The Mormon Battalion
1846-1847
Captain Allen's Circular
When Captain James Allen arrived in the Camps of the Saints, he issued
a "Circular to the 'Mormons,'" which read as follows:
"I have come among you, instructed by Colonel S. W. Kearny, of
the U. S. Army, now commanding the Army of the West, to visit the
'Mormon' Camp, and accept the services for twelve months of four or
five companies of 'Mormon' men who may be willing to serve their
country for that period in our present war with Mexico; this force
to unite with the Army of the West at Santa Fe, and be marched
thence to California, where they will be discharged.
"They will receive pay and rations, and other allowances, such as
other volunteers or regular soldiers receive, from the day they
shall be mustered into the service, and will be entitled to all
comforts and benefits of regular soldiers of the Army, and when
discharged, as contemplated, at California, they will be given
gratis their arms and accoutrements, with which they will be fully
equipped at Fort Leavenworth. Thus is offered to the 'Mormon'
people now--this year--an opportunity of sending a portion of their
young and intelligent men to the ultimate destination of their
whole people, and entirely at the expense of the United States, and
this advance party can thus pave the way and look out the land for
their brethren to come after them.
"The pay of a private volunteer is seven dollars per month, and the
allowance for clothing is the cost price of clothing of a regular
soldier.
"Those of the 'Mormons' who are desirous of serving their country
on the conditions here enumerated, are requested to meet me without
delay at their principal camp at the Council Bluffs, whither I am
now going to consult with their principal men, and to receive and
organize the force contemplated to be raised.
"I will receive all healthy, able men of from eighteen to
forty-five years of age.
"J. Allen, Captain 1st Dragoons."
"Camp of the 'Mormons,' at Mount Pisgah, one hundred and thirty
miles east of Council Bluffs, June 26th, 1846."
Scarcity of Able-Bodied Men
When this call came a great part of the young men of the ages required
were scattered over the plains. Many had gone to St. Louis and other
points for employment to obtain means to help them carry their families
to the west. All of the Saints were poor, and some in dire want. Those
who were able to travel were under the necessity of helping along the
weak, the aged and infirm, who could not be left behind. Among the
teamsters were found mere children, who had been forced into such
service because of the limited number of men.
The Equipment of the Battalion
At Fort Leavenworth the battalion was equipped.[1] They received one
tent for every six privates and were provided with flint-lock muskets,
a few cap-lock yauger rifles for sharp-shooting and hunting, and
other camp accoutrements. July 5, they drew their check for clothing,
forty-two dollars each, paid one year in advance. A goodly portion of
this money was sent back for the support of their families and the
gathering of the poor from Nauvoo. They also contributed to help Elders
Orson Hyde, Parley P. Pratt and John Taylor on their way to Great
Britain and Elder Jesse C. Little to return to his field in the Eastern
States. The paymaster was much surprised to see every man of the
battalion able to sign his name to the roll, whereas only about one out
of every three of the Missouri volunteers, who previously had received
their pay, could put his signature to the document.
Death of Colonel Allen
Captain James Allen, the recruiting officer for the battalion, was
selected by General Stephen W. Kearny, to take command of the "Mormon"
troops, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel of volunteers. At Fort
Leavenworth Colonel Allen was taken ill, and on the 12th of August,
ordered the battalion to take up its march while he remained for a few
days to recuperate, but on the 23rd, he died. He was much lamented
by the battalion members, for they had learned to love him for his
kindness.
Lieutenant Smith in Command
After the death of Colonel Allen, the command devolved upon Captain
Jefferson Hunt, of Company "A." The promise had been made to President
Young, by Colonel Allen, that no officers would be chosen for the
battalion, except himself, outside of their ranks. On what authority
the promise was made, does not appear. However, shortly afterwards
Lieutenant A. J. Smith, of the regular army, was given command,
contrary to the wishes of the men. With Lieutenant Smith there came
Dr. George B. Sanderson, whom Colonel Allen had appointed to serve
with the battalion as surgeon. According to the journals of the men,
they were caused to suffer considerably because of the "arrogance,
inefficiency and petty oppressions" of these two officers. Sanderson
was from Missouri, and perhaps was none too friendly towards the
troops; however, the enforcement of discipline, to which they were
not accustomed, may have magnified the ill-treatment in their eyes
to some extent. The heat of the summer was excessive, their rations
were reduced, and through the drinking of brackish water, many were
taken with malaria. They had already become weakened from their long
marches across the plains of Iowa, in inclement weather, without proper
food and shelter, so that they were more susceptible to disease. Dr.
Sanderson prescribed calomel and arsenic, refusing to permit the men
to resort to their own simple remedies, and evincing skepticism in the
laying on of hands and their exercise of faith.
The Line of March
Their line of march from Fort Leavenworth had taken them across
the Kansas River and then westward to the Arkansas, which they
followed upstream for about one hundred miles. From that point they
journeyed southwest to the Cimarron River and passed near what is
now the junction of the states of Kansas, Colorado and Oklahoma, on
a southwesterly course to the old Spanish town of Santa Fe. From
Santa Fe their route was by way of the Rio Grande, southward near
the present city of El Paso, and thence to the west, through the
city of Tucson--which was deserted by its garrison as the battalion
approached--across the Gila and Colorado to San Diego.
The Families Ordered to Pueblo
As the battalion was leaving the Arkansas River, the commanding officer
gave orders that a number of families which had accompanied the troops
to that point, should be detached and sent to Pueblo, a Mexican town
situated at the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains. There was some
protest because it was contrary to a promise given at the beginning of
the march; but it was really a necessary action. For the families of
members of the battalion to travel with the companies was a hindrance
to the rapid progress they were called upon to make. Captain Nelson
Higgins and a guard of ten men were detailed to make the journey to
Pueblo. They departed September 16, 1846, and on the way one of their
number, Norman Sharp, was accidentally killed.
Colonel Cooke Takes Command
Leaving the Arkansas the battalion resumed its journey to Santa Fe. On
the 2nd of October they crossed Red River where they were divided into
two divisions the following day. The strongest and most able-bodied
men pushed on with all speed and arrived at Santa Fe on the 9th of
that month. Here they were received with a salute of one hundred guns
by Colonel Alexander Doniphan, the post commander. On October 12, the
second division arrived, and immediately afterward Captain Phillip St.
George Cooke, an officer of dragoons, succeeded to the command with
the rank of lieutenant-colonel, by appointment of General Kearny. The
appointment of Col. Cooke was another disappointment to the men, who
still hoped for the appointment of Captain Hunt; but they learned to
respect and honor this rugged officer who was a thorough soldier and
just and honorable. Lieutenant A. J. Smith remained with the battalion
as acting commissary, and Dr. Sanderson continued to administer his
calomel and arsenic to the men.
The Sick Sent to Pueblo
At Santa Fe a council of officers was held with Colonels Doniphan
and Cooke, and it was decided to send all the sick together with the
remaining women and children in the camp, to Pueblo for the winter,
with the privilege of journeying towards the main body of pioneers in
the spring, at government expense. Colonel Cooke detailed Captain James
Brown and Lieutenant Elam Luddington to take charge of this company
on the march to Pueblo. October 18, 1846, Captain Brown left Santa Fe
with nearly ninety men reported as incapable of undertaking the journey
to California because of physical ailments. Accompanying them were a
number of women and children. Sanderson, the physician, discharged
some of these men without pay or means to procure conveyance to the
states, whereupon Colonel Doniphan, in charge of the post, went to
Col. Cooke and countermanded the order with the statement that General
Kearny would never discharge a man under circumstances of that kind,
and ordered the men with the laundresses and others, to be sent to
Pueblo and to draw their pay. Their journey took them over a rough
country a distance of some two hundred miles. Several died on the way
and others succumbed after Pueblo was reached. They arrived November
17 and selected a place for winter quarters near the encampment of
Captain Higgins and a company of Saints who had previously arrived in
Pueblo from Mississippi, on their way to the Rocky Mountains. November
10, 1846, Lieutenant William W. Willis was also ordered back to Pueblo
with another company of sick--fifty-six men--from a point about one
hundred miles out from Santa Fe. They commenced their journey with one
wagon, four yoke of oxen, and rations barely sufficient to last them
five days, on a march of three hundred miles. After a most severe and
toilsome journey, in which they all suffered many privations and some
laid down their lives, the company arrived in Pueblo, in an emaciated
condition, December 24, 1846.
The March From Santa Fe
The march of the battalion from Santa Fe was taken up October 19,
1846. They had not traveled very far before they were reduced to the
extremity of using their poor oxen, which were barely skin and bones,
for food. Even their raw hides were cut in small pieces and made into
soup. At times they crossed deserts where water could not be found to
quench their thirst, and their tongues became swollen and their lips
parched until their strength failed them.
Colonel Cooke's Comment
Writing of the condition of the battalion when he took command, Colonel
Cooke made a report in the following words:
"Everything conspired to discourage the extraordinary undertaking
of marching this battalion eleven hundred miles, for the much
greater part through an unknown wilderness, without road or trail,
and with a wagon train.
"It was enlisted too much by families; some were too old--some
feeble, and some too young; it was embarrassed by many women; it
was undisciplined; it was much worn by traveling on foot, and
marching from Nauvoo, Illinois; their clothing was very scant;
there was no money to pay them, or clothing to issue; their mules
were utterly broken down; the quartermaster department was without
funds, and its credit bad; mules were scarce. Those procured were
very inferior, and were deteriorating every hour for lack of forage
or grazing. . . .
"With every effort, the quartermaster could only undertake to
furnish rations for sixty days; and, in fact, full rations, of only
flour, sugar, coffee and salt; salt pork only for thirty days, and
soap for twenty. To venture without pack-saddles would be grossly
imprudent, and so that burden was added."[2]
A Battle with Wild Bulls
A short distance northwest of the site of the present city of El Paso
the course of the march was towards the west. On the San Pedro River
they encountered herds of wild cattle, and were viciously attacked by
ferocious bulls. The troops had been ordered to travel with unloaded
guns, but now they were hastily forced to load without waiting the
command. These vicious animals, as if resenting the encroachment on
their domain, made a charge upon the camp. This constituted the only
fighting the troops were called upon to do on their long and toilsome
march. When the battle was over the casualties revealed a number of
gored mules and overturned wagons, and among the "enemy" perhaps some
sixty of the charging animals were killed. Resuming their journey they
camped on the 16th of December, near the Mexican pueblo of Tucson. On
their way they met three Mexican soldiers bringing a message from the
governor of Tucson to Colonel Cooke, informing him that he must pass
around the town, or else he would have to fight. Colonel Cooke was not
to be frightened by such an order. His route would take him through the
village, and hither he resumed his march. The following day he passed
through Tucson without meeting opposition, as the soldiers and a great
many of the citizens had fled on his approach. Before arriving at that
place he instructed his men that they came not to make war on Sonora,
and less still to destroy an important outpost of defense against
Indians. "But," said he, "we will take the straight road before us
and overcome all resistance, but shall I remind you that the American
soldier ever shows justice and kindness to the unarmed and unresisting?
The property of individuals you will hold sacred: the people of Sonora
are not our enemies."
The Journey From Tucson
Leaving Tucson, the battalion crossed an extensive desert, where, for
seventy-five miles, they were without water for their mules. By hard
marching they reached the Gila River and intersected General Kearny's
trail, which they had left 474 miles behind in the valley of the Rio
Grande. They were now in the land of the Pima and Maricopa Indians who
inhabited a fertile territory. These were a superior race of Indians
with peaceful tendencies, who spent their time tilling the soil, and
in weaving rather than bearing arms. While passing through these
villages Colonel Cooke remarked to Captain Jefferson Hunt that this
might be a good place for the settlement of the "Mormon" people. Hunt
proposed such a thing to the natives who received it favorably, and
this may have lent its weight to the colonizing of these valleys by the
Latter-day Saints in later years.
At this point they were met by pilots sent back by General Kearny
to conduct them to the Pacific coast. Most of the distance on the
remaining journey was over deserts with alternating stretches of
deep sand and miry clay. January 9, 1847, they crossed the Colorado,
near the junction of the Gila, and continued their march under great
difficulties over the coast range down the Pacific slope. January 27,
1847, they passed San Luis Rey, and two days later arrived at the San
Diego Mission where they located one mile below the Catholic mission,
and about five miles from the seaport town of San Diego, where General
Kearny had his quarters.
"Orders No. 1"
On the day after their arrival at San Diego, Colonel Cooke issued the
following orders, which were read to the men:
"Headquarters 'Mormon' Battalion,"Mission of San Diego,"January 30,
1847."
"(Orders No. 1.)
"The Lieutenant-Colonel commanding, congratulates the battalion
on their safe arrival on the shore of the Pacific Ocean, and the
conclusion of their march of over two thousand miles.
"History may be searched in vain for an equal march of infantry.
Half of it has been through a wilderness where nothing but savages
and wild beasts are found, or deserts where, for want of water,
there is no living creature. There, with almost hopeless labor, we
have dug deep wells, which the future traveler will enjoy. Without
a guide who had traversed them we have ventured into trackless
table-lands where water was not found for several marches. With
crowbar and pick and axe in hand, we have worked our way over
mountains, which seemed to defy aught save the wild goat, and
hewed a passage through a chasm of living rock more narrow than
our wagons. To bring these first wagons to the Pacific, we have
preserved the strength of our mules by herding them over large
tracts, which you have laboriously guarded without loss. The
garrison of four presidios of Sonora concentrated within the
walls of Tucson, gave us no pause. We drove them out, with their
artillery, but our intercourse with the citizens was unmarked by a
single act of injustice. Thus, marching half naked and half fed,
and living upon wild animals, we have discovered and made a road of
great value to our country.
"Arrived at the first settlement of California, after a single
day's rest, you cheerfully turned off from the route to this point
of promised repose, to enter upon a campaign, and meet, as we
supposed, the approach of the enemy; and this, too, without even
salt to season your sole subsistence of fresh meat.
"Lieutenants A. J. Smith and George Stoneman, of the First
Dragoons, have shared and given invaluable aid in all these labors.
"Thus, volunteers, you have exhibited some high and essential
qualities of veterans. But much remains undone. Soon you will turn
your attention to the drill, to system and order, to forms also,
which are all necessary to the soldier.
"By order,
"Lieut. Col. P. St. George Cooke,
"P. C. Merrill, Adjutant."
Duties on the Coast
For some time the battalion performed garrison duty at San Diego, San
Luis Rey and Los Angeles. While stationed at the latter place they were
called upon to guard the Cajon Pass, in the Sierra Nevada mountains,
against hostile Indians. At San Diego they were employed digging wells,
making brick and building houses. Their frugality and industry won
the admiration of the other troops, except the Missourians of General
Fremont's command, who endeavored to create prejudice against them.
The Discharge of the Battalion--Stevenson's Insult
July 16, 1847, all of the battalion at Los Angeles were mustered out of
service by Captain Smith. The time of their enlistment had expired and
the prophecy of President Brigham Young that they would not be called
upon to fight, had been fulfilled. Some of the men, at the request of
Colonel Stevenson, of the New York Volunteers, re-enlisted for six
months. Others might have done so, but he insulted them by saying:
"Your patriotism and obedience to your officers have done much towards
removing the prejudice of the government and the community at large,
and I am satisfied that another year's service would place you on a
level with other communities."
The Journey to Salt Lake Valley
On the 20th of July most of the members of the battalion, who did not
enlist, organized preparatory to going to the Rocky Mountains to the
gathering place of the Saints. They went by way of Sutter's Fort and
the Sacramento River, intending to follow Fremont's trail across the
Sierras. Near Lake Tahoe, they met Samuel Brannan and Captain Brown of
the Pueblo detachment who were on the way to California, and learned
that the pioneers had entered the Salt Lake Valley. Captain Brown
carried with him an epistle from the apostles advising all members of
the battalion who had no means, to remain in California for the winter,
and journey to the Salt Lake Valley in the spring. Acting on this
advice about one half of the members obtained employment at Sutter's
Fort, where they were employed at the time of the discovery of gold.
The others pushed on to the Salt Lake Valley where they arrived October
16, 1847.
Notes
1. The five companies of the battalion were commanded respectively as
follows: Company A, Jefferson Hunt; Company B, Jesse D. Hunter; Company
C, James Brown; Company D, Nelson Higgins; Company E, Daniel C. Davis.
Before they left Winter Quarters, a farewell ball was given them in
"Father Taylor's Bowery," where the afternoon was spent in dancing and
such merriment as the sadness of the approaching parting would admit.
2. _Conquest of New Mexico and California_, by P. St. George Cooke, p.
91-2.