The Chronicles Of Grant County

A map shows all of present-day southern New Mexico was once located in the Territory of Arizona that was part of Confederate States of America. (This map was produced by Bacon and Company and was provided courtesy of the Library of Congress, 1862.)

The lands that now comprise Grant County were once part of the Territory of Arizona that itself was part of the Confederate States of America (CSA) for a period of time.

For a number of years, though the United States of America did not recognize Arizona yet to be a separate territory, local folks in southern New Mexico considered their lands to be part of the "Territory of Arizona." Before the present-day borders were set splitting New Mexico and Arizona into two jurisdictions with a boundary that went north to south, many people in the region considered the more appropriate division of New Mexico and Arizona to be along an east-west line – New Mexico to the north, Arizona to the south.

Prior to the start of the American Civil War, states in the South seceded from the USA; the CSA was founded on February 8, 1861. Within weeks of the founding of that confederacy, local folks in Arizona Territory petitioned to join the new country.

Please note that at this time, neither Silver City existed as a town nor was Grant County a distinct governmental entity.

The edition of The Weekly Advertiser of Montgomery, Alabama, dated February 27, 1861, detailed some of the decisions made at a meeting in Mesilla, the capital of Arizona Territory. This news article indicated that the local folks in Arizona Territory "resolved…Arizona naturally belongs to the South and should be attached to it…that we declare it to be the unanimous desire and will of the people of Arizona, to be attached as a Territory to the Southern Confederation."

The newspaper further reported, that the attendees at this meeting stated "That in case there is no formation of a Southern Confederacy, that we desire to be annexed to the Republic of Texas, (in case Texas should secede and act independently) as part and parcel of that Republic where we naturally belong; and that our delegates in the Convention, be instructed to do all they can to place us under the protection of the Lone Star banner."

Confederate Lt. Colonel John Baylor proclaimed the Territory of Arizona officially part of the CSA on August 1, 1861.

On October 15, 1861, The Lancaster Intelligencer of Pennsylvania reported "Treason In Arizona Territory: The Washington correspondent of the Philadelphia Press says 'I have just seen a copy of the Mesilla Times, a secession paper published at Mesilla, Arizona Territory, dated on the 10th of August last. From this it appears that a complete Secession Government has been organized there, from Governor down to justice of the peace…the Governor being…well known for his violent pro-slavery feelings…The Times [of Mesilla] demands the extermination of the whole Indian race."

The Confederate Congress passed legislation to officially form the Territory of Arizona on January 18, 1862. According to "The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies," the first paragraph of this legislation included the wording that confirmed that "...the institution of slavery in said [Arizona] Territory shall receive all necessary protection, both from the Territorial Legislature and the Congress of the Confederate States..."

This new territory was officially created through a Proclamation of Jefferson Davis, President of the CSA, on February 14, 1862. According to the same book that included the official records of the armies of the USA and the CSA, the text of this Proclamation was as follows:

"Whereas, an act of the Congress of the Confederate States of America entitled 'An act to organize the Territory of Arizona,' was approved by me on the 18th day of January, 1862; and whereas, it is therein declared that the provisions of the act are suspended until the President of the Confederate States shall issue his proclamation declaring the act to be in full force and operation, and shall proceed to appoint the officers therein provided to be appointed in and for said Territory:

"Now, therefore, I, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, do issue this my proclamation declaring said 'Act to organize the Territory of Arizona' to be in full force and operation, and that I have proceeded to appoint the officers therein provided to be appointed in and for said Territory.

"Given under my hand the seal of the Confederate States of America at Richmond, this fourteenth day of February, AD 1862."

The Territory of Arizona remained physically part of the CSA for several more months until Union forces retook the lands and proceeded to control the region through the end of the American Civil War. Though no longer in actual control of the Territory of Arizona, the CSA continued to include representation from this Territory in the CSA Congress until the surrender of the new country in 1865.

In Washington, District of Columbia, the Congress of the USA was moving forward – though still slowly – to officially create a Territory of Arizona. According to the State Library of Arizona, the U S House of Representatives passed "An Act to provide a temporary Government for the Territory of Arizona" on May 8, 1862. It took more than ten more months for the U S Senate to pass the same legislation; this occurred on February 20, 1863. Four days later, on February 24th, President Abraham Lincoln signed the legislation and the Territory of Arizona officially was founded within the USA. The border with New Mexico for this Arizona Territory was the same boundary as the one that exists today between the two jurisdictions.

Additional information on the Confederate Territory of Arizona, including one of the battles that included Confederate soldiers in what is now Grant County, will detailed in a future edition of The Chronicles Of Grant County.

Do you have questions about communities in Grant County?

A street name? A building?

Your questions may be used in a future news column.

Contact Richard McDonough at chroniclesofgrantcounty@mail.com.

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© 2021 Richard McDonough