In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Chapter 6 Arizona, 1858–1861 As a result of the Mexican War, the border of the United States for the first time stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Manifest Destiny was no longer simply a national aspiration, it was a reality. Settling the West would be more difficult than conquering it, however. Two thousand miles of prairie, mountain, and desert stretched westward from the Mississippi River to the Pacific. Travel to California took weeks by sea and months by land. Travel by ship was expensive and subjected passengers to the fury of storms in the southern latitudes. Those traveling overland suffered physical hardship and risked illness, starvation, and attack by hostile Indians . Clearly a better way was needed. The railroad provided a ready solution. Locomotives had been part of American life for thirty years. They were fast, convenient, and relatively inexpensive. Moreover, they could haul large amounts of goods over vast distances at a reasonable cost. A transcontinental line was an important step toward the permanent settlement of the West. The Rocky Mountains posed the greatest obstacle to that goal. The U.S. government had identified three potential routes across the mountains: a northern route, which ran through Montana and Oregon; a central route, which followed the Platte River to South Pass; and a southern route, which ran through the recently acquired New Mexico Territory. A small portion of the southern line ran through Mexico. In the 1853 Gadsden Treaty, the United States acquired from Mexico 29,670 square miles of land in southern Arizona and New Mexico to accommodate the projected line. To establish U.S. authority in the new land and to protect Mexican settlers there from Apache attacks, the government in 1856 ordered four companies of the 1st Dragoons to establish a military post near Tucson. Major Isaac Steen commanded the dragoon detachment. Finding Tucson incapable of supporting a large military post, Steen settled his troops at Calabasas Ranch, sixty miles farther south, in the Santa Cruz Valley. Steen’s superior, Colonel Benjamin L. E. Bonneville, objected to the site as being too far from Tucson, however, and in 1857 Steen moved his command to Ojos Calientes on the Sonoita Arizona, 1858–1861 130 River. He named the post Fort Buchanan in honor of America’s new president. From this new post Ewell gave chase to Apache bands that swept down from the mountains to plunder Mexican ranches. Among those with whom he had to deal was a young warrior named Cochise, soon to gain fame as a great Apache leader. Twice during this period, Ewell’s duties took him across the border into Mexico , once in pursuit of deserters and once on a diplomatic mission to Governor Ignacio Pesqueira of Sonora. Pesqueira had recently expelled representatives of an American company that had gone to Sonora to map its public lands. The expulsion violated an agreement between the United States and the Mexican government, and the War Department sent Ewell to the port town of Guaymas to demand that Pesqueira comply with the agreement. Ewell accomplished his mission with the help of Captain William D. Porter, whose armed sloop, St. Mary’s, had gone to Guaymas on the same mission. While posted in Arizona, Ewell continued his quest for financial independence, investing in a local silver mine. If he could salt away $10,000, he planned to leave the army and buy a farm. He never came close to achieving that goal. Although the mine offered an abundance of ore, Ewell’s partners mismanaged the enterprise, prompting the unlucky captain to sell his interest at only a marginal profit. Illness meanwhile was making inroads on the captain’s constitution. Fort Buchanan was situated on an unhealthy site, and at certain times of the year fever ravaged the post. Three successive commanders fell ill and had to take extended leaves of absence. Eventually, Ewell also succumbed. In January 1861 he left Arizona and returned to Virginia to recover his health. By the time he was well enough to return to duty, Confederate forces had fired on Fort Sumter. The country was at war. 62. To Lizzie Ewell Fort Buchanan N.M.1 March 8th 1858 Miss Lizzie Ewell Dear Lizzie; That letter of mine on the subject of nothing to write must have been a “powerful drawing one.”2 You seem to have no trouble in filling a very respectable letter now & I have quite a feeling of self complacency whenever I receive a letter from you at...

Share