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History and Background
Note: The following text is compiled and written by Bay Stevens. Excerpts and quotes are attributed to the sources used.
There are many layers of geologic and cultural
history here. In 1800, the area first settled by Paleo-Indians at the end of the last Ice Age, had been under Spanish rule for over 300 years. The dynasty collapsed in 1821 with the Mexican War of Independence; and with it came an end to political and economic equilibrium. | 1821 Spain cedes North American territories to Mexico. Collapse of trade routes and supply lines to the South. |
| 1841 Texas campaign to acquire all land east of the Rio Grande. Rebuffed by Mexican territorial troops. |
| 1846-1848 Mexican-American War. U.S. Army Occupation. New Mexico becomes a U.S. Territory in 1850. |
| 1861 Civil War reaches New Mexico. Confederate troops from Texas advance from the South. |
| 1862 Battles of Valverde and Glorieta Pass. Confederates retreat. |
The influx of people and trade from the East was interrupted
by the "Bank Wars" in 1837, and again with the financial crisis of
1857. Personal and cultural conflicts escalated into gang wars, range wars
and Indian wars. Federal troops were sent in to settle the "Indian
question" and protect isolated com
munities.
The scorched earth policy that followed resulted in forced marches to internment
camps for the Navajos, and military campaigns against those tribes that resisted.
There were some benefits. Freed from the threat of attack, Anglo and Spanish settlements, and some Pueblo villages achieved a new permanence. The military outposts required provisioning, and services on a new magnitude of order. In a land of sheep, the army demanded a daily ration of 1 pound 4 ounces of fresh beef, and 12 ounces of pork or bacon for every soldier stationed here. Officers received up to forty rations including vinegar, soap and sperm candles. " Initially, virtually all commissary and quartermaster's supplies were freighted (or driven) to New Mexico. " (Robert Frazer, Forts and Supplies)
Small civilian enterprises began to produce the raw materials consumed by these exotic appetites. The unprecedented growth and prosperity is clear from these figures:
Between 1850 and 1860
The population doubled. Corn production doubled. The number of livestock tripled. The number of flourmills tripled. The first sawmill (built by the Army in 1847) prompted construction of hundreds of small operations throughout the Southwest. 
." Robert W. Frazer: Forts and Supplies; the role of the army in the economy of the Southwest, 1846-1861"The army constituted an essentially non-productive element for which goods, services and facilities of many kinds were required. In addition, it injected comparatively large sums of money into what had been primarily a barter economy……
…..Between the American occupation of New Mexico in the summer of 1846 and the disruption precipitated by the coming of the Civil War-- a span of fifteen years-- the army was the single most significant factor in the economic development of the Southwest
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Fort Union, built in 1851 as the headquarters of quartermaster and ordinance supply for the Territory, is now a National Historic Landmark. If you can't go there, read about it on the web at: Fort Union History |
With protection from raids, rural communities swelled with numbers and prosperity. The new immigrants brought new skills and resources with them. They came to find independence, land and opportunities. They came to strike it rich.
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