8 May 2017
PRIME TIME
The Mormon Battalion In New Mexico
By Shannon Wagers
The Mormon Battalion monument is easy to miss. It sits on a side road off Interstate 25, just south of the Budaghers exit( Exit 257), about halfway between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Perhaps some of the drivers speeding by do notice the weathered bronze wagon wheel perched atop a sandstone obelisk, but few stop to read the plaque at its base that commemorates the 1,900-mile journey of a contingent of Mormon soldiers who trekked across the Southwest during the Mexican War of 1846-1848.
From its beginnings in 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints— popularly known as the Mormons— faced persecution for their unorthodox beliefs and practices. Driven out of western New York State, they migrated first to Ohio, then to Missouri, then to Illinois. After their founder, Joseph Smith, was murdered by a mob there in 1844, Mormon leaders decided to move on to unsettled territory somewhere in the far West where they could practice their religion unmolested. Early in 1846, under the leadership of Smith’ s successor, Brigham Young, the exodus began.
Meanwhile, a thousand miles to the south, fighting had broken out between U. S. and Mexican troops along the Texas border. That spring,
as the country mobilized for war, Mormon wagons were rolling westward across the Iowa prairies. Near Council Bluffs they were approached by a delegation of army officers from Fort Leavenworth, Kan., with a proposal: If the Mormons could raise a force of 500 volunteers to march to Mexico with Gen. Stephen Watts Kearny’ s Army of the West, they would receive standard Army rates of pay, plus a generous uniform allowance, and upon discharge after one year’ s service, would be allowed to retain their governmentissued firearms.
Initially, the Mormons were suspicious, but Brigham Young saw an opportunity. The Saints were destitute. They had sold their homes and farms in Illinois for pennies on the dollar and departed with only the few possessions they could carry in their wagons. They needed the hard cash the Army was offering. Within a few days, the Mormon Battalion reported for duty.
Kearny had already left Fort Leavenworth with the main body of his army by the time the Mormons arrived there, and was soon far ahead of them on the Santa Fe Trail. Having received only minimal training, the battalion resembled a party of westering pioneers more than a fighting force. Some of the men even brought along their wives and children. The presence of so many non-combatants slowed their progress considerably.
Kearny encountered no significant opposition when he reached New Mexico( then part of Mexico), and on August 18, 1846, he entered Santa Fe and proclaimed it American territory. Having pacified New Mexico, his orders were then to proceed to California, which he promptly did, without waiting for the Mormons to catch up.
When they finally arrived in Santa Fe, the soldiers of the battalion enjoyed a couple of weeks of rest. Many spent their leisure time writing letters and updating their diaries. These have proven invaluable to historians, since they are among the earliest written descriptions of New Mexico by Anglo outsiders. Some even included sketches of Santa Fe as it appeared at the time.
They also got a new commanding officer: Lt. Col. Phillip St. George Cooke. One of his first acts as commander was to send the women and children back to Fort Pueblo, Colo., along with 86 men deemed unfit for duty, mostly for medical reasons. That left the battalion with 397 men and about 30 wagons, plus five women who were“ reluctantly allowed”( as Cooke recorded in his journal) to stay on as laundresses, and a few teenage boys who served as aides to the officers. The reorganized battalion marched south out of Santa Fe in early November.
They followed the ancient Camino Real( roughly approximating today’ s I-25) to a point near the present-day town of Hatch, where they left the Rio Grande Valley and turned westward.
Cooke’ s orders were to scout out the best southern route to the Pacific, constructing a road where necessary. This came to be known as“ Cooke’ s Wagon Road.” Parts of it were later incorporated into the route of the Butterfield Stage line, and still later, the Southern Pacific Railroad.
Water was scarce along the trail, and rations were short. The constant threat of attack by hostile Apaches loomed over them as the men toiled with hand tools to scrape out a primitive road. The sharp volcanic rocks of the mountains tore at their boots. In time, some were reduced to wrapping their feet in animal hides, while others went barefoot.
As they approached Tucson, Ariz., they prepared for battle with the small Mexican force there. But the Mexicans, outnumbered two-to-one, had retreated south, and Cooke occupied the Old Pueblo without firing a shot.
They reached California at last in early spring. There they served light garrison duty for the remainder of their deployment. On July 16, the anniversary of their enlistment, they were discharged, and the Mormon Battalion was permanently disbanded.
National Hispanic Cultural Center 1701 4th Street SW • Albuquerque, NM 87102
( 505) 246-2261 www. nhccnm. org