Book Description

Excerpt from The Latter-Day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 79: August 2, 1917 An event of great import disturbed the equanimity of the camp. W'ar had broken out between Mexico and the United States. General Taylor's victories in the early stages Of the international strife had been all but decisive; but the American Republic was on the march to the western ocean, and the provinces Of New Mexico and California were in her path. These comprised, in addition to the territory now designated by those names. Utah, Nevada. Portions of Wyoming and Colorado, as also Arizona; while Oregon, then claimed as a British possession, included Washington, Idaho and portions Of Montana and Wyoming. It was the plan of the national government to occupy these provinces by quick and decisive action; and a call was made upon the Mormons to con tribute to the general force by furnishing a battalion of five hundred men to serve in the war with Mexico. Five hundred men fit to bear arms to be drafted from the Camp Of Israel: 'vhat would become Of the rest? Already Women and boys had been pressed into service to do the work Of men; the resources Of the camp were taxed to the utmost; and back along the line of travel were many' graves whose tenants had passed to their last sleep through hardship and exposure. But, response to the nation's call was prompt and hearty. You shall have your battalion, said Brigham Young to Captain Allen. The muster Officer, and if there are not young men enough you shall have the Old men and if they are not enough we will enroll the women. Within a week after President Polk's message was received, the Mormon battalion had been massed, comprising in all five hundred and forty-nine souls, and straightway these set out for Fort Leavenworth. The path from the Missouri to the Pacific led them over two thousand miles, much Of the distance through deserts, which prior to that time had not been trodden by civilized foot. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.