Tracks West - New Mexico: The True Cost of Civil War

By Elizabeth Wall Rogers

An expanding nation, beset by trade and slavery issues, quickly descended into war. Unprepared for the onslaught, southern New Mexico was easy prey for Confederate Texans. Rebels attacked and occupied the southern territory for ten months before reinforcements were supplied. The personal story begins with the letter of an Indian agent and Treasury officer in Santa Fe to his friend, an Apache agent on the southern border. He affects humor to lighten the gravity of his warning to return to Santa Fe. Although brief, the letter's contents reflect nearly every concern of the entire story. The Territory must connect to national trade for economic survival, hence the title: Tracks West. The action begins with the untold account of the second phase of New Mexico's Civil War: the war with Apache and Navajo Indians. These Indians resisted the encroachment of Union forces on their gold fields and easterners on their buffalo herds. The Union solicited the aid of private enterprise to mine the gold fields and support eastern soldiers. The nation was desperate for income. Corporations were formed to join the mining companies with mainstream eastern businessmen. Following the war, the two-million-acre Maxwell Land Grant in New Mexico and the half-million-acre Costilla Estate in Colorado were sold abroad. Arizona officials arrived in Santa Fe in November and December 1863 to establish the new territory. A mystery begins when one arrival is accidentally identified as a Union spy, the error awkwardly covered. A conflict is set in motion when the Army escort leader, Colonel J. F. Chaves, takes offense for the questioning of his request. He asks for a wagon master to furnish his donkey teams for a crossing of the flooding Rio Grande. Martial law is in effect. The youngest Arizona party member, Steve Elkins, opts to remain in New Mexico. His cunning and quick mastery of Spanish soon has him elected to the legislature. Adventures in law and politics continue throughout the account. The focus is on Elkins who confronts many challenges. As an official and attorney he must deal with peonage, a feudal form of slavery practiced in the Territory, assassination of a Supreme Court judge, and many other outrageous incidents which mark a harrowing account of a chaotic culture clash, power struggles, land grabs, and claims of wealth. The story is filled with intrigues and treachery.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1075252350
• ISBN13: 9781075252358
• Release Date: July 2019
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 622 Pages
• Weight: 2.26 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.6" x 6.0"