Very generally there has come down evidence that the men of the Battalion
were of very decent sort. Colonel Mason, commanding the California
military department, in June, 1847, made report to the Adjutant General
of the Army:
"Of the service of this Battalion, of their patience, subordination and
general good conduct you have already heard; and I take great pleasure in
adding that as a body of men they have religiously respected the rights
and feelings of these conquered people, and not a syllable of complaint
has reached my ears of a single insult offered or outrage done by a
Mormon volunteer. So high an opinion did I entertain of the Battalion and
of their especial fitness for the duties now performed by the garrisons
in this country that I made strenuous efforts to engage their services
for another year."
With reference to the Mormon Battalion, Father Engelhardt, in his
"Missions and Missionaries of California," wrote:
"It is not likely that these Mormons, independent of United States and
military regulations, would have wantonly destroyed any part of the
church property or church fixtures during their several months' stay at
San Luis Rey. Whatever some of the moral tenets held by them in those
days, the Mormons, to all appearances, were a God-fearing body, who ...
manifested some respect for the religious convictions and feelings of
other men, notably of the Catholics. It is, therefore, highly improbable
that they ... raved against ... religious emblems found in the missions
of California. On the contrary, they appear to have let everything alone,
even made repairs, and minded their own duties to their Creator, in that
they practiced their religion openly whithersoever they went...."