New Virginia Colony

The largest settlement was Carlota, named for Emperor Maximilian's wife Charlotte of Belgium and located near Córdoba, Veracruz; by early 1866, it was described as "thriving" and had a population of almost 500.

The Emperor offered land grants to any who would come and stay, but settlers could not bring slaves into Mexico, as slavery was banned by Mexican law.

He was also eagerly seeking settlers from Germany, Austria, and France, as part of his strategy to rebuild and colonize Mexico.

American "colonization agents" were appointed to districts, and Maury began to prepare surveys for the proposed colonies.

[5] Confederate generals such as Fighting Jo Shelby, Edmund Kirby Smith, John B. Magruder, Sterling Price, Thomas C. Hindman, and Alexander W. Terrell made their way to Mexico after the war, as did Pendleton Murrah, the recently-elected governor of Texas.

[6] Throughout the period, Maximilian's regime was attacked by Republican forces commanded by Benito Juárez and Porfirio Díaz.

Richard Launcelot Maury, a Confederate Colonel who relocated to Mexico after the American Civil War; he was the son of Matthew Fontaine Maury who developed the idea for the New Virginia Colony.