Marcus^[1] H. MacWillie^[2] was a politician who represented theConfederate Arizona Territory in theCongress of the Confederate States during theAmerican Civil War.

M. H. MacWillie was born circa 1836 in Inverness, Scotland.^[3] Little is known of his early life. One newspaper account claimed he was a relative of Mississippi GovernorWilliam McWillie (1795–1869), but this seems unlikely.^[4] MacWillie passed his bar exam and established a legal practice inTexas. He later moved to Mesilla in what is nowNew Mexico and resumed his legal career.^[5] In early 1861 served as district judge, then chief justice, in Dr.Lewis S. Owings' short-lived provisional government of the Arizona Territory (which included modern day New Mexico and Arizona).

Following the outbreak of the Civil War, Confederate army colonelJohn R. Baylor successfully invaded southern New Mexico and became the new Territorial governor. MacWillie became theAttorney General of the Confederate-claimed Arizona Territory in the newly designated capital of La Mesilla.^[6] Through the shrewd political efforts of his powerful friendJohn R. Baylor, MacWillie was selected December 30, 1861^[7] to replace Baylor's rivalGranville Henderson Oury as the territory's representative to the permanent Congress.^[8] Despite Arizona and New Mexico being taken over by theUnion Army later in 1862, MacWillie continued to represent the territory throughout theFirst Confederate Congress (March 11, 1862 – February 17, 1864). He then served in theSecond Confederate Congress until the end of the war.^[9]

MacWillie's activities following the war are uncertain. What we do know is that he lived in Chihuahua, Mexico, as an attorney, often handling mining claims.^[10] He was also involved in various southern Texas–northern Mexico railroad promotions, often visiting Texas, New Mexico, New Orleans and New York City.^[11] He died in Santa Barbara, California, March 5, 1875, during a trip to line up investors for a silver mine.^[12]

• Beers, Henry Putney,The Confederacy: A Guide to the Archives of the Government of the Confederate States of America. Washington, D.C.: United States National Archives and Records Administration, 1986.
• Current, Richard N.,Encyclopedia of the Confederacy. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993.ISBN 0-13-275991-8.
• Journal of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, 1861–1865. Washington, D.C.: United States War Department, Government Printing Office, 1905.
• History of New Mexico. Volume II, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York: Pacific States Publishing Co., 1907.

• Arizona lawyers
• Confederate expatriates
• Members of the Confederate States House of Representatives
• People from Doña Ana County, New Mexico
• People of Arizona in the American Civil War
• People of New Mexico in the American Civil War
• Texas lawyers
• 1830s births

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Year of birth unknown