In the 1920s, an elderly and well-respected Oregon Rancher, Charlie Becker, prepared a sketch of his adventurous life, the places he had seen, the adventures he had lived, and the hardships he had overcome. He also disclosed that, as a young man, he had served as a Civilian Teamster accompanying Johnston’s Army during the Utah War. In an unguarded moment, he allowed himself to be captured by a Latter-day Saint Raiding party. He would spend the next months a prisoner in the Utah Territory, where he would be one of the few outsiders to see up close the lives of the Latter-day Saints in their mountain home. On this episode, we will explore the story of Charlie Becker, a prisoner of the Utah War.
This episode covers:
- How Charlie Becker was captured by a Mormon raiding party;
- His interrogation by Lieutenant General Daniel H. Wells and the General Staff, including the hot-tempered Irishman, Adjutant General James Ferguson;
- How Daniel Wells quickly stomped out James Ferguson's suggestion that they find ways of "forcing" Becker to disclose more intelligence ("Tut! Tut! None of that, Mr. Ferguson!");
- How Charles Decker brought Charlie Becker to his house, where he met two of Decker's Wives: Lena Young Decker (the daughter of Brigham Young) and Margaret Jane Maxfield Decker and how, to his shock, the two women "[got] along splendidly, like an older and younger sister."
- How he was confined, with other prisoners, in Salt Lake City during a Christmas celebration, and how the prisoners and the good-natured Danish guard decided to celebrate with a rousing game of "Blind Man's Bluff" -- and made so much racket they inadvertently summoned the notorious killer, Wild Bill Hickman, who promptly arrested the guards and replaced them with "a monstrous, surely Swede."
- How he was released and returned to COL Albert Sidney Johnston, where he reported how the Mormon people had treated him with great kindness (especially the Decker family, whom he describes as "a most lovable Mormon family").
For the materials and sources in this story, we owe a special thanks to Utah War historian William "Bill" MacKinnon - His two-volume set, "At Sword's Point: A Documentary History of the Utah War to 1858" is an extraordinary resource for anyone interested in learning more about the Utah War.
See also Rebecca Bartholomew & Leonard J. Arrington, Rescue of the 1856 Handcart Companies (1992).
Search Terms: Utah War, Mormon History, Latter-day Saints, Utah Territory, Polygamy, Plural Marriage, U.S. Army, Fort Bridger, Lot Smith, Salt Lake City, Echo Canyon, Albert Sidney Johnston, Brigham Young, Charlie Becker, James Ferguson, Charles Decker, Lena Young Decker, Wild Bill Hickman, Nauvoo Legion, Court-Martial, Margaret Jane Maxfield Decker, International Latter-day Saints, Immigration, Prisoners, Law of War, Law of Armed Conflict