Arizona Territory (CSA)
Encyclopedia
The Territory of Arizona was a territory claimed by the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, between 1861 and 1865. It consisted of the portion of the New Mexico Territory
New Mexico Territory
thumb|right|240px|Proposed boundaries for State of New Mexico, 1850The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of...

 south of the 34th parallel north
34th parallel north
The 34th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 34 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America and the Atlantic Ocean....

 including parts of the modern states of New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

 and Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

. Its capital was Mesilla
Mesilla, New Mexico
Mesilla is a town in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 2,180 at the 2000 census...

 along the southern border. The Confederate territory overlapped, but was not identical to the Arizona Territory
Arizona Territory
The Territory of Arizona was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state....

 created by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in 1863.

The territory was officially declared on August 1, 1861, following the Confederate victory at the Battle of Mesilla
Battle of Mesilla
The First Battle of Mesilla, fought on July 25, 1861 at Mesilla in what is now New Mexico, was an engagement between Confederate and Union forces during the American Civil War. The battle resulted in a Confederate victory and led directly to the official establishing of a Confederate Arizona...

. Confederate hold in the area was soon broken, however, after the Battle of Glorieta Pass
Battle of Glorieta Pass
The Battle of Glorieta Pass, fought from March 26 to 28, 1862 in northern New Mexico Territory, was the decisive battle of the New Mexico Campaign during the American Civil War. Dubbed the "Gettysburg of the West" by some historians, it was intended as the killer blow by Confederate forces to break...

, the defining battle of the New Mexico Campaign
New Mexico Campaign
The New Mexico Campaign was a military operation of the American Civil War from February to April 1862 in which Confederate Brigadier General Henry Hopkins Sibley invaded the northern New Mexico Territory in an attempt to gain control of the Southwest, including the gold fields of Colorado and the...

. In July 1862, the government relocated to El Paso
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...

, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 where it remained for the duration of the war.

However, the territory continued to be represented in the Confederate Congress
Congress of the Confederate States
The Congress of the Confederate States was the legislative body of the Confederate States of America, existing during the American Civil War between 1861 and 1865...

 and Confederate troops continued to fight under the Arizona banner until the war's end.

Origins of Secession

Before the start of the war the land of the current states of New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

 and Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

 was part of the New Mexico Territory
New Mexico Territory
thumb|right|240px|Proposed boundaries for State of New Mexico, 1850The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of...

 and the Gadsden Purchase
Gadsden Purchase
The Gadsden Purchase is a region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that was purchased by the United States in a treaty signed by James Gadsden, the American ambassador to Mexico at the time, on December 30, 1853. It was then ratified, with changes, by the U.S...

 which ran parallel to William Walker's Republics of Lower California and Sonora
Republic of Sonora
The Republic of Sonora was a federal republic composed of two states: Baja California and Sonora....

. As early as 1856 concerns had been raised about the ability of the territorial government in Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...

 to effectively govern the southern part of the territory which was separated by the Jornada del Muerto
Jornada del Muerto
The Jornada del Muerto in the U.S. state of New Mexico was the name given by the Spanish conquistadors to the Jornada del Muerto Desert basin, and the particularly dry stretch of a route through it.The trail lead northward from central Spanish colonial New Spain, present-day Mexico, to the farthest...

, a difficult stretch of desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...

.

In February 1858, the New Mexico territorial legislative adopted a resolution in favor of the creation of the Arizona territory, but with a north-south border along the 32nd meridian west from Washington with the additional stipulation that all the Indians of New Mexico would be removed to northern Arizona.

In April 1860, impatient for Congress to act, a convention was called and 31 delegates met in Tucson
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...

. In July 1860, the convention drafted a constitution for a "Territory of Arizona" to be organized out of the New Mexico Territory south of 34° N. The convention elected Lewis Owings
Lewis Owings
Dr. Lewis Sumpter Owings was a medical doctor and politician in the New Mexico and Arizona territories. He was chosen twice for the role of Provisional Governor for the territory of Arizona by conventions seeking to organize the territory-by both pre-Civil War Union and Confederate...

 as the Territorial Governor, and elected a delegate to Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

.

The proposal, however, did not succeed in Congress because of opposition from anti-slavery Congressmen because many people in the area were pro-slavery with business connections in southern states, and this new territory lay below the old Missouri Compromise line of demarcation between slave and free states. Thus anti-slavery Congressmen feared the new territory might eventually become a slave state
Slave state
In the United States of America prior to the American Civil War, a slave state was a U.S. state in which slavery was legal, whereas a free state was one in which slavery was either prohibited from its entry into the Union or eliminated over time...

.

Since the proceedings of the Tucson convention never were ratified by the United States Congress the Provisional Territory never became a legal entity. However for a time it did operate as a de facto, if not de jure, government for the intended Arizona Territory. Dr. Lewis Owings, Governor of the Provisional Territory, appointed James Henry Tevis to raise the first Territorial Militia which comprised three companies of Arizona Rangers
Arizona Rangers
The Arizona Rangers is an Arizona law enforcement agency modeled on the Texas Rangers. The Arizona Rangers were created by the Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1901, disbanded in 1909, and subsequently reformed in 1957. They were created to deal with the infestations of outlaws in the sparsely...

 for the protection of the Territory from marauding Apaches and bandits. Two companies were raised in the Pinos Altos
Pinos Altos, New Mexico
Pinos Altos, in Grant County, New Mexico, was a mining town, formed in 1860 following the discovery of gold in the nearby Pinos Altos Mountains. The town site is located about five to ten miles north of the present day Silver City, New Mexico...

 mining camp and another at Mesilla.

Secession

After the start of the American Civil War support for the Confederacy was strong in the southern part of the New Mexico Territory largely due to its neglect by the United States government. Other concerns were the lack of substantial numbers of troops to fight the Apache
Apache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...

s who were terrorizing travelers, ranches and mining camps all over Traditional Arizona
Traditional Arizona
Prior to the adoption of its name for a U.S. state, Arizona was traditionally defined as the region south of the Gila River to the present day Mexican border, and east of the Colorado River on the California border to the Rio Grande river, east of the present day Mesilla, New Mexico...

 following the Bascom Affair
Bascom Affair
The Bascom Affair is considered to be the key event in triggering the 1860s Apache War. The Apache Wars were fought during the nineteenth century between the U.S. military and many tribes in what is now the southwestern United States...

. Another was the closing of the Butterfield Overland Mail
Butterfield Overland Mail
The Butterfield Overland Mail Trail was a stagecoach route in the United States, operating from 1857 to 1861. It was a conduit for the U.S. mail from two eastern termini, Memphis, Tennessee and St. Louis, Missouri, meeting Fort Smith, Arkansas, and continuing through Indian Territory, New Mexico,...

 stations which connected the Arizona frontier
Frontier
A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. 'Frontier' was absorbed into English from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"--the region of a country that fronts on another country .The use of "frontier" to mean "a region at the...

 colonies to the East
Eastern United States
The Eastern United States, the American East, or simply the East is traditionally defined as the states east of the Mississippi River. The first two tiers of states west of the Mississippi have traditionally been considered part of the West, but can be included in the East today; usually in...

 and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. The Arizonans felt abandoned which fueled dissatisfaction for the federal government.

In March 1861, the citizens of Mesilla called a secession
Secession in the United States
Secession in the United States can refer to secession of a state from the United States, secession of part of a state from that state to form a new state, or secession of an area from a city or county....

 convention to separate themselves from the United States and join the Confederacy.

On March 16 the convention adopted a secession ordinance citing the region's common interests and geography with the Confederacy, the need of frontier protection and the loss of postal service routes under the United States government as reasons for their separation. The ordinance proposed the question of secession to the western portions of the territory and on March 28 a second convention in present day Tucson, Arizona also met and ratified the ordinance.

The conventions subsequently established a provisional territorial government for the Confederate "Territory of Arizona." Owings was again elected as provisional governor and Granville Henderson Oury
Granville Henderson Oury
Granville Henderson Oury was a nineteenth century American politician, lawyer, judge, soldier and miner.-Early life and career:...

 was chosen as a delegate to petition for the territory's admission into the Confederacy.

Civil War

The Confederate Arizona Territory was important to the role of the New Mexico Territory in the American Civil War
New Mexico Territory in the American Civil War
The New Mexico Territory, which included the areas which became the modern U.S. states of New Mexico and Arizona as well as the southern part of Nevada, played a role in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. Both Confederate and Union governments claimed ownership and territorial...

 primarily because it offered Confederate access to Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...

 California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. Consequently it was the scene of several important battles in the war's Trans-Mississippi Theater
Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War
The Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War was the major military and naval operations west of the Mississippi River. The area excluded the states and territories bordering the Pacific Ocean, which formed the Pacific Coast Theater of the American Civil War.The campaign classification...

.

The rebels established a military post Fort Yuma
Fort Yuma
Fort Yuma is a fort in California that is located in Imperial County, across the Colorado River from Yuma, Arizona. It was on the Butterfield Overland Mail route from 1858 until 1861 and was abandoned May 16, 1883, and transferred to the Department of the Interior. The Fort Yuma Indian School and a...

 on the banks of the Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...

 in 1862 adjacent to the Union army post with the same name on the other side in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. When the end of Confederate rule arrived, the Fort Yuma on the Arizona side was abandoned by Confederate cavalry troops who were mostly immigrant Irish.

They avoided capture by Union soldiers by fleeing to Mexico 10 miles away.
In July 1861 a force of under Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

 John Baylor
John Baylor
John Robert Baylor was a politician in Texas and a military officer of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War.-Biography:...

 arrived in El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...

 across the border from Mesilla.
With support from the secessionist residents of Mesilla Baylor's 2nd Texas Mounted Rifles entered the territory and took a position in the town on July 25. Union forces under Major Isaac Lynde at nearby Fort Fillmore
Fort Fillmore
Fort Fillmore was a fortification established by Col Edwin Vose Sumner in September of 1851 near Mesilla in what is now New Mexico, primarily to protect settlers and traders traveling to California. Travelers in the Westward Migration were under constant threat from Indian attack, and a network of...

 prepared to attack Baylor. On July 27 the two armies met outside of town at the Battle of Mesilla
Battle of Mesilla
The First Battle of Mesilla, fought on July 25, 1861 at Mesilla in what is now New Mexico, was an engagement between Confederate and Union forces during the American Civil War. The battle resulted in a Confederate victory and led directly to the official establishing of a Confederate Arizona...

 in a brief engagement in which the Union troops were defeated.

Major Lynde then abandoned Fort Fillmore
Fort Fillmore
Fort Fillmore was a fortification established by Col Edwin Vose Sumner in September of 1851 near Mesilla in what is now New Mexico, primarily to protect settlers and traders traveling to California. Travelers in the Westward Migration were under constant threat from Indian attack, and a network of...

 and began a march north to join the troops at Fort Craig
Fort Craig
Fort Craig was a U.S. Army fort located along El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, near Elephant Butte Lake State Park and the Rio Grande in Socorro County, New Mexico....

 under Colonel Edward R. S. Canby. However, his retreat came to a halt in severe heat and was overtaken by Baylor. Lynde surrendered his command without a shot fired at San Augustine Springs, in the Organ Mountains
Organ Mountains
The Organ Mountains are a rugged mountain range in southern New Mexico in the Southwestern United States. They lie east of the city of Las Cruces, in Doña Ana County.-Geography:...

.

On August 1, 1861, the victorious Baylor proclaimed the existence of a Confederate Arizona Territory, which comprised the area defined in the Tucson convention the previous year. He appointed himself as permanent governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

. Among his cabinet members was the Mesilla attorney Marcus H. MacWillie
Marcus H. MacWillie
Marcus H. MacWillie was a politician who represented the Confederate Arizona Territory in the Congress of the Confederate States during the American Civil War....

, who served as the territorial attorney general
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...

.

The next month, Baylor's men and a Union force would fight a small engagement at the village of Canada Alamosa
Battle of Canada Alamosa
The Battle of Canada Alamosa was a skirmish of the American Civil War on the late evening and morning of September 24 and 25, 1861. Several small battles occurred in Confederate Arizona near the border with Union New Mexico Territory, this one being the largest.-Background:The battle occurred about...

, ending with another Confederate victory.

The proposal to organize the Confederate Territory of Arizona was passed by the Confederate Congress in early 1862 and proclaimed by President
President of the Confederate States of America
The President of the Confederate States of America was the Head of State and Head of Government of the Confederate States of America, which was formed from the states which declared their secession from the United States, thus precipitating the American Civil War. The only person to hold the...

 Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...

 on February 14, 1862. To commemorate this event inanother era, February 14, 1912, the fiftieth anniversary was selected as official date of statehood for Arizona.
Efforts by the Confederacy to secure control of the region led to the New Mexico Campaign
New Mexico Campaign
The New Mexico Campaign was a military operation of the American Civil War from February to April 1862 in which Confederate Brigadier General Henry Hopkins Sibley invaded the northern New Mexico Territory in an attempt to gain control of the Southwest, including the gold fields of Colorado and the...

. In 1862 Baylor was ousted as governor of the territory by Davis, and the Confederate loss at the Battle of Glorieta Pass
Battle of Glorieta Pass
The Battle of Glorieta Pass, fought from March 26 to 28, 1862 in northern New Mexico Territory, was the decisive battle of the New Mexico Campaign during the American Civil War. Dubbed the "Gettysburg of the West" by some historians, it was intended as the killer blow by Confederate forces to break...

 forced Confederate retreat from the territory. The following month a small Confederate picket troop north of Tucson fought with an equally small Union cavalry patrol from California in the so-called Battle of Picacho Pass
Battle of Picacho Pass
The Battle of Picacho Pass or the Battle of Picacho Peak was an engagement of the American Civil War on April 15, 1862. The action occurred all around Picacho Peak, northwest of Tucson, Arizona...

.

Before the Picacho Pass skirmish, Union and Confederate forces fought a smaller engagement known as the Battle of Stanwix Station. By July 1862, Union forces were approaching the territorial capital of Mesilla and the Confederate government vacated to Texas.

The territorial government relocated to San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...

 and remained there in exile although MacWillie continued to represent the territory in the First
First Confederate Congress
The First Confederate Congress was the first regular term of the legislature of the Confederate States of America. Members of the First Confederate Congress were chosen in elections mostly held on 6 November 1861.-Sessions:...

 and Second Confederate Congress
Second Confederate Congress
The Second Confederate Congress was the second and last regular term of the legislature of the Confederate States of America. Members of the Second Confederate Congress were chosen in elections held at various dates in 1863 and 1864...

es. Resistance in Arizona continued at the partisan level, and Confederate units under the banner of Arizona fought until the end of the war in May 1865.

Apache Wars

In 1862 the column of California volunteers who fought at Stanwix Station and Picacho Pass fought at the Battle of Apache Pass
Battle of Apache Pass
The Battle of Apache Pass was fought in 1862 at Apache Pass, Arizona in the United States, between Apache warriors and the Union volunteers of the California Column as it marched from California to capture Confederate Arizona and to reinforce New Mexico's Union army...

 against 500 Apache
Apache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...

s. The battle is considered part of the American Civil War.

There were also several engagements between Apache
Apache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...

s and Confederates. The Battle of Dragoon Springs
Battle of Dragoon Springs
The First Battle of Dragoon Springs was a minor skirmish between a small troop of Confederate dragoons, of Governor John R. Baylor's Company A, Arizona Rangers, and a band of Apache warriors during the American Civil War...

 marks the only known Confederate combat deaths in the modern confines of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

. Other engagements include the Siege of Tubac
Siege of Tubac
The Siege of Tubac was a siege of the Apache Wars, between settlers and militia of Confederate Arizona and Chiricahua Apaches. The battle took place at Tubac in the present day southern Arizona...

, the Battle of Cooke's Canyon
Battle of Cooke's Canyon
The Battle of Cooke's Canyon was an engagement of the Apache Wars fought in August of 1861, between settlers from Confederate Arizona, and Chiricahua Apaches. It occurred about forty miles northwest of Mesilla, in Cooke's Canyon...

, the Battle of the Florida Mountains
Battle of the Florida Mountains
The Battle of the Florida Mountains was an action of the Apache Wars, forces involved were Chiricahua Apache warriors and mounted Confederate States militia. The battle occurred in a pass of the Florida Mountains within Confederate Arizona, now the modern day southwestern New Mexico...

, the Battle of Pinos Altos
Battle of Pinos Altos
The Battle of Pinos Altos was a military action of the Apache Wars. It was fought on September 27, 1861 between settlers of Pinos Altos mining town, the Confederate Arizona Guards, and Apache warriors. The town is located about seven miles north of the present day Silver City, New...

 and a number of other smaller skirmishes and massacres.

Arizona Territory Confederate units

1860
  • Arizona Guards of Pinos Altos
    Pinos Altos, New Mexico
    Pinos Altos, in Grant County, New Mexico, was a mining town, formed in 1860 following the discovery of gold in the nearby Pinos Altos Mountains. The town site is located about five to ten miles north of the present day Silver City, New Mexico...

     mining camp, Arizona Territorial Militia
  • Minute Men of Pinos Altos mining camp, Arizona Territorial Militia
  • Arizona Rangers of Mesilla
    Mesilla, New Mexico
    Mesilla is a town in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 2,180 at the 2000 census...

    , Arizona Territorial Militia


1862
  • Herbert's Battalion of Arizona Cavalry
    • Company A, Arizona Rangers
      Company A, Arizona Rangers
      Company A, Arizona Rangers was one of the Confederate military units raised in the Confederate Arizona Territory.- Origin of the Arizona Rangers :...

    • Company B
    • Company C

See Also

  • Sylvester Mowry
    Sylvester Mowry
    Sylvester Mowry was an American best known as a pioneer of Arizona and the founder of Mowry, Arizona. He also served as an officer in the United States Army and was arrested as a traitor during the American Civil War....

  • American Indian Wars
  • Arizona Territory
    Arizona Territory
    The Territory of Arizona was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state....

  • List of Arizona Territory Civil War units
  • New Mexico Territory in the American Civil War
    New Mexico Territory in the American Civil War
    The New Mexico Territory, which included the areas which became the modern U.S. states of New Mexico and Arizona as well as the southern part of Nevada, played a role in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. Both Confederate and Union governments claimed ownership and territorial...


Further reading

  • Kerby, Robert Lee, The Confederate Invasion of New Mexico and Arizona, Westernlore Press, 1958. ISBN 0-87026-055-3

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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