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Utah Expedition (1857-1858)

 Organization

Dates

  • Existence: 1857 - 1858

Administravtive History

The Utah Expedition (1857-1858) was a bloodless military conflict between the Mormon militia, referred to as the Nauvoo Legion, and the Unites States government over the installation of a new governor in the Utah Territory.

From May 1857 to July 1858, the Utah Expedition, otherwise known as Utah War, Utah Campaign, Buchanan's Blunder, Mormon War, or Mormon Rebellion, was a result of President Buchanan’s decision to replace Governor Brigham Young with Governor Alfred Cumming. The Presidency feared the Mormon community would not accept a non-Mormon governor, resulting in the suspension of mail to Utah and 2,500 troops accompanying Cumming’s journey. Upon news of advancing troops Utah men were called to bear arms and Northern communities were evacuated. After several months of this standard, and continually hoping for peace, the Mormon leader’s willingness to accept Cumming was heard. The agreement ended with the installation of Governor Cumming and a permanent government garrison near Salt Lake City in exchange for peace and amnesty.

Citation:
LCCN 58011786: Hafen, L.R. The Utah expedition, 1857-1858, 1958(hdg.: Utah Expedition, 1857-1858)

Wikipedia, viewed February 11, 2013 :(Utah Expedition, also known as the Utah War, Utah Campaign, Buchanan's Blunder, Mormon War, Mormon Rebellion, was an armed confrontation between Mormon settlers and the United States Government, from May 1857 to July 1858, located in Utah and Wyoming)

Encyclopedia.com, April 20, 2016(Mormon Expedition of 1857-1858; was a federal force sent by President James Buchanan to force the Mormons, led by Brigham Young, to obey federal laws ; Utah Expedition)

OCLC, April 20, 2016(access point: Utah Expedition (1857-1858); usage: Utah Expedition; Utah War; Utah Campaign; Buchanan's Blunder; Mormon War; Mormon Rebellion; Mormon Expedition)

Library of Congress, via WWW, Feb. 12, 2018 (Utah Expedition, also known as the Utah War, Utah Campaign, Buchanan's Blunder, Mormon War, Mormon Rebellion, was an armed confrontation between Mormon settlers and the United States Government, from May 1857 to July 1858, located in Utah and Wyoming; Mormon Expedition of 1857-1858; was a federal force sent by President James Buchanan to force the Mormons, led by Brigham Young, to obey federal laws)

Mormon Encyclopedia, via WWW, Feb. 12, 2018 (Mormon militia, called the Nauvoo Legion, vs. United States government in a bloodless but costly confrontation; President James Buchanan to replace Brigham Young as governor of Utah Territory; It delayed, but did not prevent, the installation of Governor Alfred Cumming; Buchanan thought Latter-day Saints would reject a non-Mormon governor; mail to Utah suspended and 2,500 troops with Cumming to Great Salt Lake City; Utah communities were called upon to equip a thousand men; President Young announced on March 23, 1858, that all settlements in northern Utah must be abandoned and prepared for burning if the army came in; Church leaders willing to accept Cumming and a permanent army garrison in exchange for peace and amnesty)

Found in 38 Collections and/or Records:

William Adams autobiography

 File — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 569
Scope and Contents Handwritten autobiography with a typescript of the item. Adams came from Ireland, migrated to Nauvoo, Illinois, and later to Salt Lake Valley, Utah. He also lived in Springville, Spanish Fork, Parowan, and Cedar City, Utah. Adams writes about Jacob Hamblin's efforts to convert Indians, the preparations to meet the United States Army coming to Utah in 1857 and 1858, going on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and meeting Emma Hales Smith, the wife of the first...
Dates: 1894
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / William Adams autobiography

Andrew Jackson Allen autobiography and diary

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230330851]
Identifier: MSS SC 3213
Scope and Contents Photocopy of a microfilm copy of a typescript of an autobiography and diary. Allen writes about his youth in Kentucky and move to Missouri after he joined the Mormon Church. He later moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, and joined the Mormon exodus to Utah in 1847. He tells about the hardships of early settlement in Salt Lake City, Utah. His diary starts in 1857. It has many gaps and entries were often months apart. He writes about the "Utah War;" his work on the railroad in 1868 and 1869; his...
Dates: 1857-1884
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / Andrew Jackson Allen autobiography and diary

Washington F. Anderson diary

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230338656]
Identifier: MSS 40
Abstract

The collection contains a typewritten copy of a diary kept from 30 July to 12 August of 1857. Anderson writes about a company of Mormons travelling from Carson Valley, Nevada to Salt Lake City, Utah. He tells about Indian troubles and about the miles travelled every day.

Dates: 1857
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / Washington F. Anderson diary

George B. Bailey papers

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230244722]
Identifier: MSS SC 580
Scope and Contents

Holographs; typescript; printed forms (photocopy). The collection includes a journal (l p. by wife, Elizabeth) which describes life in Salt Lake Valley and related problems with the United States government in 1856-1857 and gives genealogical data on the Bailey and Young families. Also included are a letter fragment, poem by George, and 6 Latter-day Saint Church family group sheets of the George Smith Bailey and Victoria Price family.

Dates: 1800s
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / George B. Bailey papers

Henry Ballard diary

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS SC 998
Scope and Contents Two typescripts of the Ballard diary. They vary in small details and in the nature of the added materials found at the back. Ballard was converted to Mormonism in England. He arrived in Utah in 1852, was active in the Utah War of 1857-8, and settled in Logan, Utah in 1859. He was a bishop for the Mormon Church, participated in many of the activities of that faith, and was sentenced to two months in the Utah penitentiary for polygamy. He also tells about troubles with the Indians of the Cache...
Dates: 1852-1905
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / Henry Ballard diary

William Bench letter

 Item — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197232489358]
Identifier: MSS 547
Scope and Contents Photocopy of a handwritten letter dated 1 Feb. 1908 and addressed to "Son & Daughter." The item was written in Manti, Utah. Bench writes about his early life in Utah. He tells about settling in Manti early in the 1850s and about the hardships he faced at that time. He talks about encounters with Ute Indians stating that during "the first engagement we had with the Indians 5 balls passed through my clothing but I was unharmed" and about the preparations made to meet the Utah Expedition of...
Dates: 1908 February 1
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / William Bench letter

Orley Dwight Bliss autobiography and diary

 File — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 615
Scope and Contents Handwritten autobiography and diary. Account is retrospective until 1864, when Bliss writes short daily entries about his journey from Salt Lake City to Nebraska by ox team to help gather the poor to Utah. On the return trip to Utah, Bliss describes weather conditions, daily camping locations and mileage, encounters with Indian tribes, and more than twenty deaths from cholera. Bliss immigrated to Utah at age 8 and participated in the Utah War. Several pages of family genealogy are included...
Dates: 1864-1865
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / Orley Dwight Bliss autobiography and diary

James Buchanan proclamation

 Item — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230339969]
Identifier: MSS 77
Abstract The folder contains a typewritten copy of a presidential proclamation dated 6 April 1858. Buchanan states that the people of Utah have refused to submit to federal authority, justifies his sending of a military force to see that the laws are enforced, states that his actions are not against the Utahns' religion, expresses a desire that all bloodshed could be avoided, and offers a full pardon "to all who will submit themselves to the authority of the federal government." Also included is a...
Dates: 1858
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / James Buchanan proclamation

John Lowe Butler autobiographies

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS SC 390
Scope and Contents

Collection includes three typewritten versions of the autobiography of John Lowe Butler. The autobiographies describe Butler's conversion to the Latter-day Saint Church, building Nauvoo, Illinois, officiating in the temple, experiences as Joseph Smith's bodyguard, the martyrdom of Smith, the expulsion from Nauvoo, the journey to Utah, the colonization of Spanish Fork, Utah, the Utah War and genealogical information of the Butler family, family wills and patriarchal blessings.

Dates: 1957-1970
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / John Lowe Butler autobiographies

Collection on Utah Expedition

 File — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 2379
Scope and Contents

The collection contains the original and typescript of "The Echo Canon War," probably written by William Stowell, and a typed document regarding the Weber Military District and the Utah War, beginning with Chapter 3 [no author].

Dates: 1857-1858
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / Collection on Utah Expedition

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