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The Baron, the Cow-boys and the Trail Boss
James Addison Reavis’s life as a charlatan in the Arizona Territory was dramatized in the Vincent Price Western, The Baron of Arizona (1950). Poster courtesy Lippert Pictures
I’ve read more than one article (including items from your books) about James Addison Reavis, the so-called “Baron of Arizona.” Which side did he fight on during the Civil War?
Mark Manning
Mesa, Arizona
Reavis first joined the Confederate Army in Missouri. He was running a small business forging his commanding officer’s signature on passes and selling them to his fellow Rebels. He sensed he was about to get busted so he went “over the hill” and joined the Union Army. He returned to his old ways by forging passes; again, he was about to get caught so he went AWOL. He was an incurable charlatan. He was years ahead of his peers when it came to harnessing the Salt and Gila rivers and might have become rich and famous (instead of infamous), but he turne