Governor Cumming's report of May 2 did not reach Washington until June
9, but the President's volte-face had begun before that date, and
when the situation in Utah was precisely as it was when he had assured
Colonel Kane that he would send no agent to the Mormons while they
continued their defiant attitude. Under date of April 6 he issued a
proclamation, in which he recited the outrages on the federal officers
in Utah, the warlike attitude and acts of the Mormon force, which, he
pointed out, constituted rebellion and treason; declared that it was a
grave mistake to suppose that the government would fail to bring them
into submission; stated that the land occupied by the Mormons belonged
to the United States; and disavowed any intention to interfere with
their religion; and then, to save bloodshed and avoid indiscriminate
punishment where all were not equally guilty, he offered "a free and
full pardon to all who will submit themselves to the just authority of
the federal government."
This proclamation was intrusted to two peace commissioners, L. W. Powell
of Kentucky and Major Ben. McCullough of Texas. Powell had been governor
of his state, and was then United States senator-elect. McCullough had
seen service in Texas before the war with Mexico, and been a daring
scout under Scott in the latter war. He was killed at the battle of Pea
Ridge, Arkansas, in 1862, in command of a Confederate corps.
These commissioners were instructed by the Secretary of War to give the
President's proclamation extensive circulation in Utah. Without entering
into any treaty or engagements with the Mormons, they were to "bring
those misguided people to their senses" by convincing them of the
uselessness of resistance, and how much submission was to their
interest. They might, in so doing, place themselves in communication
with the Mormon leaders, and assure them that the movement of the
army had no reference to their religious tenets. The determination was
expressed to see that the federal officers appointed for the territory
were received and installed, and that the laws were obeyed, and Colonel
Kane was commended to them as likely to be of essential service.
The commissioners set out from Fort Leavenworth on April 25, travelling
in ambulances, their party consisting of themselves, five soldiers, five
armed teamsters, and a wagon master. They arrived at Camp Scott on May
29, the reenforcements for the troops following them. The publication
of the President's proclamation was a great surprise to the military.
"There was none of the bloodthirsty excitement in the camp which was
reported in the States to have prevailed there," says Colonel Brown,
"but there was a feeling of infinite chagrin, a consciousness that the
expedition was only a pawn on Mr. Buchanan's political chessboard; and
reproaches against his folly were as frequent as they were vehement."*
* Atlantic Monthly, April, 1859.
The commissioners were not long in discovering the untrustworthy
character of any advices they might receive from Governor Cumming.
In their report of June 1 to the Secretary of War, they mentioned his
opinion that almost all the military organizations of the territory had
been disbanded, adding, "We fear that the leaders of the Mormon people
have not given the governor correct information of affairs in the
valley." They also declared it to be of the first importance that the
army should advance into the valley before the Mormons could burn the
grass or crops, and they gave General Johnston the warmest praise.
The commissioners set out for Salt Lake City on June 2, Governor Cumming
who had returned to Camp Scott with Colonel Kane following them. On
reaching the city they found that Young and the other leaders were with
the refugees at Provo. A committee of three Mormons expressed to the
commissioners the wish of the people that they would have a conference
with Young, and on the 10th Young, Kimball, Wells, and several of the
Twelve arrived, and a meeting was arranged for the following day.
There are two accounts of the ensuing conferences, the official reports
of the commissioners,* which are largely statements of results, and a
Mormon report in the journal kept by Wilford Woodruff.** At the
first conference, the commissioners made a statement in line with the
President's proclamation and with their instructions, offering pardon
on submission, and declaring the purpose of the government to enforce
submission by the employment of the whole military force of the nation,
if necessary. Woodruff's "reflection" on this proposition was that the
President found that Congress would not sustain him, and so was seeking
a way of retreat. While the conference was in session, O.P. Rockwell
entered and whispered to Young. The latter, addressing Governor Cumming,
asked, "Are you aware that those troops are on the move toward the
city?" The compliant governor replied, "It cannot be."*** What followed
Woodruff thus relates:--
* Sen. Doc., 2d Session, 35th Congress, Vol. II, p. 167.
** Quoted in Tullidge's "History of Salt Lake City," p. 214.
*** Governor Cumming on June 15 despatched a letter to General
Johnston saying that he had denied the report of the advance of the
army, and that the general was pledged not to advance until he had
received communications from the peace commissioners and the governor.
The general replied on the 19th that he did say he would not advance
until he heard from the governor, but that this was not a pledge; that
his orders from the President were to occupy the territory; that his
supplies had arrived earlier than anticipated, and that circumstances
required an advance at once.
"'Is Brother Dunbar present?' enquired Brigham.
"'Yes, sir,' responded someone. What was coming now?
"'Brother Dunbar, sing Zion.' The Scotch songster came forward and sang
the soul-stirring lines by C. W. Penrose."*
* See p. 498, ante.
Interpreted, this meant, "Stop that army or our peace conference is
ended." Woodruff adds:--
"After the meeting, McCullough and Gov. Cumming took a stroll together.
'What will you do with such a people?' asked the governor, with a
mixture of admiration and concern. 'D--n them, I would fight them if
I had my way,' answered McCullough. 'Fight them, would you? You might
fight them, but you would never whip them. They would never know when
they were whipped.'"
At the second day's conference Brigham Young uttered his final defiance
and then surrendered. Declaring that he had done nothing for which
he desired the President's forgiveness, he satisfied the pride of his
followers with such declarations as these:--
"I can take a few of the boys here, and, with the help of the Lord,
can whip the whole of the United States. Boys, how do you feel? Are you
afraid of the United States? (Great demonstration among the brethren.)
No. No. We are not afraid of man, nor of what he can do."
"The United States are going to destruction as fast as they can go. If
you do not believe it, gentlemen, you will soon see it to your sorrow."
But here was the really important part of his remarks: "Now, let me say
to you peace commissioners, we are willing those troops should come into
our country, but not to stay in our city. They may pass through it, if
needs be, but must not quarter less than forty miles from us."
Impudent as was this declaration to the representatives of the
government, it marked the end of the "war". The commissioners at once
notified General Johnston that the Mormon leaders had agreed not to
resist the execution of the laws in the territory, and to consent that
the military and civil officers should discharge their duties. They
suggested that the general issue a proclamation, assuring the people
that the army would not trespass on the rights or property of peaceable
citizens, and this the general did at once.
The Mormon leaders, being relieved of the danger of a trial for treason,
now stood in dread of two things, the quartering of the army among
them, and a vigorous assault on the practice of polygamy. Judge Eckles's
District Court had begun its spring term at Fort Bridger on April 5, and
the judge had charged the grand jury very plainly in regard to plural
marriages. On this subject he said:--
"It cannot be concealed, gentlemen, that certain domestic arrangements
exist in this territory destructive of the peace, good order, and morals
of society--arrangements at variance with those of all enlightened and
Christian communities in the world; and, sapping as they do the very
foundation of all virtue, honesty, and morality, it is an imperative
duty falling upon you as grand jurors diligently to inquire into this
evil and make every effort to check its growth.
"There is no law in this territory punishing polygamy, but there is one,
however, for the punishment of adultery; and all illegal intercourse
between the sexes, if either party have a husband or wife living at the
time, is adulterous and punishable by indictment. The law was made
to punish the lawless and disobedient, and society is entitled to the
salutary effects of its execution."
No indictments were found that spring for this offence, but the Mormons
stood in great dread of continued efforts by the judge to enforce the
law as he interpreted it. Of the nature of the real terms made with the
Mormons, Colonel Brown says:--
"No assurances were given by the commissioners upon either of these
subjects. They limited their action to tendering the President's
pardon, and exhorting the Mormons to accept it. Outside the conferences,
however, without the knowledge of the commissioners, assurances were
given on both these subjects by the Governor and Superintendent of
Indian Affairs, which proved satisfactory to Brigham Young. The exact
nature of their pledges will, perhaps, never be disclosed; but from
subsequent confessions volunteered by the superintendent, who appears
to have acted as the tool of the governor through the whole affair, it
seems probable that they promised explicitly to exert their influence to
quarter the army in Cache Valley, nearly one hundred miles north of Salt
Lake City, and also to procure the removal of Judge Eckles."*
* Atlantic Monthly, April, 1859. Young told the Mormons at Provo
on June 27, 1858: "We have reason to believe that Colonel Kane, on his
arrival at the frontier, telegraphed to Washington, and that orders were
immediately sent to stop the march of the army for ten days."--Journal
of Discourses, Vol. VII, p. 57.
Captain Marcy had reached Camp Scott on June 8, with his herd of horses
and mules, and Colonel Hoffman with the first division of the supply
train which left Fort Laramie on March 18; on the 10th Captain
Hendrickspn arrived with the remainder of the trains; and on the 13th
the long-expected movement from Camp Scott to the Mormon city began. To
the soldiers who had spent the winter inactive, except as regards their
efforts to keep themselves from freezing, the order to advance was a
welcome one. Late as was the date, there had been a snowfall at Fort
Bridger only three days before, and the streams were full of water. The
column was prepared therefore for bridge-making when necessary. When the
little army was well under way the scene in the valley through which ran
Black's Fork was an interesting one. The white walls of Bridger's Fort
formed a background, with the remnants of the camp in the shape of sod
chimneys, tent poles, and so forth next in front, and, slowly leaving
all this, the moving soldiers, the long wagon trains, the artillery
carriages and caissons, and on either flank mounted Indians riding here
and there, satisfying their curiosity with this first sight of a white
man's army. The news that the Mormons had abandoned their idea of
resistance reached the troops the second day after they had started,
and they had nothing more exciting to interest them on the way than the
scenery and the Mormon fortifications. Salt Lake City was reached on
the 26th, and the march through it took place that day. To the soldiers,
nothing was visible to indicate any abandonment of the hostile attitude
of the Mormons, much less any welcome.
Their leaders had returned to the camp at Provo, and the only civilians
in the city were a few hundred who had, for special reasons, been
granted permission to return. The only woman in the whole city was Mrs.
Cumming. The Mormons had been ordered indoors early that morning by the
guard; every flag on a public building had been taken down; every window
was closed. The regimental bands and the creaking wagons alone disturbed
the utter silence. The peace commissioners rode with General Johnston,
and the whole force encamped on the river Jordan, just within the city
limits. Two days later, owing to a lack of wood and pasturage there,
they were moved about fifteen miles westward, near the foot of the
mountains. Disregarding Young's expressed wishes, and any understanding
he might have had with Governor Cumming, General Johnston selected
Cedar Valley on Lake Utah for one of the three posts he was ordered to
establish in the territory, and there his camp was pitched on July 6.
Governor Cumming prepared a proclamation to the inhabitants of the
territory, announcing that all persons were pardoned who submitted
to the law, and that peace was restored, and inviting the refugees to
return to their homes. The governor and the peace commissioners made a
trip to the Mormon camps, and addressed gatherings at Provo and Lehi.
The governor bustled about everywhere, assuring every one that all
the federal officers would "hold sacred the amnesty and pardon by the
President of the United States, by G-d, sir, yes," and receiving from
Young the sneering reply, "We know all about it, Governor." On July 4.,
no northward movement of the people having begun, Cumming told Young
that he intended to publish his proclamation. "Do as YOU please," was
the contemptuous reply; "to-morrow I shall get upon the tongue of my
wagon, and tell the people that I am going home, and they can do as THEY
please."*
* Tullidge's "History of Salt Lake City," p. 226.
Young did so, and that day the backward march of the people began. The
real governor was the head of the church.