USA > Utah > History of Utah > Part 56
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they were in no way responsible, and which they have never ceased to regard as a public calamity.
Hubert Howe Bancroft, in his history of Utah, speaking of this event, says: "It may as well be understood at the outset that this horrible crime, so often and so persistently charged upon the Mor- mon Church and its leaders, was the crime of an individual, the crime of a fanatic of the worst stamp, one who was a member of the Mormon Church, but of whose intentions the Church knew nothing, and whose bloody acts the members of the Church, high and low, regard with as much abhorrence as any out of the Church. Indeed, the blow fell upon the brotherhood with three-fold force and damage. There was the cruelty of it, which wrung their hearts; there was the odium attending its performance in their midst; and there was the strength it lent their enemies further to malign and molest them. The Mormons denounce the Mountain Meadows massacre, and every act connected therewith, as earnestly and as honestly as any in the outside world. This is abundantly proved and may be accepted as a historical fact."
Leaving this subject for the present, let us return to Captain Van Vliet, after his departure from Salt Lake City about the middle of September. Here is the official report of his errand:
HAM'S FORK, September 16, 1857.
Captain :
I have the honor to report, for the information of the commanding general, the result of my trip to the Territory of Utah.
In obedience to special instructions, dated headquarters army for Utah, Fort Leaven- worth, July 28, 1857, I left Fort Leavenworth, July 30, and reached Fort Kearney in nine traveling days, Fort Laramie in ten, and Great Salt Lake City in thirty-three and a half. At Fort Kearney I was detained one day by the changes I liad to make and by sickness, and at Fort Laramie three days, as all the animals were forty miles from the post, and when brought in all had to be shod before they could take the road. I traveled as rapidly as it is possible to do with six mule wagons. Several of my teams broke down and at least half of my animals are unserviceable and will remain so until they recruit. During my progress towards Utah I met many people from that Territory, and also several mount- ain men at Green River, and all informed me that I would not be allowed to enter Utah, and if I did I would run great risk of losing my life. I treated all this, however, as idle talk, but it induced me to leave my wagons and escort at Ham's Fork, 143 miles this side
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of the city, and proceed alone. I reached Great Salt Lake City without molestation, and immediately upon my arrival I informed Governor Brigham Young that I desired an inter- view, which he appointed for the next day. On the evening of the day of my arrival, Governor Young, with many of the leading men of the city, called upon me at my quar- ters. The governor received me most cordially and treated me during my stay, which continued some six days, with the greatest hospitality and kindness. In this interview the governor made known to me his views with regard to the approach of the United States troops, in plain and unmistakable language.
He stated that the Mormons had been persecuted, murdered and robbed in Missouri and Illinois, both by the mob and State authorities, and that now the United States were about to pursue the same course, and that, therefore, he and the people of Utalı had deter- mined to resist all persecution at the commencement, and that the troops now on the march for Utah should not enter the Great Salt Lake valley. As he uttered these words all those present concurred most heartily in what he said.
The next day, as agreed upon, I called upon the governor and delivered in person the letter with which I had been entrusted. In that interview, and in several subsequent ones, the same determination to resist to the death the entrance of the troops into the val- ley was expressed by Governor Young and those about him.
The governor informed me that there was abundance of everything I required for the troops, such as lumber, forage, etc., but that none would be sold to us .* In the course of my conversations with the governor and the influential men in the Territory, I told them plainly and frankly what I conceived would be the result of their present course. I told them that they might prevent the small military force now approaching Utah from getting through the narrow defiles and rugged passes of the mountains this year, but that next season the United States government would send troops sufficient to overcome all opposi- tion. The answer to this was invariably the same : "We are aware that such will be the case ; but when those troops arrive they will find Utah a desert. Every house will be burned to the ground, every tree cut down, and every field laid waste. We have three years' provisions on hand, which we will 'cache,' and then take to the mountains and bid defiance to all the powers of the government." I attended their service on Sunday, and, in course of a sermon delivered by Elder Taylor, he referred to the approach of the troops and declared they should not enter the Territory. He then referred to the probability of an overpowering force being sent against them, and desired all present, who would apply the torch to their buildings, cut down their trees, and lay waste their fields, to hold up their hands. Every hand, in an audience numbering over 4,000 persons, was raised at the same moment. During my stay in the city I visited several families, and all with whom I was thrown looked upon the present movement of the troops toward their Territory as the commencement of another religious persecution, and expressed a fixed determination to sustain Governor Young in any measures he might adopt. From all these facts I am forced to the conclusion that Governor Young and the people of Utah will prevent, if possible, the army for Utalı from entering their Territory this season.
* The harvest of 1857 had been abundant, and the fear of famine by this time was pretty well past.
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This, in my opinion, will not be a difficult task, owing to the lateness of the season, the smallness of our force, and the defenses that nature has thrown around the valley of the Great Salt Lake.
There is but one road running into the valley on the side which our troops are ap- proaching, and for over fifty miles it passes through narrow canyons and over rugged mountains, which a small force could hold against great odds. I am inclined, however, to the belief that the Mormons will not resort to actual hostilities until the last moment. Their plan of operations will be to burn the grass, cut up the roads, and stampede the ani- mals, so as to delay the troops until the snow commences to fall, which will render the road impassable. Snow falls early in this region, in fact last night it commenced falling at Fort Bridger, and this morning the surrounding mountains are clothed in white. Were it one month earlier in the season I believe the troops could force their way in, and they may be able to do so even now ; but the attempt will he fraught with considerable danger, arising from the filling up of the canyons and passes with snow. I do not wish it to be considered that I am advocating either the one course or the other. I simply wish to lay the facts before the general, leaving it to his better judgment to decide upon the proper movements. Notwithstanding my inability to make the purchases I was ordered to, and all that Governor Young said in regard to opposing the entrance of the troops into the valley I examined the country in the vicinity of the city, with the view of selecting a proper military site. 1 visited the military reserve, Rush Valley, but found it, in my opin- ion, entirely unsuitable for a military station. It contains but little grass, and is very much exposed to the cold winds of winter; its only advantage being the close proximity of fine wood. It is too far from the city, being between thirty-five and forty miles, and will require teams four days to go there and return.
I examined another point on the road to Rush Valley, and only about thirty miles from the city, which 1 consider a much more eligible position. It is in Tooele Valley, three miles north of Tooele City, and possesses wood, water and grass; but it is occupied by the Mormons, who have some sixty acres under cultivation, with houses and barns on their land. These persons would have to be dispossessed or bought out. In fact there is no place within forty, fifty or sixty miles of the city suitable for a military position, that is not occupied by the inhabitants and under cultivation. On my return 1 examined the vicinity of Fort Bridger, and found it a very suitable position for wintering the troops and grazing the animals, should it be necessary to stop at that point. The Mormons occupy the fort at present, and also have a settlement about ten miles further up Black's Fork, called Fort Supply. These two places contain buildings sufficient to cover nearly half the troops now en route for Utah ; but I was informed that they would all be laid in ashes as the army advances. I have thus stated fully the result of my visit to Utah, and trusting that my conduct will meet the approval of the commanding general,
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, STEWART VAN VLIET, Captain A. Q. M.
Captain Pleasanton,
A. A. Adj't Gen. Army for Utah, Fort Leavenworth.
P. S .- I shall start on my return tomorrow, with an escort of ten men. 40-VOL. 1.
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The reader will have noted that while Captain Van Vliet, in his interview with Governor Young, maintained and was evidently sin- cere in the belief that the design of the Federal Government in sending an army to Utah was merely to install the new executive and preserve peace and order in the Territory, that the Mormon leader was quite as firmly convinced that it meant something far different. Granting that the Captain was right, so far as he and other repre- sentatives of the Government were concerned, and that the object was not to make war upon the Saints, it is not surprising, after his experience in Missouri and Illinois, that Brigham Young should have felt and acted as he did. Let neither view, however, cause the reader to lose sight of the fact that the sending of that army was a part of the plot for secession concocted by Secretary Floyd and his fellow conspirators at Washington. This was doubtless the real reason why the troops were ordered west; the reason also why an investigation, which would have defeated the purpose of the con- spirators had it occurred before the expedition crossed the plains, was delayed until that purpose had been partly effected, and the flower of the United States army locked in the icy embrace of winter beyond the Rocky Mountains .*
* The fact that the Civil War did not immediately follow proves nothing to the con- trary. It had been regarded as imminent for many years. As early as 1850 the south had threatened to secede. The firing on Fort Sumter was but putting the match to a mine which had long been laid.
Daniel IL. Wells
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CHAPTER XXX.
1857-1858.
THE ECHO CANYON CAMPAIGN-UTAH UNDER MARTIAL LAW-COLONEL BURTON TAKES THE FIELD-THE UNITED STATES TROOPS ENTER THE TERRITORY-GENERAL WELLS GOES TO THE FRONT-ECHO CANYON FORTIFIED-LOT SMITH BURNS THE GOVERNMENT TRAINS- MAJOR TAYLOR'S CAPTURE-MORMON COSSACKS-COLONEL ALEXANDER'S DILEMMA-HE STARTS FOR SODA SPRINGS-COLONEL BURTON INTERCEPTS HIM-THE PROJECT ABANDONED -CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN COLONEL ALEXANDER AND GOVERNOR YOUNG-APOSTLE TAYLOR'S LETTER . TO CAPTAIN MARCY-ARRIVAL OF GENERAL JOHNSTON-A MARCH OF MISERY-FORTS BRIDGER AND SUPPLY BURNT-COLONEL COOKE'S EXPERIENCE-CAMP SCOTT -THE FEDERAL ARMY GOES INTO WINTER QUARTERS-RETURN OF THE MILITIA-PREPAR- ING FOR THE SPRING CAMPAIGN.
HE Army for Utah was now approaching her borders. Its route from the frontier lay by way of Forts Kearney and Laramie, the former two hundred and ninety-five miles, and the latter six hundred and twenty-five miles from Fort Leaven- worth. Colonel Alexander's command reached Laramie early in September. Two weeks later Colonel Smith's companies arrived there and followed the main army toward the mountains. General Johnston and his party were at Fort Laramie on October 5th, and on or about the 20th Colonel Cooke and his dragoons passed that point.
Hitherto the progress of the troops was quite satisfactory. The weather as a rule had been pleasant, grass plentiful, and everything seemed propitious for the expedition. True, the Cheyenne Indians, on the 1st of August, about thirty miles west of Fort Kearney, had made a raid on the army cattle herds, killing one of the nineteen drovers, and running off over eight hundred head of beeves that were being driven ahead of the troops, and had been designed for their subsistence during the winter. But the army itself had met
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with no mishap. So far as the Indians were concerned, doubtless the troops would have been only too glad to have encountered them, after what had occurred, for the purpose of punishing the dusky marauders.
From here on, however, there was destined to be a decided change in the program. After passing the Rocky Mountains the experience of the troops was simply disastrous. Frost and fire,-the former by the agency of nature, the latter by that of man,-combined to hedge up their way and render them powerless. In short, Johnston's campaign in Utah, save that there was no fighting nor blood-shed connected with it, was a repetition on a small scale of Napoleon's campaign in Russia.
Preparations to resist the advance of the army,-to prevent it, at least, from entering Salt Lake Valley, had promptly been begun by the Mormon people under the direction of their leaders. Eight days after the receipt of the news that the troops were on the way, the following order was issued to the commanders of the various military districts of the Territory :
HEADQUARTERS NAUVOO LEGION, Adjt .- General's Office, G. S. L. City, Aug. 1, 1857.
SIR: Reports, tolerably well authenticated, have reached this office that an army from the Eastern States in now en route to invade this Territory.
The people of this Territory have lived in strict obedience to the laws of the parent and home governments, and are ever zealous for the supremacy of the Constitution and the rights guaranteed thereby. In such time, when anarchy takes the place of orderly government and mobocratic tyranny usurps the power of rulers, they have left the inalienable right to defend themselves against all aggression upon their constitutional privileges. It is enough that for successive years they have witnessed the desolation of their homes; the barbarous wrath of mobs poured upon their unoffending brethren and sisters; their leaders arrested, incarcerated and slain, and themselves driven to cull life from the hospitality of the desert and the savage. They are not willing to endure longer these unceasing outrages ; but if an exterminating war be purposed against them and blood alone can cleanse pollution from the Nation's bulwarks, to the God of our fathers let the appeal be made.
You are instructed to hold your command in readiness to march at the shortest possible notice to any part of the Territory. See that the law is strictly enforced in regard to arms and ammunition, and as far as practicable that each Ten be provided with a good wagon and four horses or mules, as well as the necessary clothing, etc., for a winter
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campaign. Particularly let your influence be used for the preservation of the grain. Avoid all excitement, but be ready.
DANIEL H. WELLS, Lieutenant-General Commanding.
By James Ferguson, Adjutant-General.
It should here be explained that since February, 1852, Utah had been divided into military districts, most of them corre- sponding with the various counties of the Territory. The law providing for the further organization of the militia created the office of Lieutenant-General of the Nauvoo Legion; for by this title was the Utah militia still known. Daniel H. Wells was the original incumbent of that office, to which he was several times unanimously elected. In January, 1857, the Lieutenant-General had been author- ized by the Legislature to choose six or more commissioned officers, and with their assistance draft a system of laws and regulations for the Legion, which were to continue in force until annulled by the Legislative Assembly. General Wells selected as his assistants in this work Generals Horace S. Eldredge, James Ferguson, Albert P. Rock- wood and George D. Grant; Colonels William H. Kimball and William Hyde, and Major Robert T. Burton, The services of Hosea Stout, then Territorial Attorney, were also solicited. This board com- pleted its labors in March. Early in April Daniel H. Wells was again elected to the office of Lieutenant-General, and a few days later he issued a general order dividing the Territory into military districts, to be organized as follows :
1. Great Salt Lake military district, to embrace the whole of Great Salt Lake County, and to be organized under the supervision of George D. Grant.
2. Green River County, to be organized into one district, under the supervision of Isaac Bullock.
3. The northern portion of Utah County, extending south to the northern limits of Provo City corporation, to be organized into one district under the supervision of David Evans, to be called the Lehi military district.
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4. The Provo military district, to extend to the corporation boundaries of Provo City on the north and south, and the eastern and western limits of Utah County, to be organized under the super- vision of P. W. Conover.
5. The Peteet-neet military district, to embrace the whole of Utah County south of Provo, to be organized under the supervision of Aaron Johnson.
6. The Juab military district, to include the whole of Juab County, and to be organized under the supervision of George W. Bradley.
7. The Sanpete military district, to include the whole of Sanpete County, to be organized under the supervision of Warren Snow.
8. The Pauvan military district, to include the whole of Millard County, to be organized by L. H. Mccullough.
9. The Iron military district, to include Iron, Beaver, and Washington Counties, to be organized by W. H. Dame.
10. The Tooele military district, to include the whole of Tooele County, to be organized by John Rowberry.
11. The Davis military district, to include the whole of Davis County, to be organized by Allen Taylor.
12. The Weber military district, including Weber and Summit Counties, to be organized by David Moore.
13. The Box Elder military district, to include all of Box Elder, Malad, and Cache Counties, to be organized by Jefferson Wright. Most of the men named were subsequently elected commanders of the districts they had organized.
It was to the following named district commanders that the Lieutenant-General's instructions of August 1st, 1857, were issued : Colonel Chauncey W. West, Weber; Colonel P. C. Merrill, Davis ; Major Samuel Smith, Box Elder; Major John Rowberry, Tooele; Colonel William B. Pace, Provo; Major David Evans, Lehi; General Aaron Johnson, Peteet-neet; Major C. W. Bradley, Nephi; Major Warren S. Snow, Sanpete; Major L. H. Mccullough, Fillmore; Colonel W. H. Dame, Parowan; Major Allen Weeks, Cedar.
James Ferguson
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The Lieutenant-General's staff, as named by him soon after his election that year, stood as follows: James Ferguson, Adjutant- General; Lewis Robison, Quartermaster-General; Albert P. Rockwood, Commissary-General of Subsistence; James W. Cummings, Pay- master-General; J. L. Dunyon, Surgeon-General ; Hiram B. Clawson, Jesse C. Little and Joseph A. Young, Aides-de-Camp; Albert Carring- ton, Chief of Topographical Engineers; Thomas W. Ellerbeck, Chief of Ordnance; John T. Caine, Military Secretary; Wilford Woodruff and Franklin D. Richards, Chaplains; Edward P. Duzette, Chief of Music; Brigham Young, Jr., and Stephen Taylor, Color-Bearers General.
Soon afterward an election of officers was held in Salt Lake County. George D. Grant was chosen to succeed his brother Jedediah as Major-General and commander of the district; William H. Kimball and Franklin D. Richards were elected Brigadier-Generals; Robert T. Burton, Colonel of the First Regiment of Cavalry; Jesse P. Harmon, Colonel of the First Infantry; Thomas Callister, Colonel of the Second, and David J. Ross, Colonel of the Third. Lot Smith and John D. T. McAllister were chosen Majors of the First and Second Battalions of Cavalry. John Sharp, A. H. Raleigh, Seth M. Blair, Jonathan Pugmire, Jr., Harrison Burgess, D. D. McArthur, Franklin B. Woolley, Robert Smith, Frederick Kesler and David Pettigrew also ranked as Majors. William C. Dunbar succeeded Franklin D.
Richards as Chaplain. Later Feramorz Little was made Assistant- Quartermaster-General and N. V. Jones Assistant-Commissary-General of Subsistence, each with the rank of Colonel. On General Grant's staff were such names as Joseph M. Simmons, William H. Hooper, Darwin Richardson, Vincent Shurtliff, David Candland, and Alex- ander McRae. H. S. Beatie was General Kimball's adjutant. Among the corps of Topographical Engineers were William Clayton, Jesse W. Fox, Horace K. Whitney, Leo Hawkins, John V. Long, William Gill Mills, Thomas D. Brown, John Jaques, James H. Martineau, James Linforth, John Chislett, Orson Pratt, Jr., Aurelius Miner and D. Moeller. In the ordnance department were George B. Wallace,
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Robert L. Campbell, Charles Colebrook, Henry Maiben, Edward Martin and J. M. Bollwinkel. . Each district had a military store- keeper. The original occupant of that position in the Salt Lake District was Edwin D. Woolley.
Such were the officers and organization of the Nauvoo Legion at the time of the Echo Canyon campaign. It was a characteristic of that campaign, however, that official rank, in many cases, was temporarily waived and lost sight of; some officers acting in subordi- nate positions, and others serving as privates in the ranks. The Legion now numbered a little over six thousand men, about one-third of whom were in the field in the latter part of 1857.
The general officers chosen to conduct the campaign were: Daniel H. Wells, Lieutenant-General, commanding; Generals George D. Grant, William H. Kimball, James Ferguson and Hiram B. Clawson ; Colonels Robert T. Burton, Nathaniel V. Jones, James W. Cummings, Chauncey W. West, Thomas Callister, William B. Pace, Warren S. Snow, Joseph A. Young and Albert P. Rockwood; Surgeon John L. Dunyon; Majors Lot Smith, John D. T. McAllister, Henry W. Lawrence, John Sharp, J. M. Barlow, Israel Ivins, John R. Winder and Robert J. Golding. Many others, such as O. P. Rockwell, E. K. Hanks et al. were detailed for special service as scouts and rangers.
The first officer to take the field was Colonel Robert T. Burton, who, on the 15th of August, in response to orders previously issued, at the head of a small company of cavalry started eastward from Salt Lake Valley, taking the regular emigrant route toward the Rocky Mountains. His instructions were to reconnoiter the country, protect the emigrant trains then on the way to the Valley, make observations respecting the numbers and equipment of the approach- ing army, and report the information to head-quarters. He had been ordered to take a hundred and sixty men, but started with only fifty, and was afterwards joined by a company of thirty men from Provo under Captain Clark. Among those who accompanied Colonel Burton were Colonel James W. Cummings, Majors J. M. Barlow and
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Henry W. Lawrence, Captain Heber P. Kimball and Lieutenants J. Q. Knowlton and C. F. Decker.
Colonel Burton and his command reached Fort Bridger on the 21st of August. On the 26th they were at Pacific Springs, where the first emigrant company was encountered. Next day they met several large supply trains entirely unprotected by military escort, and on the 29th, leaving his wagons with half the men and animals on the Sweetwater, Colonel Burton proceeded with pack animals to Devil's Gate, arriving there on the 30th. The rest of his command soon joined him.
On September 1st Captain John R. Murdock, just from the States, having carried to the frontier the last mail under the Hiram Kimball contract, met Colonel Burton at Devil's Gate, and was entrusted by him with dispatches for Salt Lake City. Captain Murdock stated that in the east intense excitement reigned over the Utah question, and that it was confidently expected and hoped by many that the Government troops then moving westward would solve the Mormon problem with the sword. About this time Messrs. N. V. Jones and Bryant Stringam came along, bringing from Deer Creek the residue of property belonging to the B. Y. Express Company. They also proceeded on to the Valley.
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