Marcus H. MacWillie

Marcus[1] H. MacWillie[2] was a politician who represented the Confederate Arizona Territory in the Congress of the Confederate States during the American Civil War.

Marcus MacWillie
Member of the C.S. House of Representatives from Arizona's At-large district
In office February 18, 1862 – May 10, 1865
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Personal details
Political party	Democratic

Little is known of MacWillie's birthplace, date of birth, or his early life. One newspaper account has him a relative of Mississippi Governor William McWillie (1795-1869).[3] MacWillie passed his bar exam and established a legal practice in Texas. He later moved to La Mesilla in what is now New Mexico and resumed his legal career.[4] In early 1861 served as district judge, then chief justice, in Dr. Lewis S. Owings short-lived provisional government of the Arizona Territory (which included modern day New Mexico and Arizona).

Following the outbreak of the Civil War, Confederate army colonel John R. Baylor successfully invaded southern New Mexico and became the new Territorial governor. MacWillie became the Attorney General of the Confederate-claimed Arizona Territory in the newly designated capital of La Mesilla.[5] Through the shrewd political efforts of his powerful friend John R. Baylor, MacWillie was selected December 30, 1861[6] to replace Baylor's rival Granville Henderson Oury as the territory's representative to the permanent Congress.[7] Despite Arizona and New Mexico being taken over by the Union Army later in 1862, MacWillie continued to represent the territory throughout the First Confederate Congress (March 11, 1862 – February 17, 1864). He then served in the Second Confederate Congress until the end of the war.[8]

MacWillie's activities following the war are uncertain, as is his date and place of death or his burial location. What we do know is that he lived in Chihuahua, Mexico, as an attorney, often handling mining claims.[9] He was also involved in various southern Texas-northern Mexico railroad promotions, often visiting Texas, New Mexico, New Orleans and New York City.[10] It is presumed he died in Mexico soon after 1873.

References

• Beers, Henry Putney, The Confederacy: A Guide to the Archives of the Government of the Confederate States of America. Washington, D.C.: United States National Archives and Records Administration, 1986.
• Current, Richard N., Encyclopedia of the Confederacy. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993. ISBN 0-13-275991-8.
• Journal of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, 1861-1865. Washington, D.C.: United States War Department, Government Printing Office, 1905.
• History of New Mexico. Volume II, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York: Pacific States Publishing Co., 1907.

Notes

1. In several sources, his first name is given as Malcolm. See Beers, p 24, as well as the official Journal of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, p. 80. The Official Records consistently uses the name Marcus.
2. Alternatively, McWillie. See Current, p. 984. An ad in the Mesilla Times, May 25, 1861, advertises the legal services of "M. H. MacWillie."
3. The New Orleans Times Picayune, May 30, 1872. A check of the governor's family tree shows no immediate family connection.
4. History of New Mexico, Volume II, p. 565.
5. Current, p. 984. Baylor, the military governor, appointed MacWillie attorney general Aug. 2, 1861.
6. Memphis Daily Appeal, Feb. 2, 1862, citing the Mesilla Times of Jan. 1, 1862. Oury's supporters largely boycotted the election, believing Baylor rigged the results.
7. Granville H. Oury biography
8. Beers, p. 24.
9. Las Cruces Borderer, June 28, 1873. Spude, Robert L., "The Santa Rita del Cobre, New Mexico, The Early American Period, 1846-1886," Mining History Journal, 1999, pp. 8-38.
10. New York Tribune, April 15, 1870; New Orleans Times Picayune, Aug. 8, 1871; Houston Daily Union, Dec. 3, 1871; New Orleans Times Picayune, May 30, 1872; Denison Daily News, Dec. 13, 1873.