Amount of Losses for the Mormon Conflict
With heavy forebodings he made out a bill against the United States for losses which was later presented to Congress. Summarized, it read $493,553.61. . . . Worst of all, when the…
Camp Scott
The advance reached Fort Bridger on the 16th or 17th of November, having consumed ten days in moving thirty-five miles. Fortunately for the Army, the Mormons, after seizing the place the preceding May,…
Simpson’s Hollow
At this time a party of General Well's militia under Major Lot Smith was scouting the trail in the neighborhood of Green River. On the night of October 4 they swooped down…
Wagon Numbers for Mormon Conflicy
Meanwhile Majors & Russell put forty-one trains on the road, some in advance of the soldiers, others mixed in with the Army, and still others to the rear. It made an amazing…
Cost of Wagons for the Mormon Conflict
Wagons, oxen, and equipment were bought wherever they could be found, but prices were hiked 25% or more. When the job was done they had about 1,100 wagons, 15,000 oxen, and some 1,400…
Army Assurance for Pay
Russell had had experience trying to collect losses from the government and was not optimistic. He finally agreed, with the understanding that in the event of loss Captain Brent would assist him in…
Brigham Young’s Kingdom
The "Kingdom" had once been projected from the crest of the Rockies to the crest of the Sierra Nevada, and a number of anchor points had been settled: Fort Limhi…
Lot Smith and Simpson’s Hollow
Very shortly, but farther west on the trail, the Mormon captain Lot Smith met an unguarded supply train, confiscated all its freight, and turned it back toward Fort Laramie. That…
Reasons for Utah War
A book about the Mormon Trail had better not concern itself with the Utah War, but it cannot avoid mentioning it. Buchanan's posse comitatus was brought on by more than simple outrage…
Mormonism Antipathetic to Democracy
Mormonism was in several ways—and its persecutors rightly felt it so—antipathetic to the unlicked democracy out of which it grew. Far from separating church and state, it made them synonymous.…
Mile 1304: East Canyon/Dixie Hollow/Dixie Creek/Bauchmanns/ Snyder’s Mill Station
"Ten and one-half miles from Weber via Bachelors Canyon [blocked by private land] or about 13 and one-half miles from Weber via Henefer. "East Canyon Station, currently inundated by the…
Winter Bivouac
"In constructing the nightly bivouac each set of two or three men would dig a hole seven or eight feet square down to the ground. A bed of soft pine twigs was…
Gunpowder Seasoning
"During the twelve ensuing days the men continued to live on the meat of starved or exhausted horses and mules. As the salt supply ran out they discovered that gunpowder sprinkled on…
Marcy Expedition Crossing the Rockies
"Marcy offered the [Ute] chief the value of three horses if he would guide the party to Cochetopa Pass, the only feasible route in miles over the continental divide. But the Indian…
Winter Resupply for the Utah Expedition
The "Mormon War" broke in 1857. . . . 'l'he aspen leaves were already flashing a brilliant yellow and the chill of autumn was abroad when the little army reached the Green River…