Skip to main content

United States. Army. Mormon Battalion

 Organization

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 52 Collections and/or Records:

Levi Ward Hancock one of the First Council of Seventy

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230233675]
Identifier: MSS SC 90
Scope and Contents

Typewritten biography of Levi Hancock which briefly tells of his activities in the Mormon Church. Also includes a holograph note from Lydia Hancock which gives additional information.

Dates: approximately 1975

John W. Hess autobiography

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230325430]
Identifier: MSS SC 2635
Scope and Contents

Typewritten autobiography. Hess was born in Franklin County, Pennsylvania and was converted to the Mormn Church in 1834. He lived with the Mormons in Missouri and Illinois and witnessed persecutions in both places. He was a member of the "Mormon Battalion" during the war with Mexico, migrated to Utah, married several women, served as a legislator in Utah, and served as a missionary to the "Washakie" (Shoshoni) Indians.

Dates: approximately 1900

Lue Ann Hjelm letter

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230233063]
Identifier: MSS SC 66
Scope and Contents

Typewritten, signed letter which contains a biographical sketch of James Pollock Park who served in the "Mormon Battalion."

Dates: approximately 1976

Jonathan Harriman Holmes diary

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230333954]
Identifier: MSS 1164
Scope and Contents

Photocopy of a typescript of a diary kept from 1846 to 1848. Holmes writes about enlisting in the Mormon Battalion, the march to Santa Fe and to California, being discharged from the service, and his travels to Sacramento, California, and to Salt Lake City, Utah. Also included is an obituary for Holmes, his account book, and biographies of Franklin Weaver and Sarah Elizabeth Holmes.

Dates: 1846-1947

Hyde family biographies

 File — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS SC 897
Scope and Contents This collection consists of photocopies of typewritten manuscripts. It includes the bound diary of William Hyde (1818-1874) and biographies of Rosel Hyde (1816-1903) and Heman Hyde (1788-1869). Also within the collection are Hyde family genealogies.William Hyde joined the Mormon Church in 1834, served in the "Mormon Battalion," came first to Utah in 1847, had three wives, and settled in Hyde Park, Utah where he served as the Mormon bishop. Rosel Hyde came to Utah in 1849, had...
Dates: 1970-1975

Carl V. Larson research on the Mormon Battalion

 Item — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230350867]
Identifier: MSS 5885
Abstract

List of burial places of Mormon Battalion members, collected by Carl V. Larson, 1987.

Dates: 1987

Lafayette Frost letter and biography

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230345727]
Identifier: MSS 956
Scope and Contents

Photocopy of a handwritten letter and a handwritten biography. The date of the biography is uncertain. The letter was written by Frost while serving in the Mexican War with the Mormon Battalion when he was in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Frost writes about the scenery along the line of march, his duties, a change in leadership, and about his illness.

Dates: 1846-1860

The life sketch of David Pinkney Rainey

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230308501]
Identifier: MSS SC 1063
Scope and Contents

Biography of David Pinkney Rainey (1815-1888) by an unknown author. Rainey was baptised into the Mormon Church in 1843. He served on two missions for that church and was in the "Mormon Battalion" (1846-1847) during the war with Mexico. He came to Utah and lived in Provo and Richmond in that state.

Dates: approximately 1925-1950

The march of the Mormon Battalion

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197232490232]
Identifier: MSS 627
Scope and Contents

Typewritten draft with handwritten corrections, 73 pages in length. Also included are 9 pages of handwritten research notes. The article was originally published in "A Century of Mormon Activities in California" vol. 1, edited by Leo J. Muir. Roberts relates the background and history of the "Mormon Battalion" in the war with Mexico (1846-1848), including its activities in California, and tells about the monuments and markers that have been built to honor the members of that unit.

Dates: approximately 1950

McClellan family histories

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230244615]
Identifier: MSS SC 561
Scope and Contents

Typescripts (some duplicated). The collection includes autobiographical sketch of William C. McClellan, member of the Mormon Battalion and of the Nauvoo Legion in Utah Valley, Utah, a biographical sketch of his wife, Almeda D. McClellan by Zitelle M. Snarr, and an autobiography of their son David A. McClellan Sr. which includes details of life in the Mormon colonies in Mexico and Arizona.

Dates: date of production not identified