Why Were Members of the Mormon Battalion Willing to March to the Pacific Coast? In April of 1847, Brigham Young and his advance party left Winter Quarters. How did these people become part of the U.S. Army? . They did, however, face hardships, including fatigue, hunger, and sickness. This group blazed the Mormon Trail to Utah. They arrived after marching almost 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers)1 under the direction of the United States Army. These Mormon Battalion veterans gathered on July 16, 1896, commemorating the 50th anniversary of their enlistment in the U.S. Army. The battalion consisted of five companies, each with approximately 100 men. The 100-foot rose pink granite and bronze monument was sculpted by Gilbert Riswold and dedicated in 1927. Historian Sherman L. Fleek provides several examples of marches that exceeded in distance the Mormon Battalion's march. 17. As Brigham Young had promised, the men of the Mormon Battalion did not have to fight. When the Mexican War began in 1846, the first Mormon parties had barely started West, destination unknown. Reviewer Clark V. Johnson. The letter detailed the Mormons' plan to travel over the Rocky Mountains and settle in Mexican territory.2 The letter also contained a warning: if they did not receive help from the U.S. government, they would be willing to accept assistance from rival governments.3, At that time, the United States was engaged in the Mexican-American War, a battle for land that was then Mexican territory. Captain James Allen was asked to enlist approximately 500 men from the Mormon Pioneers to help. He continued: "Our feet became raw. The Mormon Battalion. Later Saint Joseph became the beginning of the Pony Express Trail. From $73.75* More Info. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was founded in 19th century America and has 13.5 million members world-wide (LDS 2008 Statistical Report). The Saints were building temporary settlements in the Middle Missouri River Valley when the army expedition met up with them. Captain Allen never would have been able to persuade them to enlist. They had been forced to leave their comfortable homes in the city they had built, Nauvoo, Illinois. The tower at Mormon Battalion San Diego . Their initial march and their return march had the same purpose: devotion to the people and the cause they loved. After three weeks, about 500 Mormons had enlisted for one year of service. The Interactive Tour. Do any of these facts apply to you and your life – and if so, how do … "5 James S. Brown observed that he did "not suppose there is an individual in the Battalion, who, had he been left to his own thoughts and feelings, independent of counsel, would have enlisted." Why were they willing to march to the Pacific coast? He testified, "God be praised for his protection over us according to the Word of his Servant the Prophet. They eventually made their way to Salt Lake City. The Mormon Battalion was a completely different matter. What Did Members of the Mormon Battalion Experience and Accomplish on Their March? The commander of the Mormon Battalion decided to go through Tucson regardless of the wishes of the Mexican soldiers. Women of the Mormon Battalion. What did they experience and accomplish along the way? This statue stands outside the Mormon Battalion Historic Site at San Diego. It could be argued that the hardest part of their journey was still ahead of them. "10, The battalion endured several lengthy marches without water. Members of the battalion donated a portion of their clothing allowance to the Church to provide essential funds for the trek west. During its service, the battalion made a grueling mar… . “At the departure of the Mormon Battalion, I am sure that no set of men, or people, ever had more faith exercised for them than this people then had. A very extended account of experiences of … Once the Mormon Battalion was on their way, a common refrain in the diaries is “Deliver us from Doctor Sanderson.” As a social historian, this immediately raised red flags and I started asking questions. Army Captain James Allen worked with Brigham Young to recruit volunteers. Starting in central Iowa on July 5, 2008 we worked our way west along sections of the Santa Fe Trail, el Camino Terrenate, Cooke’s Wagon Road, the Butterfield Stage Route, Juan deAnza Trail, and finished at San Diego on January 29, 2009. The Mormon Battalion is unique because it represents the only U.S. Military Battalion to have been raised based solely on religion. "12 After one waterless stretch on the march, Colonel Philip St. George Cooke observed, "Any other company under like circumstances would have mutinized."13. Mornom Battalion Monument at San Pedro River, 1 mile north of Mexican border, Arizona . The Mormon Battalion "Diggings" on the American River.—The spare time of the Mormons at Sutter's saw-mill was devoted to washing out gold in the millrace and from the deposits of the sand bars along the river. One group of about 30 men walked all the way back to the Middle Missouri River Valley after discovering that their families had not yet arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. The "Mormon Battalion" was not under direction of the LDS church. Some strained "water through their teeth to keep back the live as well as the dead insects and mud from being swallowed by wholesale, and after quenching their thirst, they filled their canteens out of the tracks of the oxen and mules. After three weeks, about 500 Mormons had enlisted for one year of service. Extreme thirst threatened their health and survival. Some of them found temporary employment in California because they knew there was a shortage of supplies in the Salt Lake Valley. Attractions; Fort Leavenworth; Wayside Tours; Column 2. Brigham Young Calling Volunteers for the Mormon Battalion, by C. C. A. Christensen, courtesy of Brigham Young University Museum of Art. Historian Sherman L. Fleek provides several examples of marches that exceeded in distance the Mormon Battalion's march. The battalion arrived in San Diego on January 29, 1847, marking an end to the group’s journey. Brigham Young letter to High Council, Aug. 14, 1846, Brigham Young Office Files. Most were wives who, refusing to be left behind, enlisted along with their husbands as soldiers in the Mexican War. Along the way they endured sickness, thirst, hunger, and strife, plus some hostile military leaders who did not like the Mormons. For the next five months until their discharge on 16 July 1847 in Los Angeles, the battalion trained and also performed occupation duties in several locations in southern California. The Mormon battalion completed the longest infantry march in U.S. military history, over 2,000 miles. John D. Lee, quoted in John F. Yurtinus, "A Ram in the Thicket: The Mormon Battalion in the Mexican War," vol. Mormon Battalion Historic Site. Some strained "water through their teeth to keep back the live as well as the dead insects and mud from being swallowed by wholesale, and after quenching their thirst, they filled their canteens out of the tracks of the oxen and mules. What Did Members of the Mormon Battalion Do after They Arrived in San Diego? William Coray of the Mormon Battalion, Jan. 8, 1847, typescript, Church History Library. Why Were Members of the Mormon Battalion Willing to March to the Pacific Coast? Some have called the Mormon Battalion's journey the longest overland march in military history, but this notion is false. Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days. They had endured a tragic exodus across Iowa. The largest Missouri community on the battalion route was Saint Joseph and to impress the Missourians, they marched double file with music, astonishing many who had not believed the Mormons would answer their country’s call. They wanted to stay with their families, and they felt no loyalty to the United States government. The volunteers served from July 1846 – July 1847 during the Mexican–American War of 1846–1848. Zadoc Judd wrote, "This was quite a hard pill to swallow-to leave wives and children on the wild prairie, destitute and almost helpless . See more ideas about mormon battalion, mormon, battalion. In 1846, with the outbreak of the Mexican War, United Statas President James K. Polk requested volunteers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as Mormons, to enlist for military service. Book In Advance. Serving as part of the Army of the West, they traveled from Council Bluffs to San Diego, California with women, children, and injured and ill soldiers wintering in Pueblo, Colorado. The Mormon battalion marched from Iowa to Southern California, where it performed occupation and border duties until it was disbanded in mid-1947. Battalion members or other people on the trail experienced? Include in your report the most interesting thing you did or saw in completing items 1-3 above. Let's take a brief look at each of these questions. James S. Brown recalled that as they walked along the sandy banks of the Rio Grande River, their shoes "became so dry and hard that walking was very painful and difficult." Manuscript History of the Mormon Battalion, July 18, 1846, Church History Library, Salt Lake City. San Diego: Old Town, Tequila and Tortillas Tour . Manuscript History of the Mormon Battalion, July 18, 1846, Church History Library, Salt Lake City. On at least one occasion, they drank water from mud holes, lying down and "lap[ping] it like a dog. When they finally reached the Pacific Ocean on January 29, 1847, some six months later, they were overjoyed. Sights & Landmarks, Historic Sites. Some of the women were paid for doing laundry for the group. Three detachments—including almost all the women and children and some men who were sick or injured—went north to Fort Pueblo, in present-day Colorado, in the early months of the march. Before the Saints left Nauvoo, President Young assigned Jesse C. Little to ask the United States government for help with the emigration. The Mormon Battalion never engaged in any warfare but did endure a stampede of wild bulls. "10, The battalion endured several lengthy marches without water. at the Mormon Battalion Visitors Center in Old Town San Diego, California under the direction Elmer J. Carr and contains every name that ever existed from almost every Mormon Battalion list which has been compiled, being a compilation of ten different Mormon Battalion rosters. Autobiography of Zadoc Knapp Judd (1827–1909), typescript, 21, Church History Library, Salt Lake City. How did these people become part of the U.S. Army? (James Stephens Brown made the historic march across the southwestern United States and Mexico with the Mormon Battalion and was at Sutter's Fort, Calif., when gold was discovered, setting off the 1849 rush.

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