The Mormon Battalion was a unique military unit. It stood as the only unit in American military history recruited solely from one religious group and having a religious title as the unit designation. These people fled Illinois to escape mobs and sought a fresh start in the West.
In 1846, Captain James Allen arrived at the Mormons' camp with President Polk's request for a battalion of 500 volunteers to fight in the Mexican War. While many were suspicious of the request due to past government persecutions and feared facing discrimination, others saw the service as a way to demonstrate loyalty. The drafted men were given a uniform allowance of US$42 each, paid in advance, for their one-year enlistment. They donated the bulk of those funds back to a general Church fund to purchase wagons, teams, and other necessities for the American exodus.
They marched from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to San Diego, California. The journey totaled nearly 1,950 miles. They camped at or near this site on Christmas Eve 1846. They were very far from the homes in Nauvoo.
Only ruins exist today. This site was a stopping point on the military expedition of the Mormon Battalion during the Mexican War. You can see the pause in their march.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Leroy
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