| Utah War | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States | Utah Territory | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Pres. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the James Buchanan Gen. James Buchanan Jr (April 23 1791 – June 1 1868 was the fifteenth President of the United States (1857–1861 Albert S. Johnston | Gov. Brigham Young Gen. Brigham Young (June 1 1801 &ndash August 29 1877 was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. Daniel H. Wells | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 2,500 | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 38 | Unknown | ||||||
The Utah War, also known as the Utah Expedition or Buchanan's Blunder, was an armed dispute between Latter-day Saint ("Mormon") settlers in Utah Territory and the United States federal government. Daniel Hanmer Wells ( October 27, 1814 &ndash March 24, 1891) was an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints A Latter TalkMormon#Latter Day Saint vs Latter-day Saint --> Mormon The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The confrontation lasted from May 1857 until July 1858. While not fully bloodless, the war consisted of no pitched battles and was ultimately resolved through negotiation. Nevertheless, according to historian William P. MacKinnon, the Utah War was America's "most extensive and expensive military undertaking during the period between the Mexican and Civil wars, one that ultimately pitted nearly one-third of the US Army against what was arguably the nation's largest, most experienced militia. Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South "[1]
Contents |
Overview
The Utah War was largely based on misperceptions and a lack of effective communication. From 1857 to 1858, the Buchanan administration sought to quell what it perceived to be a rebellion in Utah Territory while the Mormons, fearful that the large federal army dispatched to the region had been sent to annihilate them, blocked the army's entrance into the Salt Lake Valley. While the confrontation between the Mormon militia, called the Nauvoo Legion, and the U.S. Army involved some destruction of property and a few brief skirmishes in what is today southwestern Wyoming, no actual battles occurred between the contending military forces. The Nauvoo Legion was a private Militia employed by Joseph Smith Jr The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. The State of Wyoming ( is a sparsely populated state in the western region of the United States.
Despite this, the confrontation was not bloodless. At the height of the conflict, on September 11, 1857, more than 120 California-bound settlers from Arkansas, including unarmed men, women and children,[2] were killed in remote southwestern Utah by a group of local Mormon militiamen, possibly with the help of Native American allies. Events 9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the This tragedy was later called the Mountain Meadows massacre. The Mountain Meadows massacre involved a mass slaughter of the Fancher-Baker emigrant Wagon train at Mountain Meadows in the Utah Territory by While this incident was undoubtedly connected to the hysteria surrounding the approaching federal army which pervaded Utah in 1857, many historians conclude that the killings were an anomaly instigated by geographically isolated and deeply paranoid local leadership acting without the knowledge of the LDS hierarchy in Salt Lake City, although some maintain the existence of a larger conspiracy. [3]
Other incidents of violence can also be linked to the Expedition, such as an Indian attack on the Latter-day Saint mission of Fort Limhi in eastern Oregon Territory which killed two Mormons and wounded several others. The Oregon Territory is the name applied both to the unorganized Oregon Country claimed by both the United States and Britain (but normally referred to Historian Brigham Madsen relates that "the responsibility for the [Fort Limhi raid] lay mainly with the Bannock. The Bannock or Banate are a Native American people who traditionally lived in the northern Great Basin in what is now southeastern Oregon and Above and beyond any influence exerted by trader, soldier, or missionary, a situation existed in February 1858 which gave the Bannock an almost unrivaled opportunity to indulge in their age-old customs of horse stealing and war. "[4] Nevertheless, David Bigler concludes that the raid was probably instigated by members of the Utah Expedition who were trying to replenish their stores of livestock. [5] Taking all incidents into account, MacKinnon estimates that approximately 150 people died as a direct result of the year long Utah War, including the 120 killed at Mountain Meadows. He points out that this is roughly equivalent to those killed during the seven year contemporaneous struggle in "Bleeding Kansas. Bleeding Kansas, sometimes referred to in history as Bloody Kansas or the Border War, was a series of violent events involving Free-Staters "[6]
In the end, negotiations between the United States and the Latter-day Saint hierarchy resulted in a full pardon for the Mormons, the transfer of Utah's governorship from church President Brigham Young to non-Mormon Alfred Cumming, and the peaceful entrance of the army into Utah. Brigham Young (June 1 1801 &ndash August 29 1877 was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. Alfred Cumming (1802–1873 was appointed Governor of the Utah territory in 1858 replacing Brigham Young following the Utah War.
Background
Utah Territory
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), often called Mormon pioneers, settled in what is now Utah in the summer of 1847. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the fourth largest Christian denomination in the United States and the largest and most well-known The Mormon pioneers were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Latter-day Saints, who migrated across the United The State of Utah (ˈjuːtɔː or) is a western state of the United States. Utah was then a part of Mexico, and the Mormons had purposely left the United States as a result of severe persecution and mob violence that they had endured in several eastern states. [7] They believed that in the empty deserts of the Great Basin they could create a utopian society called Zion without outside interference. The Great Basin is a large arid region of the western United States. Within the Latter Day Saint movement, Zion is often used to connote a Utopian association of the righteous Still, the Latter-day Saint leadership well understood that they were not "leaving the political orbit of the United States", nor did they want to. [8] Utah and most of the American Southwest were soon transferred to the American government as a result of the U. The Southwestern area of the United States could be defined as the states west of the Mississippi River, with the qualification of a certain northern limit such as the 37 S. victory in the Mexican-American War. As well, in 1848 gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in California, sparking the famous California Gold Rush. Sutter's Mill was a Sawmill owned by 19th century pioneer John Sutter. The California Gold Rush (1848&ndash1855 began on January 24 1848 when Gold was discovered by James Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California As a result, thousands of emigrants moved west to the gold fields on trails which passed directly through the Saints' new home. These emigrants brought opportunities for trade, but also ended the Mormons' short-lived isolation.
Thus, in 1849, the Mormons proposed that a huge swath of territory which they inhabited be incorporated into the United States as the State of Deseret. The State of Deseret was a provisional state of the United States, proposed in 1849 by Mormon settlers in Salt Lake City. The primary concern of the Latter-day Saints was to be governed by men of their own choosing rather than "unsympathetic carpetbag appointees" that they believed would be sent from Washington, D. C. if their region was relegated to territorial status. [9] Based on nearly two decades of hardship, they believed that only through the self-governance entailed in statehood could they maintain the religious freedom which had been denied to them in the United States. However, Congress instead formed the Utah Territory as part of the Compromise of 1850. The Compromise of 1850 was a series of bills aimed at resolving the territorial and slavery controversies arising from the Mexican-American War (1846&ndash1848 While this designation kept the Saints under direct federal control, President Millard Fillmore selected Brigham Young, President of the LDS Church, as the first governor of the Territory. Millard Fillmore ( January 7 1800 &ndash March 8 1874 was the thirteenth President of the United States, serving from 1850 until 1853 and the last member of the Whig Brigham Young (June 1 1801 &ndash August 29 1877 was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. Although this appointment came as a relief to the Latter-day Saints, in subsequent years the relationship between the Mormons and the federal government gradually broke down.
Plural marriage, popular sovereignty, and slavery
Part of this friction was purely cultural. Stephen Arnold Douglas ( April 23, 1813 - June 3, 1861) was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and Popular sovereignty or the sovereignty of the people is the belief that the legitimacy of the State is created by the will or consent of its people, who Members of the LDS Church believed that polygamy or "plural marriage", such as that practiced in the Old Testament, had been reinstituted by God and a relatively small percentage of Mormons engaged in the practice in Utah. The term polygamy (a Greek word meaning "the practice of multiple marriage" is used in related ways in Social anthropology, Sociobiology, and In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. In fact, ". . studies suggest that a maximum of 20% to 25% of LDS were members of polygamous households. "[10] Evidence points to the fact that plural marriage was never particularly popular among either Mormon men or women. However, evidence also shows that those who engaged in the practice viewed plural marraige as a religious sacrament, and not an excuse for sexual excess or the oppression of women despite contemporary opinion to the contrary. [11] Indeed, polygamy was roundly condemned by virtually all sections of the American public. During the Presidential Election of 1856 a key plank of the newly-formed Republican Party's platform was a pledge "to prohibit in the territories those twin relics of barbarism, polygamy and slavery". The United States presidential election of 1856 was unusually heated A party platform, also known as a Manifesto, is a list of the principles which a Political party supports in order to appeal to the general public for the purpose [12] The Republicans plausibly linked the Democratic principle of popular sovereignty with the acceptance of polygamy in Utah, and turned this accusation into a formidable political weapon. Popular sovereignty or the sovereignty of the people is the belief that the legitimacy of the State is created by the will or consent of its people, who
Popular sovereignty was the theoretical basis of the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. The Compromise of 1850 was a series of bills aimed at resolving the territorial and slavery controversies arising from the Mexican-American War (1846&ndash1848 The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, opened new lands repealed the Missouri Compromise of Basically, it held that the Territories should be free to regulate their own "domestic institutions" without the interference of Congress. Originally, this concept was meant to remove the divisive issue of slavery in the Territories from national debate and transform it into a local choice, thus forestalling armed conflict between the North and South. But, Republican polemics denouncing the theory held that if popular sovereignty protected the "domestic institution" of slavery in the territories, it must also protect the practice of polygamy. Many Americans who were morally or politically prepared to accept slavery viewed polygamy as deeply immoral, and were strenuously opposed to its practice in Utah. Thus, leading Democrats such as Stephen A. Douglas, formerly an ally of the Latter-day Saints, were forced to denounce Mormonism and polygamy just as harshly as the Republicans in order to save Popular Sovereignty from public disrepute. Stephen Arnold Douglas ( April 23, 1813 - June 3, 1861) was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and In a public address on June 12, 1857, Douglas declared the Mormons to be "alien enemies" and urged that the "loathsome, disgusting ulcer" of Mormon dominated Utah had to be removed from the body politic. Events 1381 - Peasants' Revolt: in England, rebels arrive at Blackheath. Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the [13]
In essence, the Democrats believed that American attitudes towards the LDS practice of polygamy had the potential of derailing the carefully balanced compromise on slavery they had produced to keep the nation from civil war. As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another This compromise had already been strained to the limit thanks to the border war still raging in "Bleeding Kansas. Bleeding Kansas, sometimes referred to in history as Bloody Kansas or the Border War, was a series of violent events involving Free-Staters " For the Democrats, attacks on Mormonism therefore had the dual purpose of disentangling polygamy from Popular Sovereignty, and distracting the nation from the ongoing battles over slavery. Amazingly, in April 1857, a confidant of the newly elected President, Democrat James Buchanan, wrote to him and urged that an "Anti-Mormon Crusade" would distract the nation from the divisive issue of slavery so that "the pipings of Abolitionism will hardly be heard amidst the thunders of the storm we shall raise. The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. James Buchanan Jr (April 23 1791 – June 1 1868 was the fifteenth President of the United States (1857–1861 "[14]
Theodemocracy
In addition, the public was incensed by the semi-theocratic dominance of the Utah Territory under Brigham Young. Theodemocracy is a political system theorized by Joseph Smith Jr Theocracy is a form of government in which a god or deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler Brigham Young (June 1 1801 &ndash August 29 1877 was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. The Mormons believed passionately in the principles of the American Constitution which they taught had been inspired by God. [15] Young declared that under the Constitution's "broad folds, in its obvious meanings and intents, [the Latter-day Saints] are safe, and can always rejoice in peace. "[16] However, Mormon political thought was heavily influenced by a theoretical governmental form dubbed "Theodemocracy. Theodemocracy is a political system theorized by Joseph Smith Jr " This system was intimately connected with Mormon beliefs in the imminence of Christ's Second Coming. In Christianity, the Second Coming is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven to earth an event that will fulfill aspects of Messianic Mormons believed that before Christ returned to earth, the governments of the world would collapse into universal anarchy. A theodemocracy in its pure form was believed to be the mechanism through which Christ would reinstitute order and rule a global political kingdom that He would initiate upon His return to earth. It proposed the fusion of traditional American republicanism with Biblical theocracy by calling for the use of republican processes to elect ecclesiastical leaders into positions of secular power while maintaining an institutional separation between church and civil governments. It was further meant to sustain full freedom of religion and other basic liberties for all members of society.
Thus, in the time before the Millennium, the collapse of secular governments, and the institution of a pure theodemocracy, the Saints were comfortable with a system in Utah which was strictly republican in organization and which formed a constituent part of the United States, but in which their religious leaders served in important secular positions. A millennium (pl millennia) is a period of Time equal to one thousand Years (from Latin la mille, thousand and la annum The United States of America —commonly referred to as the LDS church leaders were elevated to these positions either through popular election to the Territorial Legislature, selection as probate judges, or by federal appointment as in the case of Brigham Young. Probate is the Legal process of settling the estate of a deceased person specifically resolving all claims and distributing the decedent's Property Young taught in 1855 that the Latter-day Saints, "like all good citizens, should seek to place those men in power who will feel the obligations and responsibilities they are under to a mighty people. . . "[17] In the minds of the Saints, their ecclesiastical leadership was uniquely suited to do just that. Indeed, the Mormons believed that the they were constitutionally guaranteed the ability to select their own government leaders, despite their ecclesiastical position. As Sarah Gordon points out, during the 19th century the "wall of separation" between church and state entailed in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment applied only to the federal government. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment refers to the first of several pronouncements in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, stating that " [18] Even today, the election of clergymen to political office has been judged constitutionally valid by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary.
But, many Americans in the mid-19th century regarded Mormon governance as a violation of American principles, and the press portrayed Young and other Mormon leaders as petty tyrants who were determined to create a separate kingdom in Utah. Republicanism is the Value system of Governance that has been a major part of American civic thought since the American Revolution Many erroneously believed that Young maintained his power through an organization called the Danites which were blamed for any act of violence in the Territory. This article is about the Mormon group "Danite" can also refer to a member of the Tribe of Dan. The very existence of such a group in Utah is doubted by many authorities. [19] Nevertheless, because non-Mormons in the east would not have consented to theodemocratic rule, they assumed that the Mormons "were oppressed by a religious tyranny and kept in submission only by some terroristic arm of the Church. . . [However] no Danite band could have restrained the flight of freedom-loving men from a Territory possessed of many exits; yet a flood of emigrants poured into Utah each year, with only a trickle. . . ebbing back. "[20] In fact, the recently formed Know-Nothing Party brought into the political discussion a widely felt distrust of foreign immigration which bristled at the thousands of Mormon converts streaming into Utah from Europe and other locations. The Know Nothing movement was a Nativist American political movement of the 1850s
Federal appointees
These circumstances were not helped by the relationship between "Gentile" federal appointees and the Utah territorial leadership. The term Gentile (from Latin, gentilis, meaning of or belonging to a clan or tribe refers to non- Israelite tribes or nations in the Bible. The territory's Organic Act held that the governor, federal judges, and other important territorial positions were to be filled by appointees chosen by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, but without any reference to the will of Utah's population. Territories of the United States are one type of political division of the United States, administered by the U This situation was similar to that of the American Colonies prior to the Revolutionary War, a condition which gave birth to the slogan "Taxation without representation is tyranny. The Thirteen Colonies were part of what became known as British America, a name that was used by Great Britain until the Treaty of Paris (1783 recognized the In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" "
Some federal officials sent by the President maintained essentially harmonious relationships with the Latter-day Saints,[21] others had severe difficulties adjusting to the Mormon-dominated territorial government and the unique Utah culture. Historian Norman Furniss relates that although some of these appointees were basically honest and well meaning, many were highly prejudiced against the Mormons even before they arrived in the territory, were woefully unqualified for their positions, and some were down-right reprobate. The Mormons therefore had legitimate grievances against their federal representatives. On the other hand, the Latter-day Saints had little patience for the federal domination entailed in territorial status, and often showed defiance towards the representatives of the federal government. [22] In addition, while the Saints sincerely declared their loyalty to the United States and celebrated the Fourth of July every year with unabashed patriotism, they were undisguisedly critical of the federal government which they felt had driven them out from their homes in the east. In the United States, Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July (or the Fourth) is a Federal holiday commemorating the adoption Like the contemporary Abolitionists, Latter-day Saint leaders declared that the judgments of God would be meted out upon the nation for its unrighteousness. Abolitionism was a political movement of the 18th and 19th century which sought to make Slavery illegal particularly in the United States and British West Indies Brigham Young echoed the opinion of many Latter-day Saints when he declared "I love the government and the Constitution of the United States, but I do not love the damned rascals that administer the government. "[23]
The Mormons also maintained a governmental and legal regime in "Zion" which they believed was perfectly permissible under the Constitution (which does not specify a structure for lower levels of government), but which was fundamentally different from that espoused in the rest of the country.
Thus, relations with the Native Americans who often differentiated between "Americans" and "Mormons", acceptance of the common law, the criminal jurisdiction of probate courts, the Mormon use of ecclesiastical courts rather than the federal court system for civil matters, the legitimacy of land titles, water rights, and various other issues were a source of continual dispute between the Latter-day Saints and federal appointees in the Territory. Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive Many of these officers were also appalled by the practice of polygamy and the Mormon belief system in general, and would harangue the Mormons for their "lack of morality" in public addresses. This already tense situation was further exacerbated by a period of intense religious revival starting in late 1856 dubbed the "Mormon Reformation. In 1856-1858 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints underwent what is commonly called the Mormon Reformation. "
Beginning in 1851, a number of federal officers, some claiming that they feared for their physical safety, left their Utah appointments for the east. The stories of these "Runaway Officials" convinced the new President that the Mormons were nearing a state of rebellion against the authority of the United States. The " Runaway Officials of 1851 " were a group of three federal officers Judge Perry Brocchus Judge Lemuel Brandenbury and Territorial Secretary Broughton Harris who were appointed According to LDS historians James B. Allen and Glen M. Leonard, the most influential information came from William W. Drummond, an associate justice of the Utah territorial supreme court who began serving in 1854. Drummond's letter of resignation of March 30, 1857 contained charges that Young's power set aside the rule of law in the territory, that the Mormons had ignored the laws of Congress and the Constitution, and that male Mormons acknowledged no law but the priesthood. Events 240 BC - 1st recorded Perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the
- He further charged the Church with murder, destruction of federal court records, harassment of federal officers, and slandering the federal government. He concluded by urging the president to appoint a governor who was not a member of the Church and to send with him sufficient military aid to enforce his rule. [24]
Buchanan was unfamiliar with Drummond's character, which John F. Kinney, the federally appointed chief justice of the territorial supreme court, found to be immoral and . John Fitch Kinney ( April 2, 1816 &ndash August 16, 1902) was a prominent American attorney, Judge, and . entirely unworthy of a place upon the bench. [25] In fact, while Drummond railed against Mormon morality, he had abandoned his wife and family in the east and kept company with a prostitute whom he had brought from Washington, D. C. Nevertheless, while Chief Justice Kinney may have disapproved of Justice Drummond, he was also no Mormon sympathizer. In reports to Washington, Kinney recited examples of what he believed to be Brigham Young's perversion of Utah's judicial system and further urged his removal from office and the establishment of a one-regiment U. S. Army garrison in the territory. [26] There were further charges of treason, battery, theft, and fraud made by other officials including Federal Surveyors,[27] and Federal Indian Agents. [28] In fact, Furniss states that most federal reports from Utah to Washington "left unclear whether the [Mormons] habitually kicked their dogs; otherwise their calendar of infamy in Utah was complete. "[29] As these charges matched the general Eastern perception of Mormons at the time, Buchanan failed to investigate these reports or to even contact Young regarding the accusations. As early as 1852, Dr. John M. Bernhisel, Utah's delegate to Congress, had suggested that an impartial committee be sent to investigate the actual conditions in the territory. John Milton Bernhisel ( June 23, 1799 - September 28, 1881) was an American physician politician and early member of the Church of Jesus This call for an investigation was renewed during the crisis of 1857 by Bernhisel and even by Senator Stephen A. Douglas. Stephen Arnold Douglas ( April 23, 1813 - June 3, 1861) was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and However, the President would not wait. Under massive popular and political pressure, President Buchanan decided to take decisive action against the Mormons soon after his inauguration on March 4, 1857. Events 51 - Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title Princeps iuventutis (head of the youth Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the
President Buchanan first decided to appoint a new governor in place of Brigham Young. The position was offered to several individuals who refused, and the President finally settled on Alfred Cumming during the summer. Alfred Cumming (1802–1873 was appointed Governor of the Utah territory in 1858 replacing Brigham Young following the Utah War. While Young became aware of the change in territorial administration through press reports and other sources, he received no official notification of his replacement until Cumming arrived in the Territory in November 1857. Young received no communications from President Buchanan until late February 1858. Buchanan also decided to send a force of 2500 army troops to build a post in Utah and to act as a posse comitatus once the new governor had been installed. Posse comitatus refers to the Common law authority wielded by the County Sheriff to conscript any able-bodied male eighteen or older to assist They were ordered not to take offensive action against the Mormons, but to enter the territory, enforce the laws under the direction of the new governor, and defend themselves if attacked. But once again, President Buchanan made no effort to inform Young of the movement of this army or of its intentions, while lurid accounts in the Eastern newspapers gave the Mormons reason to expect the worst.
Troop movements
July-November 1857: tactical standoff
Preparations
Although the Utah Expedition had begun to gather as early as May under orders from General Winfield Scott, the first soldiers did not leave Fort Leavenworth, Kansas until July 18, 1857. Winfield Scott ( June 13, 1786 &ndash May 29, 1866) was a United States Army general Diplomat, and presidential candidate Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County Kansas (just north of the city of Leavenworth) in the upper northeast Events 390 BC - Roman - Gaulish Wars Battle of the Allia - a Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the The troops were originally to be led by Gen. William S. Harney. William Selby Harney ( 22 August 1800 - 9 May 1889) was a Cavalry officer in the U However, affairs in "Bleeding Kansas" forced Harney to remain behind to deal with skirmishes between pro-slavery and free-soiler militants. Bleeding Kansas, sometimes referred to in history as Bloody Kansas or the Border War, was a series of violent events involving Free-Staters The Expedition's cavalry, the 2nd Dragoons, was kept in Kansas for the same reason. 2nd Cavalry Regiment may refer to Australian 2nd Cavalry Regiment 2nd Cavalry Regiment (United States Because of Harney's unavailability, Col. Edmund Alexander was charged with the first detachment of troops headed for Utah. However, overall command was assigned to Col. Albert Sidney Johnston who did not leave Kansas until much later. As it was, July was already far into the campaigning season and the army and their supply train were unprepared for winter in the Rocky Mountains. The army was also dispatched under the mistaken impression that the Mormons would not dare to oppose federal troops, and without clear instructions on how to react in case of resistance.
Just as a misunderstanding of Mormon culture and their governmental system contributed to the Buchanan Administration's decision to send the expedition, the Mormons' lack of information on the army's mission also created apprehension and led to elaborate preparations. While rumors spread throughout the spring that an army was coming to Utah and that Brigham Young had been replaced as governor, this was not confirmed until late July. Mormon mail contractors, including Porter Rockwell and Abraham O. Smoot received word in Missouri that their contract was canceled and that the Army was on the move. Orrin Porter Rockwell ( June 28, 1813, or June 25, 1815 &ndash June 9 1878) was a colorful figure of the Wild Abraham Owen Smoot ( February 17, 1815 &ndash 1895 was a Mormon pioneer and the second Mayor of Salt Lake City Utah. The men quickly returned to Salt Lake City and notified Brigham Young that U. S. Army units were marching on the Mormons. Young announced the approach of the army to a large group of Latter-day Saints gathered in Big Cottonwood Canyon for Pioneer Day celebrations on July 24, 1857. Big Cottonwood Canyon is a Canyon in the Wasatch Range roughly southeast of Salt Lake City in the U Pioneer Day (also archaically called the Day of Deliverance) is an official Utah state Holiday celebrated on July 24 in the U Events 1132 - Battle of Nocera between Ranulf II of Alife and Roger II of Sicily. Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the He declared that,
- "if General Harney crossed the South Pass he [Young] should send him word they [the army] must not come into the valley. South Pass (elevation) is a Mountain pass on the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Wyoming. If the Govornor and officers wished to come and would behave themselves well they would be well treated. "[30]
Young's diary entry for the day records,
- "it was carried unanimously that if Harney crossed the South Pass the buz[z]ards Would pick his bones. The feeling of Mobocracy is rife in the "States" the constant cry is kill the Mormons. Let them try it. "[31]
Early in his administration of Utah, Young famously stated, "We have got a territorial government, and I am and will be the governor, and no power can hinder it until the Lord Almighty says, 'Brigham, you need not be governor any longer,' and then I am willing to yield to another. "[32] In 1855 he explained these words saying, "[God] makes Kings, Presidents, and Governors at His pleasure; hence I conclude that I shall be Governor of Utah Territory, just as long as He wants me to be; and for that time, neither the President of the United States, nor any other power, can prevent it. "[33] Young firmly believed that God controlled the acts of men, including who the President chose to be governor of Utah. Although Young's secular position made his administration of the Territory simpler, he felt that his religious authority was far more important among a nearly homogeneous population of Mormons who were determined to create a utopian society in anticipation of the Second Coming of Christ. Within the Latter Day Saint movement, Zion is often used to connote a Utopian association of the righteous In Christianity, the Second Coming is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven to earth an event that will fulfill aspects of Messianic Thus, in 1855 he stated "though I may not be Governor here, my power will not be diminished. No man they can send here will have much influence with this community, unless he be the man of their choice. "[34] As his statement of July 24, 1857 makes clear, Young was at first prepared to relinquish his position of governor of Utah Territory. Events 1132 - Battle of Nocera between Ranulf II of Alife and Roger II of Sicily. Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the
However, Young and the Mormon community at large feared renewed persecution and possibly annihilation by a large body of federal troops. Many of the Mormon settlers in Utah vividly remembered what they believed to be a pattern of aggression against them whenever they had lived in close proximity to a large number of armed non-Mormons or "Gentiles. The term Gentile (from Latin, gentilis, meaning of or belonging to a clan or tribe refers to non- Israelite tribes or nations in the Bible. " This included attacks by both extra-legal mobs and state militias when they were settled at Nauvoo, Illinois in the 1840s, during the Mormon War in northern Missouri in 1838, and incident to the Mormon expulsion from Jackson County, Missouri in 1833. There is also a Nauvoo Alabama, and a Nauvoo Pennsylvania Nauvoo ( is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois Jackson County is a County located in the US state of Missouri. This violence had killed the Church's founder, Joseph Smith, in 1844 and robbed the Mormons of both life and property over a period of nearly two decades. Indeed, in 1838 Missouri governor Lilburn Boggs had gone so far as to issue an Extermination Order against all Latter-day Saints within the state's boundaries and drove thousands across the border into Illinois. Lilburn Williams Boggs ( December 14, 1796 March 14, 1860) was the Governor of Missouri from 1836 to 1840 Missouri Executive Order 44, also known as the "extermination order" (alt This spirit of violence seemed to continue in the pronouncements of major contemporary newspapers, and the Saints saw its fulfillment on June 23, 1857 when they learned that LDS Apostle Parley P. Pratt had recently been murdered while serving a mission in Arkansas. Events 1180 - First Battle of Uji, starting the Genpei War in Japan 1305 - The Flemish Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the Parley Parker Pratt ( 12 April 1807 &ndash 13 May 1857) was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of [35] Young also recalled the problems caused by a group of 300 unruly federal troops that wintered in Utah under Colonel Steptoe from 1854-55. He warned his followers that
- ". . . mobs repeatedly gathered against this people, but they never had any power to prevail until Governors issued their orders and gathered a force under the letter of the law, but breaking the spirit, to hold the 'Mormons' still while infernal scamps cut their throats. "[36]
Fearing the worst, Young quickly responded to the perceived threat. He asked residents throughout Utah territory to prepare for evacuation, making plans to burn their homes and property and to stockpile food and stock feed. Guns were manufactured and ammunition was cast. Mormon colonists in small outlying communities in the Carson Valley and San Bernadino, California were ordered to abandon their homes and fields and to consolidate with the main body of Latter-day Saints in Northern and Central Utah. Kit Carson Pass, named after the famed explorer Kit Carson, (el All LDS missionaries serving in the United States and Europe were recalled. Fearing possible attack from the west as well as from the east, Young also sent George A. Smith to the settlements of southern Utah to prepare them for action. George Albert Smith ( June 26 1817 &ndash September 1 1875) (commonly known as George A Young's strategies to defend the Saints vacillated between all out war, a more limited confrontation, and retreat. He stated on August 2,
- "If the United States sends out troops to fight us this season we shall whip them out. Events 338 BC - A Macedonian army led by Philip II defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Then they will send out reinforcements. Then we shall have the Lamanites [American Indians] with us & the more the United states send out the worse off they will be for they will perish with Famine [sic]. "[37]
But he also mused that if "[the soldiers] are defeated this year the people will be down upon Bucannon [sic]", and the President would be forced to withdraw his forces and negotiate. [38]
.jpg/175px-Kanosh_(Pahvant).jpg)
If total war became inevitable, an alliance with the Native Americans was central to Young's strategy. The relationship between the Mormons and Utah's native inhabitants had been mixed since their arrival in 1847. Although they had fought on several occasions, including the Walker War of 1853-4, Brigham Young had generally adopted a policy of missionary work, education, and conciliation towards native tribes. Chief Colorow Ignacio Ouray Walkara (aka Wakara or Walker) (ca [39] Indeed, some Mormon leaders encouraged intermarriage with the Native Americans in order that the two peoples might "unite together" and their "interests become one. "[40] At least some Mormons and Natives Americans did enter into such relationships, although in the case of the settlers at Fort Limhi in Oregon Territory, the Indian women often rejected the proposals of the Mormon men. The Oregon Territory is the name applied both to the unorganized Oregon Country claimed by both the United States and Britain (but normally referred to [4] In early August 1857, Young wrote to Jacob Hamblin, a missionary to the southern Paiutes, and stated that Hamblin should "continue the conciliatory policy towards the Indians which I have ever commended, and seek by works of righteousness to obtain their love and confidence. Jacob Hamblin ( April 6, 1819 &ndash August 31, 1886) was a Western pioneer, Mormon missionary and Diplomat "[41] However, Young continued that the Indians "must learn to help us or the United States will kill us both. "[42]
On August 30 and September 1, Young met with Native American delegations and "gave" them all of the livestock then on the northern and southern trails into California. Events 1363 - Beginning date of the Battle of Lake Poyang; the forces of two Chinese rebel leaders— Chen Youliang and Events 462 - Possible start of first Byzantine indiction cycle. [43] This was perhaps a means of bribing them for support against the United States and avoiding raids against Mormon settlements, as well as a chance to close the overland trails through Utah Territory. Indeed, Young believed that "Gentile" emigrants had already whipped the Indians into a frenzy through ill-treatment, and this may have been an attempt to mollify them in the face of an approaching army. The term Gentile (from Latin, gentilis, meaning of or belonging to a clan or tribe refers to non- Israelite tribes or nations in the Bible. He stated that "the Gentile emigrants shoot the Indians wharever they meet with them & the Indians now retaliate & will kill innocent People. "[44] Young publicly urged the emigrant wagon trains to keep away from the Territory in sermons on August 16, and again one month later. Events 1384 - The Hongwu Emperor of Ming China, Emperor Dong hears a case of a couple who tore paper money bills while fighting However, the Indians seemed hesitant to fight American troops, preferring to "raise grain" while the Mormons fought. [43] Whether or not Young's attempts to ally with the Native Americans led to the infamous Mountain Meadows massacre in southern Utah on September 11 is a question of fierce disagreement among commentators. The Mountain Meadows massacre involved a mass slaughter of the Fancher-Baker emigrant Wagon train at Mountain Meadows in the Utah Territory by Events 9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul Yet despite Young's efforts, some Native groups did in fact attack Mormon settlements during the course of the Utah War, including a raid on Fort Limhi on the Salmon River in Oregon Territory in February 1858 and attacks in Tooele County just west of Great Salt Lake City. The Salmon River is located in Idaho in the northwestern United States. The Oregon Territory is the name applied both to the unorganized Oregon Country claimed by both the United States and Britain (but normally referred to Tooele County (tuːˈɛlə is a County located in the US state of Utah.
However, despite his tough rhetoric, it seems clear that Young hoped that he could keep "Johnston's Army" out of the Utah Territory without resorting to bloodshed. He counseled church members on September 13,
- "Do not get so angry that you cannot pray; do not get so angry that you could not feed an enemy, even your worst enemy, if an opportunity should present itself. Events 509 BC - The Temple of Jupiter on Rome 's Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September . . I would like this people to have faith enough to turn away their enemies. . . If God will turn them withersoever he will so that they do not come here, I shall be perfectly satisfied. But another man steps up and says to the one that prays for our enemies to be turned away, 'brother, you are a coward, damn them let them come, for I want to fight them. . . ' Do all such persons know they are not right?"[45]
Young's diary entry for July 26 remarked that after discussing with other Mormon leaders what policy to follow in regards to the approaching army, "We prayed for our Enemies. Events 657 - Battle of Siffin. 811 - Battle of Pliska; Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus "[46]
In early August, Young activated the Nauvoo Legion. The Nauvoo Legion was a private Militia employed by Joseph Smith Jr This was the Utah militia under the command of Daniel H. Wells, and consisted of essentially all able-bodied men between 15 and 60. Daniel Hanmer Wells ( October 27, 1814 &ndash March 24, 1891) was an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Young ordered the Legion to
- ". . . [ascertain] the locality or route of the troops [and] proceed at once to annoy them in every possible way. Use every exertion to stampede their animals, and set fire to their trains. Burn the whole country before them and on their flanks. . . Take no life, but destroy their trains, and stampede or drive away their animals, at every opportunity. "[47]
Young hoped that these delaying actions would buy time for the Mormon settlements to prepare for either battle or evacuation, and hopefully create a window for negotiations with the Buchanan Administration. Thus, in mid-August, militia Colonel Robert T. Burton and a reconnaissance unit were sent east from Salt Lake City with orders to observe the oncoming American regiments and protect LDS emigrants traveling on the Mormon trail. Robert Taylor Burton ( October 25, 1821 – November 11 1907) was a member of the presiding bishopric of The Church of Jesus Christ The Mormon
Captain Van Vliet
It was not until early September that Brigham Young received any communication from the federal government. On July 28, 1857, U. Events 1540 - Thomas Cromwell is executed at the order of Henry VIII of England on charges of Treason. Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the S. Army Captain Stewart Van Vliet, an assistant quartermaster, and a small escort were ordered to proceed directly from Kansas to Salt Lake City, ahead of the main body of troops. Stewart Leonard Van Vliet ( July 21, 1815 &ndash March 28, 1901) was a United States Army officer who fought on the side of the Van Vliet carried a letter to Young from General Harney and he was ordered to make arrangements for the citizens of Utah to accommodate and supply the troops once they arrived. However, Harney's letter stated only that the Military Department of Utah had been formed, that troops were on the way, and that they needed supplies. It did not mention that Young had been replaced as governor, nor did it detail what the mission of the troops would be once they arrived and these omissions sparked even greater distrust among the Saints. [48] On his journey, reports reached Van Vliet that his company might be in danger from Mormon raiders on the trail. The Captain therefore left his escort and proceeded alone. [49]
Van Vliet arrived in Salt Lake City on September 8. Events 70 - Roman forces under Titus sack Jerusalem. 1264 - The Statute of Kalisz Historian Harold Schindler states that his mission was to contact Governor Young and inform him of the expedition's mission: to escort the new appointees, to act as a posse comitatus and to establish at least two and perhaps three new U. S. Army camps in Utah. [50] However, Van Vliet's official instructions told him only to deliver General Harvey's letter, secure supplies, and find an acceptable spot for the army to encamp near Salt Lake City. [51]
Van Vliet's arrival in Salt Lake City was welcomed kindly by the Mormon leadership. In fact, Van Vliet had been previously known by the Latter-day Saints in Iowa, and they trusted and respected him. However, he found the residents of Utah determined to defend themselves. He interviewed leaders and townspeople and ". . . attended Sunday services, heard emotional speeches, and saw the Saints raise their hands in a unanimous resolution to guard against any 'invader. '" [52] Van Vliet found it impossible to persuade Mormon leaders that the Army had peaceful intentions, especially after the receipt of Harney's ambiguous letter. He quickly recognized that supplies or accommodations for the Army would not be forthcoming. But, Young told Van Vliet that the Mormons did not desire war, and "if we can keep the peace for this winter I do think there will be something turned up that may save the shedding of blood. "[53] However, marking a change from earlier pronouncements, Young declared that under threat from an approaching army he would not allow the new governor and federal officers to enter Utah. [54] Nevertheless, Van Vliet told Young that he believed that the Mormons "have been lied about the worst of any people I ever saw. "[55] He promised to stop the Utah Expedition on his own authority, and on September 14 he returned east through the Mormon fortifications then being built in Echo Canyon (see below). Events 81 - Domitian becomes Emperor of the Roman Empire upon the death of his brother Titus.
Upon returning to the main body of the army, Van Vliet reported that the Latter-day Saints would not resort to actual hostilities, but would seek to delay the troops in every way possible. He also reported that they were ready to burn their homes and destroy their crops, and that the route through Echo Canyon would be a death trap for a large body of troops. Van Vliet continued on to Washington, D. C. in company with Dr. John M. Bernhisel, Utah Territory's delegate to Congress. John Milton Bernhisel ( June 23, 1799 - September 28, 1881) was an American physician politician and early member of the Church of Jesus There, Van Vliet reported on the situation in the west and became an advocate for the Latter-day Saints and the end of the Utah War.
Martial law
As early as August 5, 1857 Young had decided to declare martial law throughout the Territory and a document was printed to that effect. Events 642 - Battle of Maserfield - Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Bernicia. Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the Martial law is the system of rules that takes effect when the military takes control of the normal administration of justice [56] However, historians question the intent of this proclamation as it was never widely circulated, if at all, and while copies of the document exist, there is no mention of it in any contemporary sources. [57] One commentary opines that "during most of August the Mormon leaders had not precisely focused on a strategy for dealing with the approaching army; and after the first proclamation was struck off, they likely had second thoughts about a direct confrontation with the federal government. On August 29, Brigham Young instructed Daniel H. Events 708 - Copper coins are minted in Japan for the first time (Traditional Japanese date: August 10, 708) Wells to draft a second proclamation of martial law. "[58] On September 15, the day after Van Vliet left Salt Lake City, Young publicly declared martial law in Utah with a document almost identical to that printed in early August. Events 668 - Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II is assassinated in his bath at Syracuse Italy. This second proclamation received wide circulation throughout the Territory and was delivered by messenger to Col. Alexander with the approaching army. The most important provision forbade "all armed forces of every description from coming into this Territory, under any pretense whatsoever. "[59] It also commanded that "all the forces in said Territory hold themselves in readiness to march at a moment's notice to repel any and all such invasion. "[60] But more important to California and Oregon bound travelers was the third section which stated "Martial law is hereby declared to exist in this Territory. . . and no person shall be allowed to pass or repass into, through or from this territory without a permit from the proper officer. "[61]
Contact
The Nauvoo Legion finally made contact with federal troops in late September just west of South Pass. South Pass (elevation) is a Mountain pass on the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Wyoming. The militia immediately began to burn grass along the trail and stampede the army's cattle. In early October, Legion members burned down Fort Bridger lest it fall into the hands of the army. Fort Bridger was a 19th century fur trading outpost established in 1842 on Blacks Fork of the Green River A few days later, three large Army supply trains that were trailing the main army detachments were burned by Mormon cavalry led by Lot Smith. Lot Smith ( May 15, 1830 &ndash June 21, 1892) was a Mormon pioneer and frontiersman Associated horses and cattle were "liberated" from the supply trains and taken west by the militia. [62] Few if any shots were fired in these exchanges, and the Army's lack of cavalry left them more or less open to Mormon raids. However, prisoners were captured by both sides, and the army began to grow weary of the constant Mormon harassment throughout the autumn. At one point, Colonel Alexander mounted roughly 100 men on army mules to combat the Mormon militia. In the early morning of October 15, this "jackass cavalry" had a run-in with Lot Smith's command and fired over 30 bullets at the Mormons from 150 yards. Events 533 - Byzantine General Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the No one was killed, but one Mormon took a bullet through his hat band, and one horse was grazed. [63] In addition, through October and November, between 1,200 and 2,000 militiamen were stationed in Echo Canyon and Weber Canyon. These two narrow passes lead into the Salt Lake Valley, and provided the easiest access to the populated areas of northern Utah. Dealing with a heavy snowfall and intense cold, the Mormon men built fortifications, dug rifle pits and dammed streams and rivers in preparation for a possible battle either that fall or the following spring. Several thousand more militiamen prepared their families for evacuation and underwent military training. Colonel Alexander, whom his troops called "old granny", decided not to enter Utah through Echo Canyon due to Van Vliet's report, news of the Mormon fortifications and a propaganda campaign by Brigham Young. But determined to fulfill his orders to enter the Territory, he decided to move around the Mormon defenses and enter Utah from the north along the Bear River. However, Alexander's force was stopped by a heavy blizzard in late October. By the time Colonel Johnston took command of the combined U. S. forces in early November, he was hampered by a lack of supplies, animals, and the early onset of winter. Although Johnston was a more aggressive commander than Alexander, this predicament rendered him unable to immediately attack through Echo Canyon into Utah. Instead, he settled his troops into ill-equipped winter camps designated Camp Scott and Eckelsville, near the burned-out remains of Fort Bridger, now in the state of Wyoming. Fort Bridger was a 19th century fur trading outpost established in 1842 on Blacks Fork of the Green River Johnston was soon joined by the 2nd Dragoons commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Philip St. George Cooke which had accompanied Alfred Cumming, Utah's new governor, and a roster of other federal officials from Fort Leavenworth. The 2nd Cavalry Regiment ( 2CR) is a military unit within the United States Army. Please see " Lieutenant Colonel " for other countries which use this rank In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps Philip St George Cooke ( June 13, 1809 &ndash March 20, 1895) was a career United States Army Cavalry officer who served Alfred Cumming is the name of Alfred Cumming (governor (1802–1873 Governor of the U However, they too were critically short of horses and supplies. On November 21, Cumming sent a proclamation to the citizens of Utah declaring them to be in rebellion, and soon after, a grand jury was formed at Camp Scott which indicted two Mormon prisoners, Brigham Young, and over sixty other members of the Mormon hierarchy for treason. Events 164 BC - Judas Maccabaeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family restores the Temple in Jerusalem. In the Common law, a grand jury is a type of Jury which determines whether there is enough evidence for a trial. In Law, treason is the Crime that covers some of the more serious acts of disloyalty to one's sovereign or Nation. Johnston awaited resupply and reinforcement and prepared to attack the Mormon positions after the spring thaw.
December 1857-March 1858: winter intermission
Thomas L. Kane
Fortunately, the lull in hostilities during the winter provided an opportunity for negotiations, and direct confrontation was avoided. As early as August 1857, Brigham Young had written to Thomas L. Kane of Pennsylvania asking for help. Thomas Leiper Kane ( January 27, 1822 &ndash December 26, 1883) was an American attorney Abolitionist, and military officer who was Kane was a man of some political prominence who had been helpful to the Mormons in their westward migration and later political controversies. In December, Kane contacted President Buchanan and offered to mediate between the Mormons and the federal government. In Buchanan's State of the Union address earlier in the month, he had taken a hard stand against the Mormon "rebellion", and had actually asked Congress to enlarge the size of the regular army to deal with the crisis. However, in his conversation with Kane, Buchanan worried that the Mormons might destroy Johnston's Army at severe political cost to himself, and stated that he would pardon the Latter-day Saints for their actions if they would submit to government authority. He therefore granted Kane unofficial permission to attempt mediation, although he held little hope for the success of negotiations. [64] Upon approval of his mission by the President, Kane immediately started for Utah. During the heavy winter of 1857-1858, he traveled under the alias "Dr. Osborne" over 3,000+ miles from the East coast to Utah, first by ship to Panama, crossing the isthmus via the newly constructed (1855) Panama Railway, and then taking a second ship to southern California. Panama, officially the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá) is the southernmost country of Central America. The Panama Railway or Panama Rail Road is a Railway line that links the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean across Panama in Southern California, or So Cal, is defined as the southern portion of the U He then went overland through San Bernardino to Salt Lake City on the strenuous southern branch of the California Trail, arriving in February 1858. Salt Lake City is the Capital and the most populous city of the U The California Trail was a major overland Emigrant route across the Western United States from Missouri to California in the middle 19th
Details of the negotiations between Kane and Young are unfortunately unclear. It seems that Kane successfully convinced Young to accept Buchanan's appointment of Cumming as Territorial governor, although Young had expressed his willingness to accept such terms at the very beginning of the crisis. It is uncertain if Kane was able to convince Young at this time to allow the army into Utah. However, in early March Kane traveled to the Johnson's winter base at Fort Bridger. Although his relationship with Colonel Johnston was poor, he eventually persuaded Governor Cumming to travel to Salt Lake City without his military escort under guarantee of safe conduct. Cumming was courteously received by Young and the Utah citizenry in mid-April, and was shortly installed in his new office. Cumming thereafter became a moderate voice, and opposed the hard-line against the Mormons proposed by Colonel Johnston and other federal officials still at Camp Scott. Kane left Utah Territory for Washington, D. C. in May to report to President Buchanan on the results of his mission.
April-July 1858: resolution
The move south
Despite Thomas Kane's successful mission, tension continued throughout the spring and summer of 1858. Young was willing to support Cumming as governor, but he still feared persecution and violence if the army entered Utah. Indeed, as the snows melted, approximately 3,000 additional U. S. Army reinforcements set out on the westward trails to resupply and strengthen the Army's presence. In Utah, the Nauvoo Legion was bolstered as Mormon communities were asked to supply and equip an additional thousand volunteers to be placed in the over one hundred miles of mountains that separated Camp Scott and Great Salt Lake City. Nevertheless, by the end of the winter Young had decided to enforce his "Sevastopol Policy", a plan to evacuate the Territory and burn it to the ground rather than fight the army openly. Members of the Hudson's Bay Company and the British government feared that the Mormons planned to seek refuge on Vancouver Island off the coast of British Columbia. Vancouver Island is a large Island in British Columbia, Canada, one of several North American regions named after George Vancouver, the British [65] David Bigler has shown that Young originally intended this evacuation to go northwards towards the Bitterroot Valley now in Montana. The Bitterroot Valley is located in southwestern Montana in the northwestern United States. However, the Bannock and Shoshone raid against Fort Limhi in February 1858 blocked this northern retreat. The Bannock or Banate are a Native American people who traditionally lived in the northern Great Basin in what is now southeastern Oregon and The Shoshone ( or) are a Native American tribe with three large divisions the Northern the Western and the Eastern [66] Consequently, at the end of March 1858, settlers in the northern counties of Utah including Salt Lake City boarded up their homes and farms and began to move south, leaving small groups of men and boys behind to burn the settlements if necessary. Salt Lake City is the Capital and the most populous city of the U As early as February 1858, Young had sent parties to explore the White Mountains on what is now the Utah/Nevada border where, he erroneously believed, there were valleys that could comfortably harbor up to 100,000 individuals. Residents of Utah County just south of Salt Lake were asked to build and maintain roads and to help the incoming inhabitants of the northern communities. Mormon Elias Blackburn recorded in his journal, The roads are crowded with the Saints moving south. . . . Very busy dealing out provisions to the public hands. I am feeding 100 men, all hard at work. [67] Even after Alfred Cumming was installed as governor in mid-April, the "Move South" continued unabated. The movement may have included the relocation of nearly 30,000 people between March and July. Historians Allen and Leonard write:
- "It was an extraordinary operation. As the Saints moved south they cached all the stone cut for the Salt Lake Temple and covered the foundations to make it resemble a plowed field. The Salt Lake Temple is the largest (of more than 120 and best-known temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They boxed and carried with them twenty thousand bushels of tithing grain, as well as machinery, equipment, and all the Church records and books. A tithe (from Old English teogoþa "tenth" is a one-tenth part of something paid as a (usually voluntary contribution or as a Tax or levy The sight of thirty thousand people moving south was awesome, and the amazed Governor Cumming did all he could to persuade them to return to their homes. Brigham Young replied that if the troops were withdrawn from the territory, the people would stop moving. . . . "[68]
Peace Commission
In the meantime, President Buchanan had come under considerable pressure from Congress to end the crisis. In February 1858, Senator Sam Houston of Texas stated that a war against the Mormons would be
- " . Samuel Houston ( March 2, 1793 July 26, 1863) was a 19th century American statesman politician and soldier . . one of the most fearful calamities that has befallen this country, from its inception to the present moment. I deprecate it as an intolerable evil. I am satisfied that the Executive has not had the information he ought to have had on this subject before making such a movement as he has directed to be made. "[69]
On April 1, Senator Simon Cameron of Pennsylvania declared that he would support a bill to authorize volunteers to fight in Utah and other parts of the frontier only because
- ". Events 527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne Simon Cameron ( March 8, 1799 &ndash June 26, 1889) was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of . . this war is a war of the Administration; and I desire that the resposibility of it shall be on the Administration. I have no faith in their ability to conduct it; and I believe that before a year has passed over it will be evident to every citizen of the country that they have committed a great blunder. . . "[70]
Therefore in April, the President sent an official peace commission to Utah consisting of Ben McCullock and Isaac Powell which arrived in June. The commission offered a free pardon to the Mormons for any acts incident to the conflict if they would submit to government authority. This included permitting Johnston's Army into the Territory. The commissioners further assured that the government would not interfere with their religion. They also hinted that once the new governor was installed and the laws yielded to, "a necessity will no longer exist to retain any portion of the army in the Territory, except what may be required to keep the Indians in check and to secure the passage of emigrants to California. "[71] While all these private assurances were inducements for the Latter-day Saints to bend to federal will, Buchanan maintained a tougher stance in his public statements.
- "PROCLAMATION ON THE REBELLION IN UTAH"
- . . . "Now, therefore I, James Buchanan, President of the United States of America, have thought proper to issue this, my Proclamation, enjoining upon all public officers in the Territory of Utah to be diligent and faithful, to the full extent of the power, in the execution of the laws; commanding all citizens of the United States in the said Territory to aid and assist the officers in the performance of their duties; offering the inhabitants of Utah, who shall submit to the laws, a free pardon for seditions and treasons heretofore by them committed; warning those who shall persist, after notice of this proclamation, in the present rebellion against the United States, that they must expect no further leniency, but look to be rigorously dealt with according to their desserts; and declaring that the military forces now in Utah, and hereafter to be sent there, will not be withdrawn until the inhabitants of that Territory shall manifest a proper sense of the duty which they owe to this government".
Brigham Young accepted Buchanan's terms and pardon, although he denied Utah had ever rebelled against the United States. Buchanan's proclamation was also unpopular among the Mormon rank and file. Arthur P. Welchman, a member of a company of missionaries that was recalled due to the war, wrote of the document:
- June – On the head-waters of the Sweet-Water, met Grosebecks' camp going to Platt Bridge for a train of goods. By these Brethren we had a proclamation from President Buchannan (sic) to the Inhabitants of Utah read to us. It was so full of lies, and showed so much meanness, that it elicited three groans from the company.
On June 19, a newly arrived reporter for the New York Herald somewhat inaccurately wrote, "Thus was peace made - thus was ended the 'Mormon war', which. Events 1179 - The Norwegian Battle of Kalvskinnet outside Nidaros. The New York Herald was a large distribution Newspaper based in New York City that existed between May 6, 1835 and 1924 . . may be thus historisized: - Killed, none; wounded, none; fooled, everybody. "[73] At the end of June 1858 the Army troops under General Johnston entered the Salt Lake Valley unhindered. Riding through the still empty streets of Salt Lake City on June 26, an embittered Johnston was heard to say that he would have given "his plantation for a chance to bombard the city for fifteen minutes. Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sassanid Empire. "[74] Lt. Col. Charles Ferguson Smith stated that he "did not care a damm who heard him; he would like to see every dammed Mormon hung by the neck. " Philip St. George Cooke, who had led the Mormon Battalion during the Mexican War, merely bared his head in respect. Philip St George Cooke ( June 13, 1809 &ndash March 20, 1895) was a career United States Army Cavalry officer who served The Mormon Battalion was the only religious "unit" in American military history serving from July 1846 to July 1847 during the Mexican-American War.
In early July, the Mormons from the northern settlements began to return to their homes after it was clear that no more reinforcements were being sent into Utah from either the east or west. Johnston's Army settled in Camp Floyd, in a valley 50 miles southwest of Salt Lake City and separated from Provo (the second-largest city in the territory) by Utah Lake and a small range of mountains. Camp Floyd was a short-lived US Army post near Fairfield Utah, United States. Utah Lake, at, is the largest natural Freshwater Lake in the state of Utah and a remnant of the Prehistoric Lake Bonneville, which This remote location, neighbor only to a few farms and ranches, was chosen to decrease friction between the troops and the Mormons. The Army and the Mormons continued in a fragile co-existence until the troops left in 1861 when called back east for service in the American Civil War. Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South
Consequences
Although Eastern editors continued to condemn the Mormons' religious beliefs and practices, they praised their heroism in the face of military threat. By the time Governor Cumming was securely placed in office, the Utah War had become an embarrassment for President Buchanan. Called Buchanan's Blunder by elements of the national press,[75] the President was criticized for:
- failing to officially notify Governor Young about his replacement,
- incurring the expense of sending troops without investigating the reports on Utah's disloyalty to the United States,
- dispatching the expedition late in the season, and
- failing to provide an adequate resupply train for the winter.
However, the people of Utah lost much during the brief period of conflict. Largely due to the Move South, the settlers' livelihoods and economic well-being were seriously impacted for at least that year and perhaps longer. Field crops had been ignored for most of the two-month long planting season and livestock herds had been culled for the journey. A year's worth of work improving their living conditions had essentially been lost. Some poverty would be widespread in the territory for several years. A number of Mormon settlements in Idaho, Nevada and California would not be resettled for decades and some were permanently abandoned.
In addition, Utah was under nominal military occupation. Historian Leonard J. Arrington noted that "the cream of the United States Army" jeered and reviled the Utah settlers. Leonard James Arrington ( July 2 1917 &ndash February 11 1999) was an author academic and the founder of the Mormon History Association Relations between the troops, their commanders and the Mormons were often tense. Fortunately, the near isolation of Camp Floyd kept interaction to a minimum, as troops stayed on or near their base. Settlers living near the 7,000 troops quartered in Cedar Valley did sell the troops lumber for building construction, farm produce and manufactured goods. When the army finally abandoned Camp Floyd in 1861 at the outbreak of the American Civil War, surplus goods worth an estimated four million dollars were auctioned off for a fraction of their value. Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South However, in 1862, new troops arrived and built Fort Douglas in the foothills east of Salt Lake City. Camp Douglas was established in 1862 as a small military garrison about three miles east of Salt Lake City, Utah, for the purpose of protecting the overland mail
One consequence of the Utah War was the creation of the famous Pony Express. The Pony Express was a fast Mail service crossing the North American continent from St During the war, Lot Smith and the Nauvoo Legion burned roughly fifty-two wagons belonging to outfitters Russell, Majors and Waddell. Lot Smith ( May 15, 1830 &ndash June 21, 1892) was a Mormon pioneer and frontiersman Russell Majors and Waddell was a partnership that operated the Pony Express and other shipping businesses in the American West during the 1850s and early 1860s The government never reimbursed the outfitters for these losses, and in 1860 they formed the Pony Express to earn a government mail contract to keep them from falling into bankruptcy.
In the aftermath of the Utah War, Republicans won control of the House of Representatives in 1858. But every significant bill that they passed fell before the votes of southern Democratic Senators or suffered a Presidential veto. The Federal Government remained stalemated and little could be done. By 1860 sectional strife split the Democratic Party into northern and southern wings, indirectly leading to the election of Republican Abraham Lincoln in 1860. Abraham Lincoln (February 12 1809 &ndash April 15 1865 the sixteenth President of the United States, successfully led his country through its greatest internal Popular Sovereignty, the defense of which had been a major cause of the Utah Expedition, was finally repudiated when the resolution of the slavery question sparked the American Civil War. Popular sovereignty or the sovereignty of the people is the belief that the legitimacy of the State is created by the will or consent of its people, who Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South Yet with the start of the Civil War, Republican majorities were able to pass legislation meant to curb the Mormon practice of polygamy such as the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act of 1862. The Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act was signed into law on July 8, 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln. However, President Abraham Lincoln refused to enforce these laws, preferring to let the Mormons be.
In the end, the Utah War started a slow decline for Mormon isolation and power in Utah. The Latter-day Saints lost control of the executive branch and the federal district courts, but maintained political authority in the Territorial Legislature and the powerful probate courts. In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. In 1869 the Transcontinental Railroad was completed, and soon large numbers of "Gentiles" arrived in Utah to stay. Transcontinental Railroad is a Railroad that crosses a Continent from "coast-to-coast" Despite this, complete federal dominance was slow in coming. Brigham Young maintained a "shadow government" for years, although "theodemocracy" in Utah gradually died out. Theodemocracy is a political system theorized by Joseph Smith Jr Conflict between the Mormons and the federal government, particularly over the issue of polygamy, would continue for nearly 40 years before Utah was finally made a state in 1896, and was perhaps not fully resolved until the Smoot Hearings of 1904-1907. The Reed Smoot hearings ( Smoot hearings or Smoot Case) were a series of Congressional hearings on whether the United States Senate should seat U
Timeline of events
- July 24, 1847: Mormon Pioneers found Salt Lake City as the first city of the Deseret. Events 1132 - Battle of Nocera between Ranulf II of Alife and Roger II of Sicily. Year 1847 ( MDCCCXLVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common TalkMormon#Latter Day Saint vs Latter-day Saint --> Mormon Salt Lake City is the Capital and the most populous city of the U The State of Deseret was a provisional state of the United States, proposed in 1849 by Mormon settlers in Salt Lake City.
- February 2, 1848: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed by the U. Events 962 - Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor Year 1848 ( MDCCCXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ( Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo in Spanish) is the Peace treaty, largely dictated by the United States to S. and Mexico, granting the region of Deseret to the U. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. S.
- September 9, 1850: The Great Compromise of 1850 is signed into law, creating the Utah Territory and appointing Brigham Young governor. Events 1000 - Battle of Svolder, Viking Age. 1379 - Treaty of Neuberg, splitting the Austrian For the game see 1850 (board game. 1850 ( MDCCCL) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link The Compromise of 1850 was a series of bills aimed at resolving the territorial and slavery controversies arising from the Mexican-American War (1846&ndash1848
- March 4, 1857 James Buchanan takes office as President of the United States. Events 51 - Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title Princeps iuventutis (head of the youth Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the James Buchanan Jr (April 23 1791 – June 1 1868 was the fifteenth President of the United States (1857–1861 The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by
- April 1857: Troops are mobilized for the Utah campaign (Poll & MacKinnon 1994, p. 30). The press in the Eastern U. S. begins to speculate on who would be appointed to replace Brigham Young. [76]
- May 28, 1857: Winfield Scott, General-in-Chief of the U. Events 585 BC - A Solar eclipse occurs as predicted by Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the Winfield Scott ( June 13, 1786 &ndash May 29, 1866) was a United States Army general Diplomat, and presidential candidate S. Army, announces the creation of the Military Department of Utah, to be assembled at Fort Leavenworth (Poll & MacKinnon 1994, p. Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County Kansas (just north of the city of Leavenworth) in the upper northeast 30).
- June 29, 1857: U. Events 512 - A Solar eclipse is recorded by a monastic chronicler in Ireland. Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the S. President James Buchanan declares Utah in rebellion against the U. James Buchanan Jr (April 23 1791 – June 1 1868 was the fifteenth President of the United States (1857–1861 S. government, and mobilizes a regiment of the U. S. army, initially led by Col. Edmund Alexander.
- July 5, 1857: Brigham Young refers in a sermon to "rumors" that the U. Events 1295 - Scotland and France form an alliance the beginnings of the Auld Alliance, against England. Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the S. is sending 1,500 to 2,000 troops into the Utah Territory, and warns them, possibly sarcastically, that if people enter the territory and don't "behave themselves", they will be subject to a "Vigilance Committee", and the Danites will "bite[] their heels" (Young 1857a, p. This article is about the Mormon group "Danite" can also refer to a member of the Tribe of Dan. 5).
- July 13, 1857: President Buchanan appoints Alfred Cumming governor of Utah, and directs him to accompany the military forces into Utah (Poll & MacKinnon 1994, p. Events 1174 - William I of Scotland, a key rebel in the Revolt of 1173-1174, is captured at Alnwick by forces loyal to Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the Alfred Cumming (1802–1873 was appointed Governor of the Utah territory in 1858 replacing Brigham Young following the Utah War. 30).
- July 18, 1857: Two Mormons, Porter Rockwell and Abraham Owen Smoot, learn of Buchanan's declaration in Kansas City while on a mail run. Events 390 BC - Roman - Gaulish Wars Battle of the Allia - a Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the Orrin Porter Rockwell ( June 28, 1813, or June 25, 1815 &ndash June 9 1878) was a colorful figure of the Wild On the same day, Col. Alexander and his troops begin the journey to Utah.
- July 23, 1857: Rockwell and Smoot arrive in Salt Lake City and inform Brigham Young of the government's plans. Events 1632 - Three hundred colonists bound for New France depart from Dieppe France. Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the Salt Lake City is the Capital and the most populous city of the U Brigham Young (June 1 1801 &ndash August 29 1877 was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement.
- July 26, 1857: Heber C. Kimball refers to 2,500 approaching troops and states that if somehow their wagons and cattle arrive in Utah without the troops, it would be "a mighty help to us" (Kimball 1857, p. Events 657 - Battle of Siffin. 811 - Battle of Pliska; Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the Heber Chase Kimball ( June 14, 1801 &ndash June 22, 1868) was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement. 94). Jokingly, he said he had "wives enough to whip out the United States" (Kimball 1857, p. 95).
- August 2, 1857: Brigham Young publicly discusses the possible secession of the Mormon theocracy from the United States and the establishment of an independent kingdom (Young 1857b, p. Events 338 BC - A Macedonian army led by Philip II defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the Secession (derived from the Latin term secessio is the act of withdrawing from an organization union or especially a political entity The United States of America —commonly referred to as the 98). Heber C. Kimball issues a curse upon President Buchanan and predicts his untimely death (JD 5:129).
- August 5, 1857: Brigham Young declares martial law (Young 1857c). Events 642 - Battle of Maserfield - Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Bernicia. Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the This date is somewhat anomalous however. No evidence supports the claim that this declaration ever circulated during August. However, a slightly different declaration of martial law was issued and received wide circulation on September 15. Events 668 - Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II is assassinated in his bath at Syracuse Italy.
- August 28, 1857: Col. Events 475 - The Roman General Orestes forces western Roman Emperor Julius Nepos to flee his Capital Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the Johnston is ordered to replace Gen. Harney as commander of the U. S. troops.
- August 30, 1857: Brigham Young discusses the possible secession of the Mormon "Kingdom of God" from the United States, and announces: "We must have the kingdom of God, or nothing. Events 1363 - Beginning date of the Battle of Lake Poyang; the forces of two Chinese rebel leaders— Chen Youliang and Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the We are not to be overthrown. " (JD 5:166).
- September 11, 1857 - A group of Mormons in Southern Utah, led by John D. Lee, attack and kill a group of traveling civilians in the Mountain Meadows massacre. Events 9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the John Doyle Lee ( September 12, 1812 &ndash March 23, 1877) was a prominent early Latter-day Saint (LDS or Mormon) The Mountain Meadows massacre involved a mass slaughter of the Fancher-Baker emigrant Wagon train at Mountain Meadows in the Utah Territory by
- September 15, 1857: Brigham Young calls out the Nauvoo Legion to fight the U. Events 668 - Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II is assassinated in his bath at Syracuse Italy. Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the Brigham Young (June 1 1801 &ndash August 29 1877 was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. The Nauvoo Legion was a private Militia employed by Joseph Smith Jr S. Troops if they enter Utah Territory.
- September 18, 1857: Col. Events 96 - Nerva is proclaimed Roman Emperor after Domitian is assassinated Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the Johnston and his troops leave Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and are headed for Utah. Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County Kansas (just north of the city of Leavenworth) in the upper northeast Kansas ( is a Midwestern state in the central region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the American " The State of Utah (ˈjuːtɔː or) is a western state of the United States.
- October 5, 1857: Lot Smith leads the Nauvoo Legion on a guerrilla-style attack on the provision wagons of the U.S. Army. Events 869 - The Fourth Council of Constantinople is convened to decide about what to do about Patriarch Photius of Constantinople Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the Lot Smith ( May 15, 1830 &ndash June 21, 1892) was a Mormon pioneer and frontiersman Guerrilla warfare is the unconventional warfare and combat with which a small group of combatants use mobile tactics (ambushes raids etc The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. Fifty-two wagons belonging to outfitters Russell, Majors and Waddell are burned. Russell Majors and Waddell was a partnership that operated the Pony Express and other shipping businesses in the American West during the 1850s and early 1860s The government never reimburses the outfitters and in 1860 they form the Pony Express to earn a government mail contract to keep them from falling into bankruptcy. The Pony Express was a fast Mail service crossing the North American continent from St
- November 3, 1857: Col. Events 644 - Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second Muslim Caliph, is killed by a Persian slave in Medina. Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the Albert Sidney Johnston catches up with Col. Alexander and replaces him as commander. Johnston orders the regiment to spend the winter in Fort Bridger and to delay the move to Salt Lake City until next spring. Fort Bridger was a 19th century fur trading outpost established in 1842 on Blacks Fork of the Green River
- December 19, 1857: President James Buchanan submits the nomination of Alfred Cumming to the United States Senate (Buchanan 1857). Events 324 - Licinius abdicates his position as Roman Emperor. Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the James Buchanan Jr (April 23 1791 – June 1 1868 was the fifteenth President of the United States (1857–1861 Alfred Cumming (1802–1873 was appointed Governor of the Utah territory in 1858 replacing Brigham Young following the Utah War. The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives
- March 23, 1858: Brigham Young implements a scorched earth policy. Events 1174 - Jocelin, Abbot of Melrose, is elected Bishop of Glasgow. Year 1858 ( MDCCCLVIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Brigham Young (June 1 1801 &ndash August 29 1877 was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. A scorched earth policy is a military strategy or operational method (possibly more often referred to as a tactic but this is not entirely correct as there is a difference between All faithful are ordered to move south to Provo and to prepare their homes in Salt Lake City for burning. Provo is a city in and the County seat
- April 6, 1858: James Buchannan: Proclamation on the Rebellion in Utah. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato in the Battle of Thapsus Year 1858 ( MDCCCLVIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common James Buchanan Jr (April 23 1791 – June 1 1868 was the fifteenth President of the United States (1857–1861 ("a free pardon for the seditions and treasons heretofore by them committed;")
- April 12, 1858: The U. Events 467 - Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Year 1858 ( MDCCCLVIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common S. Army and Cumming arrive in Salt Lake City. Brigham Young surrenders the title of governor to Alfred Cumming. Brigham Young (June 1 1801 &ndash August 29 1877 was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. Alfred Cumming (1802–1873 was appointed Governor of the Utah territory in 1858 replacing Brigham Young following the Utah War.
See also
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Notes
- ^ William P. Missouri Executive Order 44, also known as the "extermination order" (alt This article details some of the history of Nauvoo Illinois. Sac and Fox Originally settled by the Sac and Fox Tribes the swampy lands of the Mississippi provided The Mormon pioneers were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Latter-day Saints, who migrated across the United In 1856-1858 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints underwent what is commonly called the Mormon Reformation. The Mountain Meadows massacre involved a mass slaughter of the Fancher-Baker emigrant Wagon train at Mountain Meadows in the Utah Territory by The Morrisite War was a skirmish between a Latter Day Saint sect known as the " Morrisites " and the Utah territorial government. The Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act was signed into law on July 8, 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln. The Poland Act (18 Stat 253 of 1874 was an act of the United States Congress which sought to facilitate prosecutions under the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act by eliminating This page is about the 1878 US Supreme Court case about polygamy and religious duty as a defense to criminal prosecution The Edmunds Act, is United States federal legislation signed into law on March 23 1882 declaring Polygamy a Felony. The Edmunds–Tucker Act of 1887 touched all the issues at dispute between the United States Congress and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Late Corporation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints v See also Latter Day Saint polygamy in the late 19th century The "1890 Manifesto", sometimes simply called "The Manifesto", is a statement The Reed Smoot hearings ( Smoot hearings or Smoot Case) were a series of Congressional hearings on whether the United States Senate should seat U The "Second Manifesto" was a 1904 declaration made by Joseph F The Short Creek raid is the name given to Arizona state Police and U Theodemocracy is a political system theorized by Joseph Smith Jr List of conflicts in the United States is a Timeline of events that includes Indian wars, Battles Skirmishes major terrorist MacKinnon, Causes of the Utah War, Fort Douglas Vedette (2007).
- ^ "I saw several bones of what must have been very small children. Dr. Brewer says from what he saw he thinks some infants were butchered. The mothers doubtless had these in their arms, and the same shot or blow may have deprived both of life. " Special Report on the Mountain Meadows Massacre, by Brevet Major J. H. Carleton, US Army, dated 25 May 1859. Events 1085 - Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo Spain back from the Moors. Year 1859 ( MDCCCLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common
- ^ For instance, Will Bagely makes the case that Mormon Prophet Brigham Young had direct complicity in the incident, while other historians such as Richard Turley conclude that the blame for the massacre actually resides with geographically remote and overzealous local leadership, and Young would have stopped the massacre if he could.
- ^ a b Hartley, William G. Dangerous Outpost: Thomas Corless and the Fort Limhi/Salmon River Mission, Mormon Historical Studies, Fall 2001, pp 135-162. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
- ^ David L. Bigler, Fort Limhi: The Mormon Adventure in Oregon Territory, 1855-1858.
- ^ William P. MacKinnon, Loose in the Stacks: A Half Century with the Utah War and Its Legacy, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Vol. 40, No. 1, 43, 60.
- ^ See, e. g. , Norman F. Furniss, The Mormon Conflict at 1-7.
- ^ Sarah Gordon, The Mormon Question: Polygamy and Constitutional Conflict in Nineteenth Century America, 109 (2002).
- ^ Peter Crawley, The Constitution of the State of Deseret, 29 (4) BYU Studies 7 (1989).
- ^ Encyclopedia of Mormonism, p. 1095
- ^ See, e. g. , Norman F. Furniss, The Mormon Conflict: 1850-1859 at 82; Sarah G. Gordon, The Mormon Question: Polygamy and Constitutional Conflict in Nineteenth Century America (2002).
- ^ GOP Convention of 1856 in Philadelphia from the Independence Hall Association website
- ^ The Fayetteville Observer, 7/2/1857.
- ^ Norman F. Furniss, The Mormon Conflict: 1850-1859, 74-75.
- ^ Doctrine and Covenants 98: 5-6
5 And that law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me.
6 Therefore, I, the Lord, justify you, and your brethren of my church, in befriending that law which is the constitutional law of the land; - ^ Journal of Discourses 2:172.
- ^ Journal of Discourses 2:175.
- ^ Sarah Gordon, The Mormon Question: Polygamy and Constitutional Conflicts in Nineteenth Century America, 6 (2002).
- ^ The Danites were a paramilitary organization created by some Latter-day Saints in Missouri in 1838. This article is about the Mormon group "Danite" can also refer to a member of the Tribe of Dan. Most scholars believe that following the end of the Mormon War in the winter of 1838, the unit was disbanded. However, "Danites" continued to be associated with any kind of Mormon militarism from that time forward in the popular imagination. Modern arguments among scholars center not so much on whether the Danite organization continued to exist in Utah, but rather question the actual levels of violence in Utah Territory and if or to what degree the LDS Church was involved in any violence which did exist. For this question there is a wide difference of opinion. Will Bagely believes that Mormon teachings and culture were inherently violent, while Thomas Alexander and others conclude that Utah Territory was in fact far less violent than other contemporaneous societies, and that the violent imagery in some Mormon sermons was rhetorical in nature and not necessarily out of line for the time and place.
- ^ Norman F. Furniss, The Mormon Conflict: 1850-1859, 70-71.
- ^ For instance, from 1853-1855, the territorial supreme court was composed of two "gentiles" and one Mormon. However, both of these non-Mormons were well respected in the Latter-day Saint community, and were genuinely mourned upon their deaths. Norman F. Furniss, The Utah Conflict: 1850-59.
- ^ See generally, Norman F. Furniss, The Mormon Conflict: 1850-1859.
- ^ J Keith Melville, Theory and Practice of Church and State During the Brigham Young Era at 47-48
- ^ Allen and Leonard, pp. 298-299
- ^ Allen and Leonard, p. 298
- ^ MacKinnon 2007
- ^ Buchanan 1858 Utah Expedition p. 114-124
- ^ Buchanan 1858 Utah Expedition p. 124-211
- ^ NORMAN F. FURNISS, THE MORMON CONFLICT: 1850-1859 at 29.
- ^ Wilford Woodruff's Journal, 5:68.
- ^ Brigham Young, Diary of Brigham Young 1857, 49.
- ^ Schindler 1995
- ^ Journal of Discourses 2:183
- ^ Leonard J. Arrington, Brigham Young: American Moses, 268. Brigham Young American Moses is a biography about Brigham Young by Dr
- ^ Wilford Woodruff, Wilford Woodruff's Journal, 61.
- ^ Deseret News, 9/23/1857
- ^ Journal of Wilford Woodruff, 5:72
- ^ WILFORD WOODRUFF, JOURNAL OF WILFORD WOODRUFF 5: 72.
- ^ Leonard Arrington, Brigham Young: American Moses, 217
- ^ David Bigler, Fort Limhi: The Mormon Adventure in Oregon Territory, 1855-1858, 147.
- ^ Hamblin, Jacob. Jacob Hamblin: A Narrative of His Personal Experience, 41 (1881).
- ^ Norman F. Furniss. The Utah Conflict: 1850-1859, 163 (Yale 1960).
- ^ a b Dinnick Huntington Diary, August 30 and September 1, 1857
- ^ WILFORD WOODRUFF, JOURNAL OF WILFORD WOODRUFF 5: 84
- ^ Deseret News 9/23/1857. Events 1363 - Beginning date of the Battle of Lake Poyang; the forces of two Chinese rebel leaders— Chen Youliang and Events 462 - Possible start of first Byzantine indiction cycle. Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the
- ^ Diary of Brigham Young, 54.
- ^ Leonard J. Arrington, Brigham Young: American Moses, 255.
- ^ Leroy R. Hafen & Ann W. Hafen (eds. ), Mormon Resistance: A Documentary Account of the Utah Expedition, 1857-1858, 39-40.
- ^ The Stewart Van Vliet Papers
- ^ Schindler 1995
- ^ Instructions to Captain Van Vliet, Mormon Resistance: A Documentary Account of the Utah Expedition, 1857-1858, 37
- ^ Allen and Leonard, p. 301
- ^ Leroy R. Hafen & Ann W. Hafen (eds. ), Mormon Resistance: A Documentary Account of the Utah Expedition, 1857-1858, 47.
- ^ Wilford Woodruff, Journal of Wilford Woodruff, 5:96.
- ^ Wilford Woodruff, Journal of Wilford Woodruff, 5:93.
- ^ Religious Education Archive: 19th Century Mormon Publications: "Proclamation by the Governor" dated 5 August 1857
- ^ Everett Cooley (ed. Events 642 - Battle of Maserfield - Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Bernicia. Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the ), Diary of Brigham Young, 80 n. 80.
- ^ Mormon Publications: 19th Century - Proclamation by the governor
- ^ Proclamation of Governor Young, Leroy R. Hafen & Ann W. Hafen (eds. ), Mormon Resistance: A Documentary Account of the Utah Expedition, 1857-1858, 65.
- ^ Proclamation of Governor Young, Leroy R. Hafen & Ann W. Hafen (eds. ), Mormon Resistance: A Documentary Account of the Utah Expedition, 1857-1858, 65.
- ^ Proclamation of Governor Young, Leroy R. Hafen & Ann W. Hafen (eds. ), Mormon Resistance: A Documentary Account of the Utah Expedition, 1857-1858, 65.
- ^ Allen and Leonard, pp. 300-301
- ^ D. G. Littleford, Utah War: U. S. Government Versus Mormons Settlers, 8.
- ^ Richard D. Poll, Quixotic Mediator: Thomas L. Kane and the Utah War at 12, 13
- ^ Richard Bennett, The Lion and the Emperor: The Mormons, the Hudson's Bay Company, and Vancouvar Island, 1846-1858, BC Studies, no. 128 Winter 2000/01
- ^ David L. Bigler, Fort Limhi: The Mormon Adventure in Oregon Territory, 1855-1858.
- ^ Walker and Dant, p. 102.
- ^ Allen/Leonard p. 308
- ^ Mormon Resistance at 258
- ^ Congressional Globe, 4/1/1858.
- ^ Mormon Resistance, 331.
- ^ Buchanan 1858 pp. 202-206
- ^ William P. McKinnon, Causes of the Utah War, Fort Douglas Vedette (2007).
- ^ DONALD L. MOORMAN & GENE A. SESSIONS, CAMP FLOYD AND THE MORMONS: THE UTAH WAR at 49
- ^ Poll, Richard D. , and Ralph W. Hansen. ""Buchanan's Blunder" The Utah War, 1857-1858. " Military Affairs (Lexington, VA) 25, 3 (1961): 121-131.
- ^ Furniss, Norman F. , The Mormon Conflict, 1850-1859, p. 63.
References
- Allen, James B. and Leonard, Glen M. The Story of the Latter-day Saints. Deseret Book Co. , Salt Lake City, UT, 1976. ISBN 0-87747-594-6.
- Arrington, Leonard J. Great Basin Kingdom: An Economic History of the Latter-day Saints, 1830-1900; Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1958, reprinted by University of Illinois Press, October 2004. ISBN 0-252-02972-0.
- Buchanan, James (December 19, 1857), “Nomination of Alfred Cumming as Governor of the Territory of Utah”, in McCook, Anson G. James Buchanan Jr (April 23 1791 – June 1 1868 was the fifteenth President of the United States (1857–1861 Events 324 - Licinius abdicates his position as Roman Emperor. Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the , Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate of the United States of America, vol. 10, Washington, D. C. : GPO, 1887, pp. The Government Printing Office (GPO is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States federal government. 275, <http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llej&fileName=010/llej010.db&recNum=276&itemLink=D?hlaw:2:./temp/~ammem_dTvI::%230100277&linkText=1>.
- Buchanan, James (April 6, 1858), Proclamation on the Rebellion in Utah, vol. James Buchanan Jr (April 23 1791 – June 1 1868 was the fifteenth President of the United States (1857–1861 Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato in the Battle of Thapsus Year 1858 ( MDCCCLVIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common X, <http://deila.dickinson.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=%2Fbuchan&CISOPTR=9149&REC=20&CISOBOX=utah>
- Buchanan, James (1858), The Utah expedition. Message from the President of the United States, transmitting reports from the secretaries of state, of war, of the interior, and of the attorney general, relative to the military expedition ordered into the territory of Utah. February 26, 1858. James Buchanan Jr (April 23 1791 – June 1 1868 was the fifteenth President of the United States (1857–1861 Events 747 BC - Epoch (origin of Ptolemy 's Nabonassar Era 364 - Valentinian I is proclaimed Year 1858 ( MDCCCLVIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common --Referred to the Committee on territories, <http://www.archive.org/details/utahexpeditionme00unitrich>
- Fleek, Sherman L. "The Church and the Utah War, 1857-1858", Robert Freeman, ed. , Nineteenth Century Saints at War, Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2006.
- Kimball, Heber C. (July 26, 1857), “Oneness of the Priesthood—Impossibility of Obliterating Mormonism—Gospel Ordinances—Depopulation of the Human Species—The Coming Famine, etc.”, in Calkin, Asa, Journal of Discourses Delivered by President Brigham Young, His Two Counsellors, the Twelve Apostles, and Others, vol. Heber Chase Kimball ( June 14, 1801 &ndash June 22, 1868) was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement. Events 657 - Battle of Siffin. 811 - Battle of Pliska; Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the 4, Liverpool: Asa Calkin, 1858, pp. 86–95.
- Poll, Richard D. , and Ralph W. Hansen. ""Buchanan's Blunder" The Utah War, 1857-1858. " Military Affairs (Lexington, VA) 25, 3 (1961): 121-131.
- Poll & MacKinnon, William P. (1994), “Causes of the Utah War Reconsidered”, Journal of Mormon History 20 (2): 16–44, <http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?/jmh,14076>.
- MacKinnon, William P. (2007), “Loose in the Stacks: A Half-Century with the Utah War and Its Legacy”, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 40 (1): 43–81, <http://www.dialoguejournal.com/excerpts/4001.pdf>.
- Schindler (1995), Utah War Broke Hold Mormons Had on Utah, <http://historytogo.utah.gov/salt_lake_tribune/centennial_celebration/072395.html>.
- Walker, Ronald W. and Doris R. Dant, editors, "Nearly Everything Imaginable: the Everyday Life of Utah's Mormon Pioneers. " BYU Studies, Provo, Utah 1999.
- Young, Brigham (July 5, 1857a), “True Happiness—Fruits of Not Following Counsel—Popular Prejudice Against the Mormons—The Coming Army—Punishment of Evildoers”, in Calkin, Asa, Journal of Discourses Delivered by President Brigham Young, His Two Counsellors, the Twelve Apostles, and Others, vol. Brigham Young (June 1 1801 &ndash August 29 1877 was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. Events 1295 - Scotland and France form an alliance the beginnings of the Auld Alliance, against England. Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the 4, Liverpool: Asa Calkin, 1858, pp. 1–6.
- Young, Brigham (August 2, 1857b), “Joseph Smith's Family—Bashfulness in Public Speaking—The Coming Crisis—Counsel”, in Calkin, Asa, Journal of Discourses Delivered by President Brigham Young, His Two Counsellors, the Twelve Apostles, and Others, vol. Brigham Young (June 1 1801 &ndash August 29 1877 was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. Events 338 BC - A Macedonian army led by Philip II defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the 4, Liverpool: Asa Calkin, 1858, pp. 96–101.
- Young, Brigham (August 5, 1857c), Proclamation by the Governor, Salt Lake City: Utah Territory, <http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cgi-bin/docviewer.exe?CISOROOT=/NCMP1847-1877&CISOPTR=2905>. Events 642 - Battle of Maserfield - Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Bernicia. Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the
- Journal of Arthur Welchman, LDS Missionary
External links
- The Story of the Mormons: The Mormon "War"
- Bancroft's History of Utah: The Utah War
- The Utah War: Eugene Campbell
- The Utah War - historynet. com
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