Marcus H. MacWillie was a politician who represented the Confederate Arizona Territory in the

Congress of the Confederate States The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly of the Confederate States of America that existed from 1861 to 1865. Its actions were for the most part concerned with measures to establish a new nat ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. M. H. MacWillie was born circa 1836 in Inverness. Scotland. Little is known of his early life. One newspaper account has him a relative of Mississippi Governor

William McWillie William McWillie (November 17, 1795 – March 3, 1869) was the twenty-second governor of Mississippi from 1857 to 1859. He was a Democrat. McWillie was the last Governor of Mississippi prior to the outbreak of the American Civil War. Biograph ...

(1795–1869), but this seems unlikely. MacWillie passed his bar exam and established a legal practice in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. He later moved to Mesilla in what is now

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

and resumed his legal career. In early 1861 served as district judge, then chief justice, in Dr.

Lewis S. Owings Dr. Lewis S. Owings (September 6, 1820 – August 20, 1875) was an American politician, physician, and businessman from Tennessee who served as the 2nd Governor of Arizona Territory (Confederate), in exile, from 1862 to 1865. He had prev ...

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 In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

of the Confederate-claimed Arizona Territory in the newly designated capital of La Mesilla. Through the shrewd political efforts of his powerful friend John R. Baylor, MacWillie was selected December 30, 1861 to replace Baylor's rival

Granville Henderson Oury Granville Henderson Oury (March 12, 1825 – January 11, 1891) was a nineteenth-century American politician, lawyer, judge, soldier, and miner. Early life Born in Abingdon, Virginia; Granville Henderson Oury and his family moved to Bowling Gre ...

as the territory's representative to the permanent Congress. Despite Arizona and New Mexico being taken over by the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

later in 1862, MacWillie continued to represent the territory throughout the

First Confederate Congress The 1st Confederate States Congress, consisting of the Confederate States Senate and the Confederate States House of Representatives, met from February 18, 1862, to February 17, 1864, during the first two years of Jefferson Davis's presidency, a ...

(March 11, 1862 – February 17, 1864). He then served in the

Second Confederate Congress The 2nd Confederate States Congress, consisting of the Confederate States Senate and the Confederate States House of Representatives, met from May 2, 1864, to March 18, 1865, during the last year of Jefferson Davis's presidency, at the Virginia S ...

until the end of the war. MacWillie's activities following the war are uncertain. What we do know is that he lived in Chihuahua, Mexico, as an attorney, often handling mining claims. He was also involved in various southern Texas–northern Mexico railroad promotions, often visiting Texas, New Mexico, New Orleans and New York City. He died in Santa Barbara, California, March 5, 1875, during a trip to line up investors for a silver mine.Santa Barbara Weekly Press, March 6, 1875, page 12, column 4; St. Louis Daily Missouri Republican, Dec. 24, 1876.

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. . * ''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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macwillie, Marcus H. Arizona lawyers Confederate expatriates Members of the Confederate States House of Representatives People from Doña Ana County, New Mexico People of Arizona in the American Civil War People of New Mexico in the American Civil War Texas lawyers Year of birth unknown