Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon
Krakauer, 2003, Excerpts
Alleging that the Mormons had committed a long list of
treasonous acts, in May 1857 Buchanan dispatched a contingent of federal
officials to restore the rule of law in Utah, including a new territorial
governor to replace Brigham Young. More ominously, the new president ordered
twenty-five hundred heavily armed soldiers to escort these officials into Salt
Lake City and subdue the Saints if necessary. For all intents and purposes, the
United States had declared war on the Mormons.
It turned out to be a war that generated much more smoke
than heat, and a concord was ultimately negotiated before the Saints and
American soldiers exchanged a single shot. Brigham had actually been aware for
more than a month that federal troops were in route to Utah, but had withheld
the news until Pioneer Day for maximum dramatic effect. For the better part of
a year, in fact, he’d been stockpiling arms and drilling his crack militia. The
Nauvoo Legion.
While they awaited the arrival of the federal army, Brigham
and other church leaders did their utmost to inflame passions against the
Gentiles. The Saints were reminded again and again of the murders of so many of
their brethren in Missouri and Illinois, and how their beloved prophet, Joseph
Smith, had been shot dead by a godless mob in Hancock County. Rumors were
spread that the approaching troop had orders to hang Brigham and exterminate
the Mormons altogether.
President
James Buchanan (left) sent federal troops to replace Brigham Young (right) as
governor of the Utah territory.
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