In July of 1861, a small detachment of Texans decided to conquer half of the New Mexico territory… on paper, anyway. They did manage to conquer the town of Mesilla and defeat a larger Union force in an embarassingly one-sided fight. Lieutenant Colonel John Baylor got to declare the creation of the Confederate Territory of Arizona. Yet he failed to also create the foundation of future success, and set himself on a course of mayhem and murder.
