The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 22, July 1918 - April, 1919 Page: 314
521 p. : ill. (some col.), ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The Sou t western Iislorical Quarterly
all connection with the Civil War in the United States" and to
show no partiality to, citizens of one section or the other."6 Nev-
ertheless, the plan was interpreted as purely Confederate not only
by the Richmond Government itself, but by the United States
Government and the Mexican minister at Washington.
June 2, 1864, Slidell, the Confederate ambassador at Paris,
who had been associated with Gwin during his presence there,"
wrote Judah P. Benjamin that Gwin was on the way to Mexico
where he intended to colonize Sonora with persons of southern
birth or sympathies, and that he thought the project would, if
carried out, be beneficial to the Confederacy." During the same
month Preston wrote Jefferson Davis from Havana to the effect
that Gwin was very anxious to secure friendly relations between
Mexico, and the Confederacy, since his scheme depended upon the
emigration of southern men from California,. Accordingly, Gwin
was expected to get Maximilian to, recognize the Southern Govern-
ment.66
On July 8, 1865, the Mexican Minister, Romero, enclosed to
Seward letters and newspaper clippings which the former consid-
ered as plainly showing that the project proposed to "take to the
frontier of Mexico all the discontented citizens of the United
States living in the South, with the design of organizing them
under the protection and with the assistance of France." Of these
documents only a clipping from the New Orleans Times need con-
cern us here. It was written by a correspondent who seemed not
to, be in sympathy with the Gwin project, but who, nevertheless,
thought there was no doubt that it would succeed. "He [Gwin]
goes out," the writer declares, "as director general of immigration
from Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango, and Tamaulipas, with extra-
ordinary powers and eight thousand French troops to back him.
The emigration is to be strictly Southern, or Confederate. Ten
thousand confederates are to be armed and paid by the empire,
but kept in the above-mentioned states as protection to the emi-
grants. .Strategical points are to be fortified and garrisoned on
the frontier. Dr. Gwin's son has applied for and will get an ex-
63Gwin, ilMemnoirs, 224.
"Ibid., 201.
"John Bigelow, Retrospections of an active life, II, 190.
" bid., II, 197-198.314
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 22, July 1918 - April, 1919, periodical, 1919; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117156/m1/335/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.