The Utah War is one of the strangest footnotes in American History, and almost entirely forgotten. But it was the largest military campaign the United States undertook between the Mexican War and the Civil War. It took a third of the entire Army (and one lone, dogged Marine) and pitted them against the Latter-day Saint Nauvoo Legion, a force that, according to Historian Bill MacKinnon, was arguably the nation’s largest and most experienced militia. Ultimately, the conflict would destroy Buchanan’s reputation and push the United States towards disunion and civil war. On the other hand, it would forever change the Latter-day Saints, beginning a long and painful process to bring them and the Utah Territory under civil, secular authority.
But what caused the Utah War? If you had to choose one single reason, it would be “misunderstanding.” This happened most spectacularly in January 1857, when the Utah Territorial Legislature (made up overwhelmingly of Latter-day Saints), began the new year by writing a Petition and Memorial to Congress in Washington D.C. The request was for Utah to be admitted to the Union as a State. This petition, however, read in the Capital like a series of wild-eyed threats. Buchanan, two months later, would send the Army to Utah.
Yet, nobody knew what the Army's mission was to be. A crusade to slaughter the Mormons, with blood and sword and fire? Or maybe a mere show of force -- a face-saving demonstration of the Administration's willingness to enforce federal law throughout its newly-acquired territories? Or something in between? And was its real purpose to distract the Nation from the slavery conflict raging in Kansas, as Robert Tyler advocated? Or to dole out lucrative government contracts and kickbacks, as General Winfield Scott alleged? On this episode, we explore the (somewhat inscrutable) reasons that James Buchanan launched the campaign.
To learn more about the start of the Utah War, please check out these (excellent!) sources:
William MacKinnon, At Sword's Point: A Documentary History of the Utah War (Vol. I and II) (2016). MacKinnon's work on the Utah War is nothing short of phenomenal. They are available at: https://www.amazon.com/At-Swords-Point-Part-Documentary-ebook/dp/B01M9AIKI2/ref=sr_1_1?crid=QUE8644ZBTNH&keywords=WILLIAM+MACKINNON&qid=1691034033&sprefix=william+mac%2Caps%2C1940&sr=8-1.
Also, I drew on the Forward to Volume I written by Will Bagley.
David L. Bigler, A Lion in the Path: Genesis of the Utah War, 1857-1858, 76 Utah Hist. Q. 1, 5 (Winter 2008), available at https://issuu.com/utah10/docs/uhq_volume76_2008_number1.