The Colfax County War: Violence and Corruption in Territorial New Mexico-signed

Description: Reverend F. J. Tolby was assassinated on the lonely Cimarron Canyon road on September 14th, 1875. Thought by some to have been a victim of the Santa Fe Ring, the cold-blooded murder of Tolby started a wave of violence known as the Colfax County War. When New Mexico became part of the United States the territory contained two-hundred and ninety-five land grants, the largest of these being the Maxwell Land Grant. The size and boundaries of the Maxwell Land Grant (as well as other grants) was disputed, with some believing that much of the land was public domain. This led to people settling on land within what others believed to be the boundaries of the grant. Those who settle on this land were fought not only by the land grant owners, but also by a group of politicians—known as the Santa Fe Ring—who tried to use the situation for personal profit and to acquire land for themselves. Notable members of this corrupt group were Thomas Catron, Stephen Elkins, and Joseph Palen. The fight escalated in late 1875 with the assassination of Tolby, who was outspoken against the Santa Fe Ring. In a confession, one of the assassins stated that men connected to the Ring had paid to have the reverend killed. Outrage, civil unrest, and more murders followed. The town of Cimarron alone was the scene of a lynching, a barroom gunfight in the St. James Hotel involving legendary gunman Clay Allison, a nighttime murder of a prisoner, and other killings not related to the political troubles. Despite the murders and allegations that political leaders in the territory planned the assassination that started the violence, the troubles in New Mexico were largely ignored by the federal government. Then, in 1878, two events changed everything. On February 18th, a Lincoln County sheriff’s posse murdered a young English rancher named John Tunstall, setting off a wave of violence known as the Lincoln County War. In April of that year, a letter came to light that appeared to show that the governor of the territory, Samuel B. Axtell, planned a mass killing of people he considered to be agitators in the Colfax County troubles. Finally, officials in Washington took notice. Frank W. Angel, an investigator representing both the Departments of Justice and the Interior, went to New Mexico with orders to investigate the violence, murders, and corruption that plagued the territory. Following his investigation, Angel concluded, “It is seldom that history states more corruption, fraud, mismanagement, plots and murders, than New Mexico, has been the theatre under the administration of Governor Axtell.” The actions taken as a result of Angel’s investigation wouldn’t end the violence in New Mexico, but it did lead to what many considered to be the end of the Colfax County War.

Price: 34.95 USD

Location: Hudson, Ohio

End Time: 2024-09-21T00:54:56.000Z

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