, the main group of Colonel James H. Carleton's California Column drove the Confederates out of Tucson. They then moved on to Mesilla, the capital of Confederate Arizona. By July, the Confederates had retreated to Texas. They continued to run the territorial government from El Paso. Carleton's troops later fought the Battle of Apache Pass. During this battle, Apache warriors led by Cochise and Mangas Coloradas ambushed them in Arizona's Chiricahua Mountains. Even though the Union soldiers survived the Apache attack and built Fort Bowie to protect the mountain pass, the Californians and the Apache continued fighting throughout the war and beyond.
The Confederate Arizona Territory, formed in 1861, was the first idea for an Arizona territory in the U.S. It was created by taking the southern part of the Union's New Mexico Territory. The Arizona Territory created by the Union in 1863 had a different border, splitting Arizona on the west from New Mexico on the east.
After the War
Peralta, New Mexico, which was destroyed in the Battle of Peralta, was rebuilt and is still lived in today. The territorial government arranged for a monument to be built in the Santa Fe Plaza. This monument remembers the Union soldiers who died and speaks against the Confederacy.
Images for kids
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Map of New Mexico Territory in 1860
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New Mexico and Arizona Territories in 1863
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New Mexico Territory in 1866
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Map showing the Confederate Arizona Territory (red) and the Union Arizona Territory (blue).
