Yankee Gold: The Mowry Massacres

The Mowry Massacres

Also known as the Mowry Murders, were a series of Apache attacks in and around the mining town of Mowry, Arizona between 1863 and 1865. At least sixteen American settlers were killed during the period.

The former United States Army lieutenant, Sylvester Mowry, purchased the Patagonia mine in 1860 from a party of Mexicans. Soon after, Mowry began operating the mine and attracted miners to the area for work. The Chiricahua and other Apache bands were also attracted though, and they considered the Santa Rita Mountains to be sacred ground and they defended it accordingly by raiding and ambushing settlers. As the American Civil War began, United States Army troops were withdrawn from the frontier of Arizona to fight the Confederates in the South. This left the settlers unprotected and vulnerable to attack, even after Union troops from California arrived.

A grave along the trail to Mowry, a victim of an Apache ambush.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Beth Rogers’ research into New Mexico’s frontier history was triggered by an interest in the background of Stephen B. Elkins, a noted political figure of the post-Civil War period. She worked for Living magazine and was a parent activist in public education in West Virginia. Her active writing began when her analysis of a new school program was published in Charleston newspapers. She has written two unpublished novels, taught middle-school for three years, sold real estate in North Carolina, and served as a courtroom deputy clerk for the U. S. Court of Appeals, 4^th Circuit, in Richmond, Virginia where she resides.

Steve Elkins, a young Missouri attorney, flees an outlaw guerrilla band into New Mexico. His assignment: write a contract on a mine that divides the proceeds between private investors and the United States government. Competing forces of a general, a Mexican-American colonel, and a former local congressman undermine his mission. His legal expertise and connections are unrivaled and he sees in the territory the opportunity for advancement.

In New Mexico, Steve enters a political mine field which moves through the Lincoln, Johnson, and Grant administrations. His maneuvers demand increasing skill, diligence, and diplomacy. He faces bitter attacks in his aggressive moves against slavery, robbery, assassination, murder, and cattle rustling. He struggles for a private life while the exertions of his public role erode his quest to achieve a business environment, statehood, and a railroad for New Mexico.

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The Mowry Massacres

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