|
The Civil War in Utah
"For the last twenty-five years we have trusted officials of the government,
from constables and justices to judges, governors, and presidents, only to
be scorned, held in derision, insulted and betrayed."
-- Brigham Young, Tribune Almanac, 1859 --
President Abraham Lincoln, it was reported, said that when he was a boy
there was a lot of timber to be cleared from his farm. Sometimes he came to
a log that was "too hard to split, too wet to burn, and too heavy to move,"
so he plowed around it. That, Lincoln contended, was exactly what he planned
to do about the Mormons in Utah. "You go back and tell Brigham Young that if
he will let me alone I will let him alone."
The Utah Territory during the American Civil War was far from the main
operational theaters of war, but still played a role in the disposition of
the United States Army, drawing manpower away from the volunteer forces and
providing its share of administrative headaches for the Lincoln
Administration.
The history of Utah during the Civil War can be written largely in terms
of two personalities; Brigham Young, the dynamic and commanding president of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and General Patrick Edward
Connor, the mercurial Irishman who commanded federal troops in Utah from
1862 to 1865. Utah probably best illustrates the paranoia, suspicion, and
fear--real or feigned--that characterized the poles of authority--civil,
military, and religious during the war.
Brigham Young |
General Patrick Edward Connor |
Before the war, John F. Kinney had been named as Chief Justice of the
Territory of Utah by President Buchanan. He served from June 26, 1860, until
March 1863.He was directly involved in the events leading up to the
Morrisite War of 1862, and allowed a condemnation of Territorial Governor
Stephen S. Harding to be read into the public record after Harding issued a
blanket pardon for all Morrisites convicted in connection with the war.
Kinney was elected as the Territory of Utah's Democratic delegate to the
38th Congress and served from March 4, 1863 until March 3, 1865.
In 1861, President Lincoln appointed James Duane Doty to the position of
Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Utah Territory. In 1863, Utah's
territorial governor, Stephen Harding, was removed from office after public
backlash from his criticism of the Mormon Church and the practice of
polygamy. Lincoln appointed Doty to the governorship shortly thereafter. As
governor, Doty was able to repair the relationship between the Federal
government and the territory's Mormons.
As the war began in early 1861, the War Department pulled the Federal
troops out of the Utah Territory and reassigned them to other regions where
they were more immediately needed to quell the brewing rebellion. However,
the void in military presence allowed the Mormons to regain control over the
territory. Although the Mormons were the majority of settlers in the Great
Salt Lake basin, the western area of the territory began to attract many
non-Mormon settlers. In early 1861 a large portion of the eastern area of
the territory was reorganized as part of the newly created Colorado
Territory. In March the Nevada Territory was created out of the western part
of the territory.
Many Mormons in Utah viewed the events in the east as fulfillment of
statements made by their prophet/founder Joseph Smith nearly thirty years
earlier: "Verily, thus sayeth the Lord concerning the wars that will shortly
come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina." In a later
statement made in 1843, Smith added: "The commencement of the difficulties
which will cause much bloodshed previous to the coming of the Son of Man
will be in South Carolina. It may probably arise through the slave
question."
Even while the Latter-day Saints believed that the dissolution of the
Union vindicated their prophet's statements, they also had profound regard
for and belief in the divine nature of the U.S. Constitution. Such
potentially conflicting emotions created a unique atmosphere in Utah.
Because some Saints construed Smith's words to mean that the Second
Coming of Christ was near at hand, they also had mixed emotions about the
Civil War. In addition, they were still insecure in the aftermath of the
Utah War. While they were interested in self-rule and state's rights
questions, it is apparent that the people in Utah never really seriously
considered supporting the Confederacy. In fact, on numerous occasions they
affirmed their loyalty to the Union. Although the majority was suspicious of
Lincoln's policies during the early days of his presidency, the Saints
changed their attitude, especially after a reported favorable statement made
by Lincoln about them gained general circulation in Utah.
Lincoln was concerned that California would be cut off from the rest of
the United States. In addition, neither Lincoln nor the U.S. War Department
trusted the Mormons to remain loyal to the Union, in spite of telegrams and
assurances by Brigham Young that the Utah Territory was still loyal to the
Federal Government. A fairly substantial militia was made up of Mormon
settlers that seemingly answered only to Brigham Young himself and not the
Federal Government. Lincoln specifically ordered, with congressional
authorization, several regiments to be raised from the population of
California that were to help protect the mail routes and communications
lines of the Western USA. Their specific orders were to protect the Overland
Mail Route and keep the peace in the region.
In July 1861 Confederate Soldiers under General Philip St. George Cooke,
on their way from Camp Floyd to join the Confederate Army, were caught in a
summer snowstorm at Soldier Pass. A few of them died in the storm and were
buried on the summit. The pass now derives its name for these unknown men.
In October 1861, the First Transcontinental Telegraph was completed, with
Salt Lake City being the last link. Mormon leader Brigham Young was among
the first to send a message, along with President Lincoln and other
officials.
In 1862, with the ranks of the Union army swelled by more than 100,000
volunteers, the U.S. government believed it could now spare enough men to
again occupy the Utah Territory. In addition, it was important to protect
the overland mail route and telegraph lines along what later became known as
the Oregon Trail.
Col. Patrick E. Connor marched into Utah with a regiment of California
volunteers. His soldiers, of the 3rd California Infantry, constructed a
small garrison just three miles east of the Mormon stronghold of Salt Lake
City. The post, named Camp Douglas for former Illinois presidential
candidate and Congressman Stephen A. Douglas, was officially established on
October 26, 1862. Connor at once engaged in an acrimonious and bitter cold
war with Brigham Young and the Mormon people, whom he accused of being
disloyal and immoral. During the rest of the war, the fort served as the
headquarters of the District of Utah in the Department of the Pacific.
During the late 1850's and early 1860's, the Shoshoni and other Native
American tribes engaged in several small conflicts with immigrant settlers
in northern Utah and south-eastern Washington Territory (present day Idaho).
One incident in particular, involving miners from Montana traveling through
Cache Valley, was enough to justify an expedition to investigate the
situation further. Eager for combat, Connor marched his regiment 140 miles
over the frozen winter landscape to deal with the Indians. On January 29,
1863, Connor's troops encountered the Shoshoni encampment along the Bear
River. His men massacred the Indian encampment and then marched back to
Utah.
Connor encouraged his men to explore the Utah region for mineral
deposits; the discovery of which he believed would bring more non-Mormons
into the territory, changing the balance of political power. His efforts
were successful. His men discovered gold, silver, lead, and zinc deposits in
Tooele County in 1864. As Connor hoped, miners began to flock to the
territory. The Rush Valley Mining District was established by soldiers in
the western Oquirrh Mountains and more than 100 claims were staked in the
first year.
There is an interesting article regarding the history of the conflict in
Utah on line at the Utah Civil War Reenact or's web site.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_in_the_American_Civil_War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_River_massacre
http://www.utcwa.org/floyd.html
http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/c/CIVILWAR.html
http://www.amazon.com/Saints-Union-TERRITORY-DURING-CIVIL/dp/0252070119
|
