Bartlett-Garcia Conde Compromise
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(micro)
Related Web Page
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
See newly installed plaque near the cache!
This is the another historical spot associated with the development of the U.S./Mexico border region. Near this location stands a rock pile that once marked the United States and Mexico. The story below was taken from:
http://www.arivaca-newspaper.com/2007/12/arivaca-yesterdays/
The American and Mexican boundary commissioners had been unable to continue drawing the border east from San Diego, so they met in El Paso in December of 1850. They intended to use the Disturnell map as a starting point. This 1847 map was very inaccurate. On it, El Paso was 34 miles north and 100 miles east of its true position. If it had not been part of the language of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, they would not have had to use it, but not only was it there in black and white, but the treaty signers on both side of the border believed that the map was accurate and obvious to use. The one thing that was clear was that El Paso was to be inside Mexico. Mexican Commissioner Garcia Conde realized the problem because he had determined the latitude of El Paso when he was making a map of Chihuahua several years before.
Another difficulty was how to determine the upper reaches of the Gila River, which was to be considered the southern boundary of the U.S. in western New Mexico. Bartlett knew that the Santa Rita Copper Mines were prime territory. Garcia Conde was able to convince Bartlett of the serious problems involved with the map and so they negotiated the Bartlett-Garcia Conde Compromise line with the latitude at 32° 22‘. Garcia Conde got the east-west line according to the map (42 miles above El Paso), and Bartlett got the north-south line by the stars (100 miles farther west than the map). This was essentially the Mexican interpretation of the line. Mexico got the Mesilla Valley and Bartlett got control of the Santa Rita copper mines, which he knew was important politically. Lt. Whipple, who had been named interim Surveyor in the absence of Gray, went out with a party of men to work on that survey, along with Salazar Ylarregui from the Mexican commission, to determine first where 32° 22‘ actually was on the ground. From there they began surveying north toward the Gila River. In the meantime, Bartlett spent his time investigating the flora and fauna and writing a large compendium on the natural history of the area, (published in 1854).
But there were many irons in the fire, both military and civilian. (Civilian) Surveyor Andrew B. Gray had not approved the line and when he finally arrived in New Mexico, in July of 1851, to consult with Conde and Bartlett, he refused to accept it, believing that the latitude was closer to 32° 52’. In addition, when the new Chief Astronomer, Lt. Col. James D. Graham arrived, he also refused to accept it. Lt. Whipple, who had been serving as acting survey and astronomer, was removed from office. Graham felt he was above everyone except Bartlett. Bartlett did not agree with his interpretation of authority. A stalemate ensued. Garcia Conde was furious—he could not believe the Americans could be so disorganized. But he went ahead and had Salazar Ylarregui continue surveying. At this point Conde decided to go south for provisions and Bartlett followed him, both to get in some much desired exploring and to return a Mexican girl, rescued from Apaches, to her home. Another crew began surveying the Rio Grande while Whipple and the Mexican contingent, including Garcia Conde’s son Agustin, surveyed the Gila River. Graham suddenly found himself relieved of duty by the Secretary of Interior, due to Bartlett’s influence. (The Commission had started out in the Department of State and was transferred to Interior) In Mexico, both Conde and Bartlett became ill and spent some months there. Garcia Conde succumbed to his illness and died in Arizpe in December of 1851.
Jose Salazar Ylarregui was appointed the new Mexican Commissioner but he was drastically lacking in supplies to keep his surveyors in the field. On the American side, Lt. Whipple was supplying his own men out of his own pocket. Indian depredations were common, as were mutinies: some of the men had not been paid for over a year because the U.S. government was not supporting the work. On the Mexican side, politics also got in the way of provisioning the survey crew. So 1852 began inauspiciously. A new Chief Astronomer had to be appointed and so Major William Emory was back in the saddle again. A difficult man to work with, nevertheless Emory was to see the drawing of the line to the end, five years later. In the meantime, he had his work cut out for him. Emory had been chief engineer to Col. Stephen Kearny’s the Army of the West, collecting data on the territory they covered. As a member of the Corps of Topographical Engineers, he had the expertise and experience to complete the job. He was the first to recommend a railroad route to the Pacific along the Gila River. This was to be the real reason behind the refusal of the U.S. government to finalize the treaty line, besides partisan politics and the free soil issue. The impasse that had been reached regarding the southern boundary of New Mexico had never gone away. Thus it was that by August of 1852 the Survey was suspended. There was no money to pay the surveyors anyway. Emory had retreated to the nearest Army barracks, Salazar Ylarregui was ill, the Mexican government in turmoil, and Bartlett was still wandering around the Southwest. Once they met up, in late 1852, Bartlett divided up the remaining money and sent everyone home.
The problem was, there still was no boundary line. No U.S.-Mexico border. Events moved forward toward the need to purchase more land and thus devise a different boundary, perhaps one more easily defined. But first, Mexico had to agree that this was in order. Washington was encouraged by the action of William C. Lane, territorial governor of New Mexico, who decided to take possession of the disputed Mesilla Valley, which was prime agricultural land, using as his excuse the fact that 32° 22‘ had been rejected. This might not have been successful, except that in the spring of 1853, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna took over the reins of power in Mexico again. He soon found himself short of funds and there was fear n Mexico that the U.S. might threaten war again.
U.S. Secretary of State Marcy appointed railroad entrepreneur James Gadsden to be an envoy to Mexico to convince it to sell additional land to the U.S. for a railroad (exploration having shown that the Gila River banks wouldn’t be as easy to develop as once thought.) The $10 million offered by the U.S. to purchase additional land was very welcome to President Lopez de Santa Anna.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)