Confederate Territory of Arizona and the New Mexico Territory

These territories were coveted by the Confederates hoping to get to California

Arizona Territory, also referred to as Confederate Arizona, was an organized incorporated territory of the Confederate States of America that existed from August 1, 1861, to May 26, 1865.

I’ve lived in Tucson for over 35 years. I knew that Arizona hosted the westernmost battle of the American Civil War, but I didn’t really think about if the land I live on was ever under the “Stars and Bars”. Well, yes it was.

Stars and Bars. The first Confederate flag had only seven stars. The “Stainless Banner” (not shown) was second. Apparently, the Stars and Bars was difficult to distinguish from the Stars and Stripes when it was limply flying on a flagstaff.

New Mexico Territory

The New Mexico Territory was organized as a U.S. territory on September 9, 1850, and included, at that time, present-day New Mexico, more than half of the present-day Arizona, and portions of the present-day states of Colorado and Nevada. These came from lands transferred by Mexico to the United States after the Mexican War and part of the territory ceded by Texas in 1850.

New Mexico Territory after the Gadsden Purchase. The purple outline shows what would become Confederate Arizona.

The territory was enlarged by the Gadsden Purchase in 1854.

Highlighted area shows the area added to the New Mexico Territory by the Gadsden Purchase.

The territory was so large and means of communication difficult that many differences arose between the old settlers in the north and the newcomers in the south. Those in the south felt that they were not fairly represented by the government in Santa Fe.

In 1856, a delegate was sent to Washington to work for a passage of a bill to create the southern portion of the New Mexico Territory as Arizona Territory. The bill didn’t pass due to the sparse population and a disagreement over how the boundaries of the new territory should be drawn. Northern representatives argued for a north-south division along the present Arizona-New Mexico boundary, whereas Southern representatives pushed for an east-west division along the 34th parallel.

A map of the territories with an east-west boundary drawn a the 34th parallel. Courtesy of: Civil War Daily Gazette.

Ultimately, the State of New Mexico was admitted to the Union on January 6, 1912, making it the longest-lived organized incorporated territory of the United States, lasting 62 years.

Arizona Territory aka Confederate Arizona

After the start of the Civil War, support for the Confederacy was strong in the southern part of the New Mexico Territory. Arizona was thought to be important primarily because it offered Confederate access to California.

The proposal to organize the Confederate Territory of Arizona was passed by the Confederate Congress in early 1862 and proclaimed by President Jefferson Davis on February 14, 1862 (coincidentally, Arizona was admitted to the Union 50 years later on February 14, 1912). The east-west boundary was used dividing the territories at the 34th parallel.

Mesilla in 1854.

Mesilla briefly served as the capital of the Arizona Territory. Today it is a small town near Las Cruces, NM.

Tucson Was Occupied by the Confederates

In February 1862, Captain Sherod Hunter led a company of Confederate soldiers, about 120 Texans, into the town of Tucson in Arizona Territory. On March 1^st, they held a ceremony and raised the Stars & Bars above the Presidio. Tucson then became the capital of the Western District of the Confederate Territory of Arizona.

Raising the Confederate Flag over Tucson. Courtesy of Sons of Confederate Veterans, Phoenix, Arizona.

Captain Hunter led most of his troops out of Tucson around the beginning of May 1862 ahead of an advancing Union Army of infantry, cavalry, and artillery units known as the California Column. The final Confederate soldiers left on May 14, 1862.

The California Column secured Tucson on May 20, 1862, with 2,000 men without firing a shot. They returned the Stars-and-Stripes to the town after the Confederate occupation that lasted a mere eighty days.

When Did the United States Create the Arizona Territory?

The United States established Arizona Territory with Tucson as the capital in 1863, using a north–south boundary (the current state boundary with New Mexico).

Arizona was admitted to the Union as a state on February 14, 1912.

The Arizona State flag was not official until five years after Arizona became a state.

Next Time

The California Column was a force of Union volunteers sent in to defend Arizona and New Mexico Territories during the Civil War. They ultimately marched over 900 miles from California through Arizona and New Mexico Territories to the Rio Grande and as far east as El Paso, Texas, between April and August 1862.

My next post will outline the skirmishes of the California Column against the Confederates.