[Valin]

And ONE MORE TIME!! 1861 Combat at Ft Fillmore, NM: Confederate victory

In Sept. of 1851, the U.S. Government established Ft. Fillmore near Mesilla to insure the security of settlers and travelers to the area.


The outbreak of Civil War saw Confederate Lt. Colonel John R. Baylor capture Ft. Fillmore after a brief skirmish with Union soldiers on July 25, 1861. Baylor proclaimed Mesilla the capital of the Arizona Territory and redrew the boundaries of Arizona and New Mexico east - west at the 34th parallel north latitude; Arizona below and New Mexico above the 34th parallel. Hence, what is now southern New Mexico was Arizona Territory until 1865 when President Lincoln had the boundaries redrawn to their present positions. Colonel Baylor's Confederate troops left Ft. Fillmore later in 1861 to join other Confederate forces in Texas. Ft. Fillmore was then abandoned and officially closed by the Union in Oct. of 1862.

Note today no trace of the fort remains.