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Capt. James W. Magoffin Born Kentucky. Trader in Mexico, special U.S. Army agent in Mexican War 1846 - 47. Established trading post at Magoffinsville about 1850. Named state agent with Simeon Hart to receive U.S. property surrendered at Ft. Bliss Mar. 1861 prior to outbreak Civil War. This and other military stores obtained thru his long standing contacts in Mexico supplied the Confederate forces in the Arizona - New Mexico campaign 1861 - 62; made State Brig. Gen., 1861. Left here with Confederate evacuation, 1862, as Capt., C.S.A., business ability utilized to obtain military supplies in Texas, Mexico. State senator, 1863 - 65; buried in San Antonio. Maj. Simeon Hart Born New York. Moved to El Paso 1851. Founded Hart's Mill that ground out 100 barrels of flour per day and sold to buyers from Arizona to San Antonio. When Civil War came, he was the main source for securing military supplies for the Arizona - New Mexico campaign. In 1862 Hart joined the C.S.A. Army and was made general purchasing agent for the War Department West of the Mississippi. His extensive contacts in Mexico and Europe and his knowledge of markets made him able to render great service to the Confederacy which could only exist by trading valuable cotton for war goods through foreign countries. Through his arrangements for supplies, a Union plot to invade Texas across the Rio Grande was thwarted early in 1863; buried in Evergreen Cemetery. Erected by the State of Texas 1963 |
