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A complete list of typographical corrections follows the
text.
THE MORMON BATTALION
Its History and Achievements
by
B. H. ROBERTS
The Deseret News
Salt Lake City, Utah
1919
Copyright, 1919.
By B. H. Roberts.
Table of Contents
I.
The March of the Battalion Compared With Other Historical Marches.
Retreat of the Ten Thousand 1
Doniphan's Expedition into Mexico 3
The World's Record for a March of Infantry 4
II.
The Call of the Battalion.
The Mormon Appeal to the United States Government for Help 5
Little's Consultations with the President 7
The Order to Enlist Mormon Volunteers 11
Terms of Enlistment 12
Captain Allen in the Mormon Camps 13
Brigham Young's Activities in Raising the Battalion 16
Muster of the Battalion 18
Farewell Scenes 19
III.
Advantages and Disadvantages in the Call of the Battalion.
A Sacrifice Nevertheless 21
Advantages of the Enlistment 22
Money Value of the Enlistment 24
The Equipment of the Battalion to be Retained 25
Appreciation of the Mormon Leaders 26
IV.
The March of the Battalion From Fort Leavenworth to Santa Fe.
Death of Colonel Allen. Question of a Successor 27
Complaints of the Volunteers 28
The Line of March 29
Arrival at Santa Fe. Condition of the Command 30
Invalided Detachment Sent to Pueblo 32
V.
The March of the Battalion From Santa Fe to the Mouth of the Gila.
More Invaliding 34
Hardship of Excessive Toil 35
Irrigation in New Mexico 36
March Down the Rio Grande 36
"Blow the Right." The Westward Turn 37
The Fight with Wild Bulls 38
Mexican Opposition at Tucson 39
Junction with Kearny's Trail 42
March Down the Gila 42
At the Mouth of the Gila 43
VI.
The March of the Battalion From the Colorado to the Pacific Ocean.
Destitution and Suffering of the Men en March 45
From Carriso Creek to San Phillipe 47
At Warner's Rancho 49
The March Directed to San Diego 49
In Sight of the Pacific 50
San Diego Mission 51
Col. Cooke's Bulletin on the Battalion's March 51
VII.
The Battalion in California.
At San Luis Rey Mission 54
Clean up and Drill 54
Company B at San Diego 55
The Conquest of California 56
The Kearny-Fremont Controversy 56
VIII.
Record of the Battalion in California.
Efforts to Re-enlist the Battalion 58
Homeward Bound 60
The Discharge and Payment of the Pueblo Detachments 61
The Purchase of Ogden Site with Battalion Money 61
The Battalion's Contribution of Seeds to Utah Colonies 63
The Battalion's Part in the Discovery of Gold 63
The Date of the Discovery of Gold 65
The Tide of Western Civilization Started 67
The Mormon Battalion's "Diggings" on the American River 68
The Call of Duty 69
Ascent of the Sierras from the Western Side 72
Wagon Trail from Los Angeles to Salt Lake 72
Evidence of Appreciation of the Battalion's Services 73
Efforts to Raise a Second Mormon Battalion 74
IX.
The Battalion in the Perspective of Seventy-Three Years.
The Battalion as Utah Pioneers 76
Achievements of the Battalion 77
Territory Added to the United States 77
The Gadsden Purchase and the Battalion Route 78
Connection with Irrigation 80
X.
The Subsequent Distinction Achieved by the Battalion's Commanding
Officers.
Colonel Cooke 83
Lieut. A. J. Smith 84
Lieut. George Stoneman 84
XI.
Anecdotes.
Character of Col. Cooke 85
Col. Cooke and Christoper Layton 85
Col. Cooke and Lot Smith 86
The Colonel, the Mule, and Bigler 87
"Wire, Wire, Wire D----n You Sir!" 88
Col. Cooke's Respect for the Battalion 88
ADDENDA.
The Battalion's Monument.
The State of Utah's Mormon Battalion Monument Commission 89
Description of the Monument 91
The Duty of the People of Utah 95
The Mormon Battalion
I.
THE MARCH OF THE BATTALION COMPARED WITH OTHER HISTORICAL MARCHES.
"The Lieutenant-Colonel commanding congratulates the Battalion on their
safe arrival on the shores of the Pacific ocean, and the conclusion of
their march of over two thousand miles. History will be searched in vain
for an equal march of infantry."
So wrote Lieutenant-Colonel P. St. George Cooke in "Order No. I," from
"Head Quarters Mormon Battalion, Mission of San Diego", under date of
January 30th, 1847. If Col. Cooke is accurate in his statement--and one
has a right to assume that he is, since he was a graduate of the United
States Military academy of West Point, and hence versed in the history
of such military incidents--then the march of this Battalion is a very
wonderful performance. For if history might be searched in vain for an
equal march of infantry when Col. Cooke wrote his "Order No. I," then
certainly no march of infantry since that time has equaled it.
The only other historical marches that are comparable with the Mormon
Battalions' march are Xenophon's and Doniphan's, the former in ancient,
the latter in modern times.
"=Retreat of the Ten Thousand.="--Xenophon's march is commonly known as
the "Retreat of the Ten Thousand," 401 B. C. The account of the
"Retreat" is given in Xenophon's Anabasis. About fourteen thousand Greek
soldiers under a Spartan leader named Clearchus entered the service of a
Persian prince, Cyrus, surnamed the younger, brother of the then
reigning King of Persia, Artaxerxes II. The purpose of Cyrus was to
deprive his brother of the throne of Persia, and reign in his stead. The
expedition marched through Asia Minor to Cunaxa, near old Babylon, where
an army of 900,000 Persians engaged the army of Cyrus, which, with his
Greek auxiliaries number but 300,000. The smaller army was really
successful in the battle, but a rash attempt on the part of Cyrus to
slay his brother during the engagement--in which he himself was
killed--changed the fortunes of the day, the expedition ended in failure
and hence the retreat of the Greek ten thousand up the valley of the
Tigris, through Armenia to Trebizond, a Greek city on the Euxine--our
modern Black Sea.
This march of Greek infantry though attended with almost incredible
hardships from cold, hunger, and the assaults of enemies, was not equal
to the march of the Mormon Battalion for the reason that it covered but
fifteen hundred miles, as against the two thousand miles covered by the
Battalion. While the Greek infantry in their retreat numbered more men
than the Battalion, and fought many battles, their march was, for the
most part, through settled lands and along well defined roads, while the
greater part of the Battalion's march was through desert lands; and four
hundred and seventy-four miles of it through trackless deserts where
nothing but savages and wild beasts were found, "or deserts where, for
want of water, there was no living creature."[2:a]
=Doniphan's Expedition into Mexico.=--Doniphan's march occurred in the
same year, and in the same war in which the Battalion served--the war
with Mexico, 1846. The march is known as Doniphan's Expedition into
Mexico. The expedition started from Santa Fe and marched to Matamoras,
near where the Rio Grande empties into the Gulf of Mexico--a distance of
about thirteen or fourteen hundred miles.[3:b] The march was via El
Paso, Chihuahua, Parras, Saltillo and Monterey, thence to Matamoras.
Here the expedition embarked for New Orleans, where the men were
mustered out of service. The important battles of Brazito and Sacramento
were fought enroute, the former placing El Paso, and the latter the city
of Chihuahua--capital of the state of the same name--in the hands of the
Americans. The expedition numbered about nine hundred men, mostly from
Missouri, and under the command of Col. Alexander W. Doniphan of that
state, and returned to Missouri via the Gulf of Mexico and the
Mississippi.
The march overland it will be observed was less than that of the
Battalion's. For the most part, moreover, Doniphan's march was through a
settled country, and over roads long used between Santa Fe and points in
northern and central Mexico. Besides, the Expedition was not exclusively
made up of infantry, being mixed cavalry and infantry, and therefore
would not strictly come in competition with the Battalion which was
entirely of infantry, with accompanying baggage wagons. Doniphan's
Expedition is so wonderful a performance, however, and has been so
generously acclaimed, that if unmentioned in connection with the
performance of the Battalion, and the contrast made as above, it might
be thought by some to rival the march of the latter. This, however, is
not the case.
=The World's Record for a March of Infantry.=--Not even in the World's
Great War, now happily ended, has the Mormon Battalion's march been
equaled, though in all other things that war has surpassed the previous
war experiences of mankind. And since the Battalion's march has not been
equaled by any march of infantry in the World's Great War, nor in
ancient times, it is not likely now, owing to the new methods for the
transportation of troops that have been developed, that the Mormon
Battalion's march across more than half of the North American continent
will ever be equaled. It will stand as the world's record for a march of
infantry.
FOOTNOTES:
[2:a] See Cooke's Wagon Road Map for this part of the route.
[3:b] I am aware that the historian of "Doniphan's Expedition"--William
E. Connelley, credits the expedition with a grand circuit of 5,500
miles, 2,500 miles of which he states was by water, leaving a distance
of 3,500 miles by land; but he accounts the expedition as starting from
Independence, Mo., and returning to it. Whereas the expedition was
organized and began its great march at Santa Fe, and ended at Matamoras,
where it embarked for home.
II.
THE CALL OF THE BATTALION.
The Mormon Battalion owes its existence to the exodus of the Mormon
people from the state of Illinois to the then (1846) little known region
of the Rocky Mountain west. The leaders of that people had decided that
there was little prospect of their being able to live in peace with
their neighbors in Illinois, or in any of the surrounding states, owing
to the existence of strong prejudices against their religion, and
therefore they resolved upon seeking a new home in the west--"within the
Basin of the Great Salt Lake, or Bear River Valley * * * believing that
to be a point where a good living will require hard labor, and
consequently will be coveted by no other people, while it is surrounded
by so unpopulous but fertile a country."[5:a]
=The Mormon Appeal to the United States Government for Help.=--Before the
exodus from Illinois began, as early as the 20th of January (1846), the
high council at Nauvoo made public announcement of the intention of the
Mormon people to move to "some good valley of the Rocky Mountains;" and
in the event of President Polk's "recommendation to build block houses
and stockade forts on the route to Oregon, becoming a law, we have
encouragement," they said "of having that work to do, and under our
peculiar circumstances, we can do it with less expense to the government
than any other people."[5:b]
Six days later Jesse C. Little was appointed by the Mormon Church
authorities president of the Eastern States Mission, and in his letter
of appointment was instructed as follows:
"If our government shall offer any facilities for emigrating to the
western coast, embrace those facilities, if possible. As a wise and
faithful man, take every honorable advantage of the times you can."[6:c]
"In consonance with my instructions," says Mr. Little, in his report to
Brigham Young, which is recorded in the latter's manuscript history, "I
* * * resolved upon visiting James K. Polk, President of the United
States, to lay the situation of my brethren before him, and ask him, as
the representative of our country, to stretch forth the federal arm in
their behalf."
In pursuance of this design Mr. Little obtained a letter of introduction
from John H. Steel, governor of New Hampshire, in which state Mr. Little
had been reared. The governor in his letter declared that he had known
Mr. Little from childhood, and believed him honest in his views and
intentions, and added:
"Mr. Little visits Washington, if I understand him correctly, for the
purpose of procuring, or endeavoring to procure, the freight of any
provisions or naval stores which the government may be desirous of
sending to Oregon, or to any portion of the Pacific. He is thus desirous
of obtaining freight for the purpose of lessening the expense of
chartering vessels to convey him and his followers to California, where
they intend going and making a permanent settlement the present
summer."[6:d]
From Luke Milber, also of Petersboro, N. H., Mr. Little secured a
letter to Hon. Mace Moulton in Washington, which in addition to vouching
for the high character of Mr. Little, based upon personal knowledge of
him for twelve years, announced that he was "soliciting some aid from
the general government, to assist himself and brethren throughout the
United States in emigrating to California."
In May of the same year, at a church conference held in Philadelphia,
Mr. Little made the acquaintance of the Kanes. They were an old and
honorable Pennsylvania family. The father, Judge John K. Kane, had been
attorney general of the state of Pennsylvania; and at the time of Mr.
Little's visit at his home he was United States judge for the district
of Pennsylvania, also President of the American Philosophical Society.
Dr. Elisha Kent Kane, the famous arctic explorer and scientist, was his
son; as was also Thomas L. Kane, who afterward served with distinction
as Colonel and Brigadier General in the Union Army in the war between
the states. From the latter Mr. Little received a letter of introduction
to Hon. Geo. M. Dallas, Vice-President of the United States. "He visits
Washington," said Kane's letter to Mr. Dallas, "with no other object
than the laudable one of desiring aid of the government for his people."
=Little's Consultation with the President.=--The arrival of Mr. Little at
Washington on the 21st of May was most opportune for the business he had
in hand. He called upon President Polk that same evening in company with
a Mr. Dame of Massachusetts, and Mr. King, a representative of the same
state. Sam Houston of Texas and other distinguished gentlemen were
present. News of the capture of an American reconnoitering troop of
dragoons under command of Captain Thornton, on the east side of the Rio
Grande, sixteen of whom were killed, had reached Washington early in
May, and enabled the President in his message to Congress, on the 11th
of that month, to say that "Mexico had invaded our territory, and shed
the blood of our citizens on our own soil;" which led Congress two days
later to declare war and vote the funds necessary to its vigorous
prosecution. By the time Mr. Little called upon the President the news
had reached Washington of the victory of the American forces under
General Taylor at the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma,
fought on the 8th and 9th of May respectively. News of these victories
aroused the war spirit throughout the land,[8:e] and hastened all the
government schemes for prosecuting the war, including the plan of
gathering the "Army of the West" at Fort Leavenworth, under Col. Stephen
W. Kearny, to invade New Mexico, and ultimately co-operate with the
Pacific fleet which it was designed should sweep round Cape Horn and
attack on the Pacific coast of Mexico.[8:f] It was with this "Army of
the West" that the Mormon Battalion was destined to be connected.
Mr. Little a few days later was informed by his friends in Washington
that the plan for the Mormon participation in this movement to the west,
discussed by the President and his cabinet, was for Mr. Little to go
directly to the camps of the Mormon people in the west and have one
thousand men fitted out and plunge into California, officered by their
own men, the commanding officer to be appointed by President Polk; and
to send one thousand more by way of Cape Horn, who will take cannon and
everything needed in preparing defense; those by land to receive pay
from the time Little should see them, and those going by water, from
September first.[9:g]
At this point Mr. Little seems to have taken up the matter personally
and directly with the President, and under date of June 1st addressed an
"Appeal" to him. In it Mr. Little expresses confidence in the President,
else he would not have left his home "to ask favors" of him for his
people (i. e., the Mormons). He gave an account of himself and his
forefathers, who fought "in the battles of the Revolution;" of his own
character, vouched for by his letters of introduction from men of high
standing; and then avers that the people he represents are of as high
character as himself. "I come to you," he said, "fully believing that
you will not suffer me to depart without rendering me some pecuniary
assistance. * * * Our brethren in the west are compelled to go [west];
and we in the eastern country are determined to go and live, and, if
necessary, to suffer and die with them. Our determinations are fixed and
cannot be changed. From twelve to fifteen thousand have already left
Nauvoo for California, and many others are making ready to go. Some have
gone around Cape Horn, and I trust before this time have landed at the
Bay of San Francisco.
"We have about forty thousand (members) in the British Isles, and
hundreds upon the Sandwich Islands, all determined to gather to this
place, and thousands will sail this fall. There are yet many thousands
scattered through the states, besides the great number in and around
Nauvoo, who are determined to go as soon as possible, but many of them
are poor (but noble men and women), and are destitute of means to pay
their passage either by sea or land.
"If you assist us at this crisis," said the "Appeal," "I hereby pledge
my honor, my life, my property and all I possess as the representative
of this (the Mormon) people to stand ready at your call, and that the
whole body of the people will act as one man in the land to which we are
going, and should our territory be invaded we hold ourselves ready to
enter the field of battle, and then like our patriot fathers * * * make
the battlefield our grave or gain our liberty." Mr. Little signs himself
"Agent of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Eastern
States."[10:h]
Interviews followed with President Polk on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th of
June. Of the visit to the President on the 5th Mr. Little writes in his
Report:
"I visited President Polk; he informed me that we should be protected in
California, and that five hundred or one thousand of our people should
be taken into the service, officered by our own men; said that I should
have letters from him, and from the secretary of the navy to the
squadron. I waived the President's proposal until evening, when I wrote
a letter of acceptance."[10:i]
There followed another and final interview with President Polk on the
8th of June:
"I called on the President, he was busy but sent me word to call on the
secretary of war. I went to the war department, but as the secretary was
busy, I did not see him; the President wished me to call at two p. m.,
which I did, and had an interview with him; he expressed his good
feelings to our people--regarded us as good citizens, said he had
received our suffrages, and we should be remembered; he had instructed
the secretary of war to make out our papers, and that I could get away
tomorrow."[11:j]
=The Orders to Enlist Mormon Volunteers.=--Colonel Thomas L. Kane was
entrusted with the orders to Colonel, afterwards General, Stephen W.
Kearny, and accompanied Mr. Little as far as St. Louis. Here they
separated, Kane to go with his orders to Kearny, then at Fort
Leavenworth, and Little to the camps of his people; then moving through
southern Iowa.
It is not known just what considerations led President Polk to cut down
the number of Mormons to be sent to occupy California from two thousand
to five hundred. But in the orders sent to Col. Kearny, that officer was
directed not to take into the service a greater number of Mormons than
one-third of his command, which was limited to about fifteen hundred
men. "It is known," said Kearny's order, to enlist Mormon volunteers,
"that a large body of Mormon emigrants are en route to California, for
the purpose of settling in that country. You are desired to use all
proper means to have a good understanding with them, to the end that the
United States may have their co-operation in taking possession of, and
holding, that country. It has been suggested here that many of these
Mormons would willingly enter into the service of the United States,
and aid us in our expedition against California. You are hereby
authorized to muster into service such as can be induced to volunteer;
not, however, to a number exceeding one-third of your entire force.
Should they enter the service they will be paid as other volunteers, and
you can allow them to designate, so far as it can be properly done, the
persons to act as officers."[12:k]
=Terms of Enlistment.=--Under this order Kearny issued instructions to
Captain James Allen, of the First Regular Dragoons, to proceed to the
camps of the Mormons and endeavor to raise from among them four or five
companies of volunteers to join him in his expedition to California. The
character of the Battalion, terms of enlistment, pledges of the
government are clearly set forth in Allen's instructions:
"Each company to consist of any number between 73 and 109; the officers
of each company will be a captain, first lieutenant and second
lieutenant, who will be elected by the privates, and subject to your
approval; and the captains then to appoint the non-commissioned
officers, also subject to your approval. The companies, upon being thus
organized, will be mustered by you into the service of the United
States, and from that day will commence to receive the pay, rations
and other allowances given to the other infantry volunteers, each
according to his rank. You will, upon mustering into service the fourth
company, be considered as having the rank, pay and emoluments of a
lieutenant-colonel of infantry, and are authorized to appoint an
adjutant, sergeant-major, and quartermaster-sergeant for the battalion.
"The companies, after being organized, will be marched to this post [i.
e., Fort Leavenworth, whence the order was issued] where they will be
armed and prepared for the field, after which they will, under your
command, follow on my trail in the direction of Santa Fe, and where you
will receive further orders from me.
"You will, upon organizing the companies, require provisions, wagons,
horses, mules, etc. You must purchase everything that is necessary and
give the necessary drafts upon the quartermaster and commissary
departments at this post, which drafts will be paid upon presentation.
"You will have the Mormons distinctly to understand that I wish to have
them as volunteers for twelve months; that they will be marched to
California, receiving pay and allowances during the above time, and at
its expiration they will be discharged, and allowed to retain, as their
private property, the guns and accoutrements furnished to them at this
post.
"Each company will be allowed four women as laundresses, who will travel
with the company, receiving rations and other allowances given to the
laundresses of our army.
"With the foregoing conditions, which are hereby pledged to the Mormons,
and which will be faithfully kept by me and other officers in behalf of
the government of the United States, I cannot doubt but that you will in
a few days be able to raise five hundred young and efficient men for
this expedition."
=Captain Allen in the Mormon Camps.=--Captain Allen arrived at Mount
Pisgah on the 26th of June, accompanied by three dragoons and presented
to the leading men of that place "A Circular to the Mormons" in harmony
with his instructions. The presiding brethren at Mount Pisgah did not
feel authorized to take any steps in the matter of Captain Allen's
communication on the enlistment of a Battalion, but gave him a letter of
introduction to President Young at Council Bluffs, for which place the
Captain started immediately and arrived on the 30th of June. The
following day he met with President Young and others in council and
presented the whole question of raising a Battalion from the Mormon
camps.
The question arose in the minds of the Mormon leaders as to the
disposition of the camps which would be materially crippled by the
withdrawal of so many young, strong, and able-bodied men. Already the
question of wintering the camps and caring for so large an amount of
stock possessed by them, loomed large among their difficulties. About
one hundred and fifty miles to the west, in La Platte river, was "Grand
Island," fifty-two miles long, with an average width of a mile and
three-quarters, and well timbered; in the neighborhood of which also
were immense areas of grass that might be cut for hay, and the rank
growth of rushes here and there along the extensive river bottoms would
enable much of the stock to winter on this range, could government
permission be obtained for a large contingent of the camp to be
stationed there. This country, as well as the one the camps were then
occupying, was within the Louisiana Purchase, and largely divided into
Indian reservations, hence could only be occupied by the whites by
permission of the government.
The question of government permission therefore, in the event of the
Battalion being raised, was submitted to Captain Allen, and he assumed
the responsibility of saying that the camps might locate on Grand
Island until they could prosecute their journey. In his speech made to
the camp the same day, the captain promised to write President Polk to
give leave to the Mormon camps to stay on their route wherever it was
necessary. At a council meeting held later in the day, on Brigham Young
asking Captain Allen "if an officer enlisting men in an 'Indian country'
had not a right to say to their families, You can stay till your
husbands return," the Captain replied "that he was the representative of
President Polk and could act till he notified the President, who might
ratify his engagements, or indemnify for damages. The President might
give permission to travel through the Indian country and stop whenever
and wherever circumstances required."[15:l]
After the first council meeting between Captain Allen and the Mormon
leaders a public meeting was held at noon on the same day. Brigham Young
introduced Captain Allen who addressed the people: "He said he was sent
by Col. Stephen W. Kearny through the benevolence of Jas. K. Polk,
President of the United States, to enlist five hundred of our men; that
there were hundreds of thousands of volunteers ready [to enlist] in the
states. He read his order from Col. Kearny and the circular which he
himself had issued from Mount Pisgah and explained."[15:m]
The statement of Captain Allen that there were hundreds of thousands of
volunteers ready to enlist in the states was quite true. The declaration
of war upon Mexico by the congress "authorized the President to accept
the service of fifty thousand volunteers, and placed ten millions of
dollars at his disposal. * * * The call for volunteers was answered by
the prompt tender of the service of more than 300,000 men."[16:n] "Four
regiments were called for from Illinois, nine answered the call,
numbering 8,370; only four of them, numbering 3,720 men, could be
taken."[16:o]
=Brigham Young's Activities in Raising the Battalion.= Brigham Young
followed Captain Allen in an address, at the aforesaid meeting. His own
account of his remarks stand in his Ms. history as follows:
"I addressed the assembly; wished them to make a distinction between
this action of the general government and our former oppressions in
Missouri and Illinois. I said, the question might be asked, is it
prudent for us to enlist to defend our country? If we answer in the
affirmative, all are ready to go.
"Suppose we were admitted into the union as a state, and the government
did not call on us, we would feel ourselves neglected. Let the Mormons
be the first to set their feet on the soil of California. Captain Allen
has assumed the responsibility of saying that we may locate on Grand
Island, until we can prosecute our journey. This is the first offer we
have ever had from the government to benefit us.
"I proposed that the five hundred volunteers be mustered and I would do
my best to see all their families brought forward, as far as my
influence extended, and feed them when I had anything to eat
myself."[16:p]
At the close of the public meeting another council meeting was held,
with Captain Allen present, when the question of the people having a
right to remain on Indian lands during the absence of the soldiers, and
indeed along their whole route of travel, was further considered.
Captain Allen withdrew from the council "and the Twelve," says Brigham
Young, "continued to converse on the favorable prospect before
us."[17:q]
It was arranged that Brigham Young should go to Mount Pisgah to raise
volunteers for the Battalion; and that other leaders should prosecute
the work of raising volunteers in the camps about Council Bluffs.
There was apparently some reluctance among the people to respond to this
unexpected call, and it required some considerable persuasion to dispel
it.
On the 11th of July, Col. Thomas L. Kane reached the Mormon camps at
Council Bluffs, and gave assurance that the general government had taken
the Mormon case into consideration, inferentially with benevolent
intentions.[17:r]
When within eleven miles of Mount Pisgah, Brigham Young and Heber C.
Kimball met Jesse C. Little, president of the Eastern States Mission,
who reported his labors at Washington. His written report was
incorporated in Brigham Young's Ms. History for that year.
While at Pisgah Brigham Young wrote the camp at Garden Grove, and sent
his letter by special messenger. After describing the terms of
enlistment and the conditions under which the volunteers would be
mustered out of service in California, etc., he said:
"They may stay (i. e. in California), look out the best locations for
themselves and their friends, and defend the country. This is no hoax.
Mr. Little, President of the New England churches, is here direct from
Washington, who has been to see the President on the subject of
emigrating the saints to the western coast, and confirms all that
Captain Allen has stated to us. The United States want our friendship,
the President wants to do us good and secure our confidence. The outfit
of this five hundred men costs us nothing, and their pay will be
sufficient to take their families over the mountains. There is war
between Mexico and the United States, to whom California must fall a
prey, and if we are the first settlers, the old citizens cannot have a
Hancock [county] or Missouri pretext to mob the saints. The thing is
from above, for our good."
A letter of like spirit was sent by Brigham Young to the trustees at
Nauvoo. In that letter the following passage occurs: "This is the first
time the government has stretched forth its arm to our assistance, and
we receive their proffers with joy and thankfulness. We feel confident
they [the Battalion] will have little or no fighting. The pay of the
five hundred men will take their families to them. The Mormons will then
be the old settlers and have a chance to choose the best
locations."[18:s]
=Muster of the Battalion.=--When Brigham Young returned from Mount Pisgah,
a public meeting was held on the 13th of July, and the final work of
enrollment of the Battalion began. At the opening meeting Brigham Young
said:
"If we want the privilege of going where we can worship God according to
the dictates of our conscience, we must raise the Battalion. I say it is
right, and who cares for sacrificing our comfort for a few years. I
would rather have undertaken to raise 2,000 a year ago in 24 hours,
than 100 in one week now."[19:t]
Later he said to the mustering companies, "You could not ask for
anything more acceptable than this mission."[19:u] An American
flag--flag of the United States--"brought out from the store-house of
things rescued"--in the Mormon exodus from Illinois--"was hoisted to a
tree mast, and under it the enrollment took place."[19:v] The enrollment
of the Battalion was completed on the 16th of July, and that day Captain
Allen took the organization under his command.
=Farewell Scenes.=--"There was no sentimental affectation at their
leave-taking," remarks Col. Kane in his account of the departure of the
Battalion from the camps. The afternoon before their departure a "ball"
was given in their honor. Of this "ball," Col. Kane says:
"A more merry dancing rout I have never seen, though the company went
without refreshments and their ball room was of the most primitive kind.
[Under a bowery where the ground had been trodden firm and hard by
frequent use.] To the canto of debonair violins, the cheer of horns, the
jingle of sleigh bells, and the jovial snoring of the tambourine, they
did dance! None of your minuets or other mortuary processions of gentles
in etiquette, tight shoes, and pinching gloves, but the spirited and
scientific displays of our venerated and merry grandparents, who were
not above following the fiddle to the Foxchase Inn, or Gardens of Gray's
Ferry. French fours, Copenhagen jigs, Virginia reels, and the like
forgotten figures executed with the spirit of people too happy to be
slow, or bashful, or constrained. Light hearts, lithe figures, and light
feet, had it their own way from an early hour till after the sun had
dipped behind the sharp sky line of the Omaha hills."[20:w]
On the 20th of July the Battalion took up its march for Fort
Leavenworth, where it arrived on the 1st of August, and began
preparations for the great western march.
FOOTNOTES:
[5:a] From a letter of Brigham Young to President James K. Polk, date of
August 9, 1846. History of Brigham Young, MS. Bk. 2 p. 137.
[5:b] Times and Seasons, Vol. V, p. 1096.
[6:c] Little's Report, Hist. of Brigham Young, MS. Bk. 2, pp. 11-12.
[6:d] Little's Report to Brigham Young.
[8:e] Mr. Little notes this excitement in his Report, to Brigham Young,
by saying in recording his movements of the 23rd of May: "There was
considerable excitement in consequence of the news that Gen. Taylor had
fought two battles with the Mexicans" (Little's Report, Hist. of Brigham
Young, Ms. Bk. 2, p. 16). And Lossing says that when "news of the two
brilliant victories reached the states a thrill of joy went throughout
the land, and bonfires, illuminations, orations, the thunder of cannons,
were seen and heard in all the great cities". (Hist. U. S., p. 483).
[8:f] Lossing's History U. S., 1872 Edition, p. 483.
[9:g] Little's Report, p. 16.
[10:h] Little's Report, p. 20-22.
[10:i] Ibid, p. 23.
[11:j] Little's Report, p. 23.
[12:k] Executive Document No. 60, Letter of Secretary of War to Gen.
Kearny, marked "Confidential", 1846.
[15:l] History of Brigham Young, Ms. Bk. 2, pp. 4, 5.
[15:m] Ibid, pp. 3, 4.
[16:n] History of the United States, Marcus Wilson, appendix p. 682;
same Lossing, p. 482; Stephens, p. 488.
[16:o] Gregg's History of Hancock Co. Ill., p. 118.
[16:p] History of Brigham Young, Ms. Bk. 2, pp. 4, 5.
[17:q] History of Brigham Young, Ms. Bk. 2, pp. 4, 5.
[17:r] Taylor's Journal, entry of July 11th, 1846.
[18:s] History of Brigham Young, Ms. Bk. 2, pp. 30-34.
[19:t] History of Brigham Young, Ms. Bk. 2, p. 44.
[19:u] History of Brigham Young, Ms. Bk. 2, p. 48.
[19:v] Kane's Lecture "The Mormons", p. 80.
[20:w] Kane's Lecture "The Mormons", pp. 80, 81.
III.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES TO THE MORMONS ARISING FROM THE ENLISTMENT
OF THE BATTALION.
The "call" for the Mormon Battalion was not an unfriendly act on the
part of the United States' government towards the Mormon people.
A representative of the Church, as we have seen, had appealed
most earnestly to the executive of the nation for aid in the
western emigrations of that people; and when it was decided by the
administration to "accept" the services of such a force of volunteers,
the Mormon leaders received the decision as an answer to their appeal
for aid.
=A Sacrifice Nevertheless.=--But notwithstanding the government service
was asked for by the representative of the Mormon people, and the
granting of it was regarded by the Mormon leaders at the time as a great
advantage to their people, it brought to the volunteers and to the
people generally much of sacrifice. For one thing the opportunity to
avail themselves of their tendered service to the government came at an
unexpected and a most inconvenient time. As explained afterwards by Col.
Kane, "The young and those who could best have been spared, were then
away from the main body, either with pioneer companies in the van, or,
their faith unannounced, seeking work and food about the northwest
settlements, to support them till the return of the season for
commencing emigration. The force was therefore to be recruited from
among the fathers of families, and others whose presence it was most
desirable to retain."[21:a] Practically five hundred wagons were left
without teamsters, and as many families were left without their natural
protectors and providers. The families of the Battalion, with the
families of their friends, in whose care they must leave their loved
ones, and upon whom they must depend for succor, were then scattered in
a string of camps for some hundreds of miles between Nauvoo and Council
Bluffs, with no certain abiding place designated, and no immediate
prospect of being permanently settled. To volunteer for a "war-march" of
two thousand miles, much of which was desert, under such circumstances,
was doubly hard. Moreover the Mormon people, from their then point of
view, had little to be grateful for to the government of the United
States. Their appeals from what to them was the injustice of Missouri
and Illinois had met with but cold reception at Washington. They did
not and could not be expected to understand, much less sympathize with,
the refinements employed by the national legislators in drawing
nice distinctions about the division of sovereignty between the states
and the general government. They were self-conscious of wrongs
inflicted upon their community in the two states in which they had
settled--Missouri and Illinois. They had appealed to the general
government for a redress of those grievances without avail; and now they
were asked by their leaders to go into the service of that government
which might mean the sacrifice of life, and surely meant the abandonment
of their families to the care of others under circumstances the most
trying. To respond to the call made upon them--both as to the volunteers
and the camped community whence they were mustered--was a manifestation
of unselfishness not often paralleled in history.
=Advantages of the Enlistment.=--Notwithstanding all the sacrifices
involved, Brigham Young and those associated with him were too astute
as leaders not to appreciate the advantages of having a considerable
number of their people to enter the service of the United States. The
charge of disloyalty to the American government had often been made
against the Mormons, which not all their protests and denials could
overcome. But to enter the service of the government in a time of war,
involving such inconveniences as must be theirs, would be an evidence of
loyalty that would stand forever, both unimpeached and unimpeachable.
That such was the understanding of Brigham Young is specifically
expressed by him about a month after the departure of the Battalion.
"Let every one distinctly understand," said he, "that the Mormon
Battalion was organized from our camp to allay the prejudices of the
people, prove our loyalty to the government of the United States, and
for the present and temporal salvation of Israel; that this act left
near five hundred teams destitute of drivers and provisions for the
winter, and nearly as many families without protection and help."[23:b]
=The Right to Settle on Indian Lands Secured.=--Another advantage appealed
to the leaders: It had become evident before the call was made for the
Battalion, that while it might be possible for a specially organized
pioneer company to go over the mountains that season--preparations for
which were being rapidly made--the very great majority of the camps
would be under the necessity of spending a year or more in southern
Iowa, principally on Indian lands. The prospects of remaining upon such
lands in peace would be much enhanced if it could be pleaded that five
hundred of their men were in the service of the government of the
United States; and subsequent events demonstrated the validity of such a
plea; also it was the advantage sought to be secured by Brigham Young in
his first conference with Captain Allen on the subject of the enlistment
of the Battalion. Under these arrangements of occupancy, as the Indian
titles in lands in Iowa expired, the Mormon occupants acquired valuable
pre-emption rights up and down the Missouri river from Council Bluffs
for a distance of between fifty and sixty miles, stretching back on the
east side of said river some thirty or forty miles.[24:c]
=Money Value of the Enlistment.=--Another consideration of importance was
the remuneration of these soldiers. A year's pay for their clothing in
advance at the rate of $3.50 per man per month, would amount to $42.00
each; and to $21,000 for the Battalion. Deciding to make their march in
the clothing they had when enlisting, part of their money for clothing
was sent back from Fort Leavenworth to be used for the benefit of the
families of the Battalion, and part of it to assist the Mormon leaders.
Subsequently agents were secretly sent to Santa Fe to bring back to the
camps the pay of the soldiers that had accrued by the time they had
arrived there. This amounted to three months' pay at the following
rates: captain, $50.00 per month--rations 20 cents per day; first
lieutenant, $30.00 per month--rations 20 cents per day; second
lieutenant, $25.00 per month--rations 20 cents per day; first sergeant,
$16.00 per month; sergeants, $13.00 per month; corporals, $9.00 per
month; musicians, $8.00 per month; and privates, $7.00 per month.
The payment at Santa Fe was made in government checks--"not very
available at Santa Fe"--i. e. not easily negotiable--writes Col.
Cooke.[25:d] It has often been claimed that the Battalion was paid a
bounty--$42.00 per man--on entering the service. This was not the case.
The payment for clothing, one year in advance, at the rate of $3.50 per
month has been mistaken for bounty.[25:e] It was only by foregoing the
purchase of clothing that the Battalion could send the payment for it to
their families and to the Mormon leaders. This source of revenue to the
camps was accounted a very great blessing at the time. In official
letters to the Battalion from the Mormon leaders, under date of August
16th and 21st, respectively, it was said, in the first, that the
Battalion had been placed in circumstances which enabled them to control
more means than all the rest of the Mormon people in the wilderness; in
the second Brigham Young said: "We consider the money you have received,
as compensation for your clothing, a peculiar manifestation of the kind
providence of our Heavenly Father at this particular time, which is just
the time for the purchasing of provisions and goods for the winter
supply of the Camp."[25:f]
=The Equipment of the Battalion to be Retained.=--In addition to this
payment for clothing, and the monthly pay, there was the five hundred
stand of arms and camp equipment which were to become the personal
property of the men when discharged in California. These several
considerations led John Taylor--who became the successor to Brigham
Young in Mormon leadership--in an address to the Mormons in England--to
say:
"The President of the United States is favorably disposed to us. He has
sent out orders to have five hundred of our brethren employed for one
year in an expedition that was fitting out against California, with
orders for them to be employed for one year, and when to be discharged
in California, and to have their arms and implements of war given to
them at the expiration of the term, and as there is no prospect of any
opposition, it amounts to the same as paying them for going to the place
where they were destined to go without."[26:g]
=Appreciation of Mormon Leaders.=--In a letter to President Polk, under
date of August 9th, 1846, after reminding the President of the
disadvantages the Mormon camps experienced in raising the Battalion,
Brigham Young said:
"But in the midst of this we were cheered with the presence of our
friend, Mr. Little, of New Hampshire, who assures us of the personal
friendship of the President in the act before us; and this assurance,
though not doubted by us in the least, was soon made doubly sure by the
testimony of Col. Kane, of Philadelphia."
FOOTNOTES:
[21:a] Transcriber's Note: Footnote missing in original.
[23:b] History of Brigham Young, August 14, 1846, Ms., Bk. 2, pp. 151-2.
[24:c] See Orson Pratt in Millennial Star, Vol. X, pp. 241-7.
[25:d] Conquest of New Mexico, p. 92.
[25:e] See History of the Mormon Church (Roberts), Americana, March,
1912, p. 308, for a letter from the United States War Department on this
subject.
[25:f] History Mormon Church, Americana, March, 1912, p. 310.
[26:g] Mill. Star, Vol. VIII, p. 117.
IV.
THE MARCH OF THE BATTALION FROM FORT LEAVENWORTH.
At Fort Leavenworth the Battalion received its equipment of 100 tents,
one for every 6 privates; also their arms and camp accoutrements. When
drawing the checks for clothing, the paymaster expressed great surprise
to find that every man was able to sign his own name to the pay roll.
=Death of Col. Allen. Question of a Successor.=--At Fort Leavenworth Col.
Allen was taken ill; but on the 12th of August he ordered the Battalion
to start on its western march, while he would remain a few days,
recuperate and overtake them. He died on the 23rd, much lamented by the
Battalion, which had become warmly attached to him. Commenting upon his
demise the author of the "Doniphan Expedition," William E. Connelly,
says:
"Thus died Lieutenant-Colonel Allen, of the first U. S. dragoons, in the
midst of a career of usefulness under the favoring smiles of fortune,
beloved while living, regretted after death by all who knew him, both
among the volunteers and the troops."