DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker's the source, and here's how Duane tells it. Now, El Paso has always attracted men who understood something most folks never quite grasp — that the real power in any war isn't always the general on horseback. Sometimes it's the man who knows where to get the flour.
The marker out here honors two of them. Captain James W. Magoffin and Major Simeon Hart.
Different origins, same dusty corner of Texas, and between them, they may have done more to sustain the Confederate campaign in Arizona and New Mexico than any regiment you could name. Start with Magoffin. Born in Kentucky, he spent his early years trading in Mexico — which turns out to be exactly the kind of education that history eventually comes looking for.
By around 1850 he had established a trading post at a place called Magoffinsville, right here in what would become El Paso County. Then in March of 1861, just before the whole country came apart, he was named state agent alongside Simeon Hart to receive U.S. property surrendered at Fort Bliss. Think about that timing.
The Civil War hadn't even officially broken out yet, and Magoffin was already positioned at the precise moment when the Army's stockpiles changed hands. Those military stores — obtained through his long-standing contacts in Mexico — went on to supply Confederate forces during the Arizona and New Mexico campaign of 1861 and 1862. The State made him a Brigadier General in 1861.
But when the Confederate evacuation came in 1862, he left here as a Captain in the C.S.A., his business ability put to work obtaining military supplies across Texas and Mexico. He served as a State Senator from 1863 to 1865. He's buried in San Antonio.
Now — Simeon Hart. Born in New York, which is about as far from the West Texas desert as a man can start, but he moved to El Paso in 1851 and he got to work. He founded Hart's Mill, and that mill was something.
One hundred barrels of flour per day, sold to buyers stretching from Arizona all the way to San Antonio. That's not a mill — that's a supply chain. When the Civil War came, Hart became the main source for securing military supplies for that same Arizona and New Mexico campaign.
Then in 1862 he joined the C.S.A. Army and was made general purchasing agent for the War Department West of the Mississippi. That is a title with weight behind it.
His contacts ran through Mexico and Europe both, and his knowledge of markets meant he understood something the Confederacy desperately needed someone to understand — that a nation without a navy and without factories can only survive by trading what it has for what it needs. In this case, valuable cotton traded for war goods through foreign countries. And here's where the story lands its sharpest point.
Through Hart's arrangements for supplies, a Union plot to invade Texas across the Rio Grande was thwarted — early in 1863. Not stopped by cavalry, not turned back by cannon. Thwarted, the marker says, by a man who knew how markets worked and who to call in Mexico and Europe.
Simeon Hart is buried in Evergreen Cemetery. Two men, one marker, erected by the State of Texas in 1963. Magoffin from Kentucky, Hart from New York — both of them ending up in El Paso, both of them understanding that in a war fought across desert and mountain, the man who controls the flour and the supply lines might just be the most dangerous man in the room.
What the marker says
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