True West Magazine - Logo

How did Tucson become such a lawless place before, during and after the Civil War?

by | Jan 8, 2011 | Inside History

How did Tucson become such a lawless place before, during and after the Civil War? Brenda Jackson Mesa, Arizona When the federal army pulled out of the area in 1861-62, the Apaches interpreted the troop withdrawal as surrender and stepped up on their campaigns against the settlers. As a pueblo under siege, many residents sought safer places, heading south to Sonora or west to California. Tucson was a pretty lawless place anyway with the vigilante activity in California chasing the bad guys in


Already Signed Up? Log in here.

Read this article now for Free!

Ready for a third free article? Create a free account by entering your email address and a password below.

— OR —

Sign Up Now for $29.95 a year and have immediate access to all of True West content, including the complete True West Archives dating back to 1953!

SIGN UP NOW or SIGN IN

This digital subscription is in no way connected to your Print Subscription. They are totally separate and cannot be connected. If you have a Print Subscription with True West, you will need to pay for a separate subscription to access this website and will receive a totally different Log In password. If you have an existing digital component to your Print subscription, you'll need to Sign In and request a new password.