AMERICAN ERA
The Gadsden Purchase incorporated the region of Arizona south of
the Gila River into the administration of the Territory of New Mexico.
The primary purpose of this acquisition was to provide a corridor
for a transcontinental railroad linking California with the rest
of the nation. In itself, the land was seen as remote, forbidding
and dangerous, a region to be quickly traversed or avoided if possible.
As a result of this perception, there was almost no civilian or
military presence in the region for several years—in fact,
Mexican forces remained stationed at Tucson until 1856, when they
were finally relieved by American troops.
At the outset of the American Civil War in 1861, the military largely
abandoned the area as soldiers with allegiances to either side were
drawn into the conflict to the east. Forces allied with the Confederate
cause occupied the region briefly, but they were soon driven out
by advancing Union troops from California. Throughout this period,
Apaches maintained an antagonistic relationship with both European
and native populations. Hostilities peaked in the 1860s when the
Chiricahua band of Apaches under Cochise virtually isolated Tucson.
Most of the ranches and mining claims were abandoned during this
period, and the local populations withdrew into Tucson or south
into Mexico. Only the fortified ranch of Pete Kitchen, located north
of Nogales, Arizona remained occupied during this period. Soon after
the Civil War, the U.S. military actively campaigned against the
Apaches; almost one-fourth of the U.S. Army was stationed in the
Southwest at the time. In southern Arizona, Apache hostilities finally
concluded with the surrender of Geronimo and his followers to General
Nelson Miles at Fort Bowie in 1886, and the subsequent deportation
of the Chiricahua Apaches to Florida.
In 1863, Arizona was officially designated as a Territory, separating
it from the New Mexico Territory that was aligned with the Confederacy.
The capital was initially located in Prescott, where the first legislative
session convened in 1864. In the 1870s and 1880s—particularly
after the arrival of the railroad in 1880—the population of
the Arizona Territory expanded rapidly. As the Apache threat diminished,
settlers intent upon exploiting agricultural and mineral resources
arrived in the region. Mormon settlers moved south from Utah and
Mexicans emigrated north. With the arrival of the railroad, the
flow of European emigrants increased markedly, and African-American
and Asian settlers joined them. The former often came as soldiers
or as laborers. Many of the Asian immigrants, of Chinese descent,
migrated from northern Sonora to become merchants, to labor on the
railroad, and to work for mining and agricultural interests. By
the beginning of the 20th century, the population of the Arizona
Territory exceeded 100,000. As the population grew, there was increasing
sentiment for statehood, which was finally granted in 1912.
Following the conclusion of the Apache Wars, the military closed
a number of posts across southern Arizona and concentrated troops
in the remaining bases. Fort Huachuca was retained because of its
proximity to the border with Mexico. In 1910, rebellion broke out
in Mexico, with several popular cultural figures assuming leadership
among the insurgents. Initially, troops from Fort Huachuca were
sent to the border to prevent incursions by the renegades and to
protect American citizens living along the border, especially around
Nogales, where revolutionaries and federal forces clashed in March
of 1913. In 1915, the U.S. recognized the Mexican leader Venustiano
Carranza as the legitimate claimant to the government of Mexico.
This alienated Pancho Villa, a competing rebel leader based in Chihuahua.
Up to this point, Villa and his followers had been on relatively
good terms with Americans along the border. However, with this development,
Villa felt betrayed and his attitude changed dramatically. On March
9, 1916, Villa and a contingent of 485 followers crossed the border
and raided the community of Columbus, New Mexico. They killed 18
American citizens (ten civilians and eight soldiers) before retreating
to Mexico. This invasion provoked an immediate response from the
American government, which ordered General Funston, Commanding General
of the Southern Department, to assemble and dispatch sufficient
forces to pursue and arrest Pancho Villa and his supporters. On
March 16th, leading elements of this force under the command of
Brigadier-General John Pershing crossed the border into Chihuahua
to pursue Villa and his followers.
As part of the response to the threat, communities along the border
such as Nogales, Naco, and Douglas were garrisoned with National Guard
and regular U.S. Army forces. Forces patrolled the border from these outposts
and from Fort Huachuca. Ultimately, efforts to capture Villa and his followers
proved futile—though no further attacks were made on the border
communities—and the forces were withdrawn as the United States entered
World War I. In February of 1917, the last U.S. troops left Mexico.
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