1946 3c Kearny Expedition into New Mexico

U.S. #944
3¢ Kearny Expedition
Issue Date: October 16, 1946
City: Santa Fe, N.M.
Quantity: 114,684,450
Printed by: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Rotary Press
Perforations: 11 x 10 1/2
Color: Brown violet

U.S. #944 commemorates the 100th anniversary of Stephen Watts Kearny into Santa Fe. The stamp pictures the raising of the American flag above the governors palace in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1846.

In the summer of 1846, Brigadier General Stephen Watts Kearny led his Army of the West out of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, with orders to seize the Mexican territories of New Mexico and California. Covering 856 miles in less than two months, his force encountered no serious resistance — the Mexican governor and his troops retreated without giving battle, and the Americans entered Santa Fe on August 18, 1846.  For the next six months, Kearny served as military governor of New Mexico, establishing a civil government and a territorial bill of rights for the newly acquired territory.