United States. Army. Mormon Battalion
Dates
- Existence: 1846 - 1847
Administrative History
The Mormon Battalion (1846-1847) was a unit in the United States military that served during the Mexican-American War.
The Mormon Battalion, which began official service in July 1846, was the only religiously based united in United States military history. The battalion was a volunteer unit of between 534 and 539 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Created to assist with the Mexican-American War (which lasted from 1846-1848), the unit marched nearly 2,000 miles from Iowa to San Diego.
The unit was discharged on July 16, 1847, five months after its arrival in San Diego.
Citation:
Larson, C.V. A data base of the Mormon Battalion, c1987: p. 1 (formed July 16, 1846, at the request of the U.S. govt.) p. 2 (discharged July 16, 1847) p. 4 (U.S. Mormon Battalion)LC data base, 12/30/87 (hdg.: Iowa Infantry. Mormon Battalion, 1846-1847)
Wikipedia, via WWW, 27 January 2015 (The Mormon Battalion, which began official service in July 1846, was the only religiously based united in United States military history; was a volunteer unit of between 534 and 539 members of the LDS church;Created to assist with the Mexican-American War (which lasted from 1846-1848); marched nearly 2,000 miles from Iowa to San Diego; was discharged on July 16, 1847, five months after its arrival in San Diego)
Found in 4 Collections and/or Records:
Henry William Bigler diary
Abner Blackburn diary
Typescript of diary which gives accounts of the Mormon experiences in Missouri, frontier and pioneer life, Indian customs and warfare, and gold-digging during the California gold rush of 1849.
Daniel Brown biography
David Brown's third great grandson, Erold Clark Wiscombe, writes about Brown's family history; marriage to Elizabeth Stephens; removal to Illinois in 1831; conversion to Mormonism in 1840; removal to Florence, Nebraska; son, James, joining the Mormon Battalion; quarrel with Brigham Young leading to removal to Calhoun, Iowa; Indian difficulties in Iowa; rebaptism in Salt Lake City, in 1874; and death in Calhoun, Iowa.
The experiences of a western pioneer
Two handwritten accounts written by an unidentified grandchild of Albert Smith. The first story concerns an acquaintance of the family who, while traveling east from California in 1852, rescued his wagon train's horses from the Indians. The second account concerns Albert Smith and Azariah Smith, their journey with the Mormon Battalion to California, their return to Utah, and their settlement of Manti, Utah.