Читать книгу The History of Salt Lake City and its Founders, Volume 1 - Edward William Tullidge - Страница 6

THE CALL FOR THE MORMON BATTALION. INTERVIEWS WITH PRESIDENT POLK. THE APOSTLES ENLISTING SOLDIERS FROM THEIR PEOPLE FOR THE SERVICE OF THE NATION. THE BATTALION ON THE MARCH.

We now come to a subject in Mormon history of which two opposite views have been taken, neither of which, perhaps, are unqualifiedly correct. It is that of the calling of a Mormon battalion to serve the nation in its war with Mexico, as set forth in the circular already given. One view is that the Government, prompted by such men as Senator Benton of Missouri, sought to destroy, or at least to cripple the Mormons, by taking from them five hundred of their best men, in an Indian country, and in their exodus; while the other view is that the Government designed their good and honor. The truth is that a few honorable gentlemen like Colonel Thomas L. Kane did so design; but it is equally true that the great majority heartily wished for their utter extinction; while Senator Douglass and many other politicians, seeing in this vast migration of the Mormons towards the Pacific the ready and most efficient means to wrest California from Mexico, favored the calling of the battalion for national conquest, without caring what afterwards became of those heroic men who left their families and people in the " wilderness," or whether those families perished by the way or not. Moreover, the Mormon leaders are in possession of what appears to be very positive evidence that, after President Polk issued the " call," Senator Thomas Benton obtained from him the pledge that, should the Mormons refuse to respond, United States troops should pursue, cut off their route, and disperse them.

Such a covenant was villainous beyond expression; for, to have dispersed the Mormon pilgrims at that moment would have been to have devoted a whole people to the crudest martyrdom.

In any view of the case, it shows that the Mormons were an essentially loyal and patriotic people; and, if we take the darkest view, which be it emphatically affirmed was the one of that hour, then does the masterly policy of Brigham Young, and the conduct of the Mormons, stand out sublime and farseeing beyond most of the examples of history. The reader has noted Mr. Brannan's letter, received by the leaders before starting on their journey; they looked upon this "call" for, from five hundred to a thousand, of the flower of their camps as the fulfillment of the "threat." The excuse to annihilate them they believed was sought; even the General Government dared not disperse and disarm them without an excuse. At the best an extraordinary test of their loyalty was asked of them, under circumstances that would have required the thrice hardening of a Pharaoh's heart to have exacted.

Here it will only be just to both sides to give Colonel Kane's statement, in his historical discourse on the Mormons, delivered before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, as that gentleman sustained in the case very much the character of a special agent of the Administration to the Mormons. He said: "At the commencement of the Mexican war, the President considered it desirable to march a body of reliable infantry to California, at as early a period as practicable, and the known hardihood and habits of discipline of the Mormons were supposed peculiarly to fit them for this service. As California was supposed also to be their ultimate destination, the long march might cost them less than other citizens. They were accordingly invited to furnish a battalion of volunteers early in the month of July.

"The call could hardly have been more inconveniently timed. The young and those who could best have been spared, were then away from the main body, either with pioneer companies in the van, or, their faith unannounced, seeking work and food about the north-western settlements, to support them till the return of the season for commencing emigration. The force was, therefore, to be recruited from among the fathers of families, and others, whose presence it was most desirable to retain.

"There were some, too, who could not view the invitation without distrust; they had twice been persuaded by Government authorities in Illinois and Missouri, to give up their arms on some special appeals to their patriotic confidence and had then been left to the malice of their enemies. And now they were asked, in the midst of the Indian country, to surrender over five hundred of their best men for a war march of thousands of miles to California, without the hope of return till after the conquest of that country. Could they view such a proposition with favor?

"But the feeling of country triumphed; the Union had never wronged them. 'You shall have your battalion at once, if it has to be a class of elders,' said one, himself a ruling elder. A central mass-meeting for council, some harangues at the more remotely scattered camps, an American flag brought out from the storehouse of things rescued and hoisted to the top of a tree-mast, and, in three days, the force was reported, mustered, organized and ready to march."

The foregoing is a graphic summary, but the reader will ask for something more of detail of this one of the chief episodes of the Pioneer history.

On the first of July Captain Allen was in council at the Bluffs with Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Willard Richards, George A. Smith, John Taylor, John Smith and Levi Richards. At head-quarters they had not nearly sufficient force to raise the battalion. Yet they lost not a moment.

In the character of recruiting sergeants Brigham, Heber and Willard at once set out for Mount Pisgah, a distance of 130 miles, on the back track. Here they met Elder Jesse C. Little, home from Washington, having had interviews with President Polk and other members of the Government. A condensation of Elder Little's report will, at least, give to the public the original plan of the Government in the call of the battalion: "To President Brigham Young and the Council of the Twelve Apostles: "Brethren: In your letter of appointment to me dated Temple of God, Nauvoo, January 26th, 1846, you suggested, 'If our Government should offer facilities for emigrating to the western coast, Embrace those facilities if possible.

As a wise and faithful man, take every honorable advantage of the times you can.

Be thou a savior and deliverer of the people, and let virtue, integrity and truth be your motto—salvation and glory the prize for which you contend.' In accordance with my instructions, I felt an anxious desire for the deliverance of the Saints, and resolved upon visiting James K. Polk, President of the United States, to lay the situation of my persecuted brethren before him, and ask him, as the representative of our country, to stretch forth the Federal arm in their behalf. Accordingly, I called upon Governor Steele, of New Hampshire, with whom I had been acquainted from my youth, and other philanthropic gentlemen to obtain letters of recommendation to the heads of the departments."

Governor Steele gave to Elder Little a letter of introduction to Mr. Bancroft, Secretary of the Navy, in which the Governor said: "Mr. Little visits Washington, if I understand it correctly, for the purpose of procuring, or endeavoring to procure, the freight of any provisions or naval stores which the Government may be desirous of sending to Oregon, or to any portion of the Pacific. He is thus desirous of obtaining freight for the purpose of lessening the expense of chartering vessels to convey him and his followers to California, where they intend going and making a permanent settlement the present summer.

Ycurs truly, John Steele."

From Colonel Thomas L. Kane, Elder Little received a letter of introduction to the Hon. George M. Dallas, Vice-President of the United States, in which the writer said: "This gentleman visits Washington, with no other object than the laudable one of desiring aid of Government for his people, who, forced by persecution to found a new commonwealth in the Sacramento Valley, still retain American hearts, and would not willingly sell themselves to the foreigner, or forget the old commonwealth they leave behind."

Armed with these and other letters, Mr. Little started to Washington from Philadelphia, where he had enlisted, for his afflicted people, the zealous friendship of the patriotic brother of the great Arctic explorer; and, soon after his arrival at the capital, he obtained an introduction to President Polk, through Ex-Postmaster-General Amos Kendall. The Elder was favorably received by Mr. Polk, which emboldened him to address a formal petition to the President, which he closed as follows: "From twelve to fifteen thousand Mormons have already left Nauvoo for California, and many others are making ready to go; some have gone around Cape Horn, and I trust, before this time, have landed at the Bay of San Francisco. We have about forty thousand in the British Isles, all determined to gather to this land, and thousands will sail this fall. There are also many thousands scattered through the States, besides the great number in and around Nauvoo, who will go to California as soon as possible, but many of them are destitute of money to pay their passage either by sea or land.

"We are true-hearted Americans, true to our native country, true to its laws, true to its glorious institutions; and we have a desire to go under the outstretched wings of the American Eagle; we would disdain to receive assistance from a foreign power, although it should be proffered, unless our Government should turn us off in this great crisis, and compel us to be foreigners.

"If you will assist us in this crisis, I hereby pledge my honor, as the representative of this people, that the whole body will stand ready at your call, and act as one man in the land to which we are going; and should our Territory be invaded, we will hold ourselves ready to enter the field of battle, and then, like our patriotic fathers, make the battle-field our grave, or gain our liberty."

There were present at the first interview between the Mormon Elder and the President of the United States, Gen. Sam. Houston, just from Texas, upon Mexican affairs, and other distinguished men. A singular circumstance in American history is here connected; for at that important juncture in the history of our nation, as well as the Mormons, Washington was thrown into great excitement by the news that General Taylor had fought two battles with the Mexicans. This important event was directly bearing on the affairs of the Mormons, as much as upon those of the nation at large. The news of the actual commencement of the war between the two rival republics came in the very nick of time. Had Elder Little arrived in Washington six months before, or six months later, there would have been a marked variation from that which came to pass. We know not what the exact difference would have been, but it is most certain that President Polk would not then have designed to possess California by the help of these State-founding Saints, nor would their shovels have turned up the gold at Sutter's Mill, nor would General Stephen F. Kearney have had at his back the Mormon Battalion as his chief force, when he made himself master of the land of precious metals, and put his rival, Fremont, under arrest.

The day alter his first interview with President Polk, Elder Little called again upon ex-Postmaster-General Kendall, who informed him that the President had determined to take possession of California; that he designed to use the Mormons for this purpose, and that they would receive orders to push through to fortify the country. This induced the Elder to address the petition already quoted.

The President now laid the matter before the Cabinet. The plan offered to his colleagues was for the Elder to go direct to the Mormon camp, to raise from among them "one thousand picked men, to make a dash into California and take possession of it in the name of the United States." The Battalion was to be officered by their own men, excepting the commanding officer, who was to be appointed by President Polk, and to take cannon and everything necessary for the defense of the country. One thousand more of the Mormons from the Eastern States were proposed to be sent by way of Cape Horn, in a U. S. transport, for the same service. This was the original plan which President Polk laid before his Cabinet.

After this Elder Little had his second interview with President Polk, who told the Elder that he "had no prejudices against the Saints, but that he believed them to be good citizens;" that he "was willing to do them all the good in his power consistently ;" that " they should be protected ;'" and that he had "read the petition with interest." He further emphatically observed that he had "confidence in the Mormons as true American citizens, or he would not make such propositions as those he designed." This interview lasted three hours, so filled was the President with his plan of possessing California by the aid of the Mormons. But this generous design was afterwards changed through the influence of Senator Benton.

Before his departure west, Elder Little had another special interview with the President, who further said that he had "received the Mormon suffrages," that " they should be remembered;" and that he had "instructed the Secretary of War to make out dispatches to Colonel Kearney, commander of the Army of the West, relative to the Mormon Battalion."

On the 12th of June, Elder Little, in company with Colonel Thomas L. Kane, started for the West, the Colonel bearing special dispatches from the Government to General Kearney, who was at Fort Leavenworth. Judge Kane journeyed with his son as far as St. Louis.

The following is the order under which the Battalion was mustered into service:

"Headquarters, Army of the West, Fort Leavenworth, June 19, 1846.

"Sir: It is understood that there is a large body of Mormons who are desirous of emigrating to California, for the purpose of settling in that country, and I have therefore to direct that you will proceed to their camps and endeavor to raise from amongst them four or five companies of volunteers, to join me in my expedition to that country, each company to consist of any number between 73 and 109, the officers of each company will be a captain, first lieutenant, and second lieutenant, who will be elected by the privates, and subject to your approval, and the captains then to appoint the non-commissioned officers, also subject to your approval. The companies, upon being thus organized, will be mustered by you into the service of the United States, and from that day will commence to receive the pay, rations, and other allowances given to the other infantry volunteers, each according to his rank. You will, upon mustering into service the fourth company, be considered as having the rank, pay, and emoluments of a lieutenant-colonel of infantry, and are authorized to appoint an adjutant, sergeant-major, and quartermaster-sergeant for the battalion.

"The companies, after being organized, will be marched to this post, where they will be armed and prepared for the field, after which they will, under your command, follow on my trail in the direction of Santa Fe, and where you will receive further orders from me.

"You will, upon organizing the companies, require provisions, wagons, horses, mules, etc. You must purchase everything that is necessary and give the necessary drafts upon the quartermaster and commissary departments at this post, which drafts will be paid upon presentation.

"You will have the Mormons distinctly to understand that I wish to have them as volunteers for twelve months; that they will be marched to California, receiving pay and allowances during the above time, and at its expiration they will be discharged, and allowed to retain, as their private property, the guns and accoutrements furnished to them at this post.

"Each company will be allowed four women as laundresses, who will travel with the company, receiving rations and other allowances given to the laundresses of our army.

"With the foregoing conditions, which are hereby pledged to the Mormons, and which will be faithfully kept by me and other officers in behalf of the Government of the United States, I cannot doubt but that you will in a few days be able to raise five hundred young and efficient men for this expedition.

"Very respectfully your obedient servant, (Signed) S. F. Kearney, Col. of First Dragoons.

Per Capt. James Allen, First. Reg. Dragoons, Fort Leavenworth."

The following from important documents sent from the War Office a quarter of a century later, to aid this author in his investigation of the call of the Mormon Battalion is presented here to perfect the view: "Adjutant General's Office.

"Sir. I send herewith such papers as I have been able to find relating to the way the Mormon Battalion was received into service during the Mexican war.

Your obedient servant, E. D. Townsend, Adjutant-General."

"Hon. W. L. Marcy, Secretary of War, in a letter to General Kearney, dated Jure 3, 1846, states that it is known that a large body of Mormon emigrants are en route to California, for the purpose of settling in that country, desires the General to use all proper means to have a good understanding with them, to the end that the United States may have their co-operation in taking possession of and holding the country; authorizes the General to muster into service such as can be induced to volunteer, not, however, to a number exceeding one third of his entire force. Should they enter the service they were to be paid as other volunteers; to be allowed to designate, as far as it could be properly done, the persons to act as officers.

"This appears to be the authority under which General Kearney mustered the Mormon Battalion into service.

"The command was mustered out of service in California, in 1847, and one company was again mustered in immediately after to serve for twelve months.

This company was mustered out in 1848 at San Diego."

The other document of this Battalion history, furnished by the Adjutant General, is General Kearney's order under which the Battalion was mustered into service.

It will be seen from the above abstract of Secretary Marcy's letter to General Kearney, that there exists in the War Office to-day positive proof that the United States did design to colonize California by the aid of the Mormons.

Extraordinary was the wording, that the United States Government " desires the General to use ail proper means to have a good understanding with them, to the end that the United States may have their co-operation in taking possession of and holding the country.''' We return to the Pioneer narrative: It will be remembered that Brigham Young, while believing the Battalion call to be a test of loyalty, hastened with Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards to Mount Pisgah, 130 miles, to execute the "demand," as they deemed it, for a battalion of their picked men to serve their country. They immediately sent messengers, with official dispatches from their High Council to Nauvoo, Garden, Grove, and the regions around, calling to headquarters their old men and able-bodied boys to supply the place of their picked men going for the service of their country.

Returning to Council Bluffs, the Twelve gathered the " Camp of Israel" to enroll the companies of volunteers. While Major Hunt, of the volunteers, was calling out the first company, Brigham Young conversed with Colonel Kane in Woodruff's carriage about the affairs of the nation and told him the time would come when the Mormons would "have to save the Government of the United States, or it would crumble to atoms."

Forty minutes after twelve of the same day, July 15, the Elders and the people assembled in the Bowery. President Young then delivered to the congregation a simple but earnest speech, in which he told the brethren, with a touch of subdued pathos, "not to mention families to-day;" that they had "not time to reason now." "We want," he said, "to conform to the requisition made upon us, and we will do nothing else until we accomplish this thing. If we want the privilege of going where we can worship God according to the dictates of our consciences, we must raise the Battalion. I say, it is right; and who cares for sacrificing our comfort for a few years?"

Nobly did the Mormons respond to this call of their country. The Apostles acted as recruiting sergeants; nor did they wait for their reinforcements, but moved as though they intended to apply their leader's closing sentence literally; he said: "After we get through talking, we will call out the companies; and if there are not young men enough we will take the old men, and if they are not enough we will take the women. I want to say to every man, the Constitution of the United States, as framed by our fathers, was dictated, was revealed, was put into their hearts by the Almighty, who sits enthroned in the midst of the heavens; although unknown to them it was dictated by the revelations of Jesus Christ, and I tell you, in the name of Jesus Christ, it is as good as ever I could ask for. I say unto you, magnify the laws. There is no law in the United States, or in the Constitution, but I am ready to make honorable."

"There was no sentimental affectation at their leave-taking," said Thomas L. Kane, in relating the story to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. "The afternoon before their march was devoted to a farewell ball; and a more merry rout I have never seen, though the company went without refreshments, and their ball was of the most primitive. It was the custom, whenever the larger camps rested for a few days together, to make great arbors, or boweries, as they called them, of poles, and brush, and wattling, as places of shelter for their meetings of devotion or conference. In one of these, where the ground had been trodden firm and hard by the worshippers, of the popular Father Taylor's precinct, was gathered now the mirth and beauty of the Mormon Israel.

"If anything told that the Mormons had been bred to other lives, it was the appearance of the women as they assembled here. Before their flight they had sold their watches and trinkets as the most available recourse for raising ready money; and hence like their partners, who wore waistcoats cut with useless watch pockets, they, although their ears were pierced and bore the marks of rejected pendants, were without earrings, chains or broaches. Except such ornaments, however, they lacked nothing most becoming the attire of decorous maidens. The neatly-darned white stockings, and clean white petticoat, the clear-starched collar and chemisette, the something faded, only because too-well washed lawn or gingham gown, that fitted modishly to the waist of its pretty wearer—these, if any of them spoke of poverty, spoke of a poverty that had known better days.

"With the rest attended the elders of the Church within call, including nearly all the chiefs of the High Council, with their wives and children. They, the bravest and most trouble-worn, seemed the most anxious of any to throw off the burden of heavy thoughts. Their leading off the dance in a double cotillion was the signal which bade the festivity to commence. To the canto of debonair violins, the cheer of horns, the jingle of sleigh bells and the jovial snoring of the tambourines, they did dance! None of your minuets or other mortuary possessions of gentles in etiquette, tight shoes and pinching gloves, but the spirited and scientific displays of our venerated and merry grandparents, who were not above following the fiddle to the lively fox-chase, French fours, Copenhagen jigs, Virginia reels, and the like forgotten figures, executed with the spirit of people too happy to be slow, or bashful, or constrained. Light hearts, lithe figures, and light feet had it their own way from an early hour till after the sun had dipped behind the sharp sky-line of the Omaha hills. Silence was then called, and a well-cultivated mezzo-soprano voice, belonging to a young lady with fair face and dark eyes, gave with quartette accompaniment, a little song, the notes of which I have been unsuccessful in repeated efforts to obtain since—a version of the text touching to all earthly wanderers: "By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept; We wept when we remembered Zion.

"There was danger of some expression of feeling when the song was over, for it had begun to draw tears, but, breaking the quiet with his hard voice, an elder asked the blessing of heaven on all who, with purity of heart and brotherhood of spirit, had mingled in that society, and then all dispersed, hastening to cover from the falling dews."