IX.

THE BATTALION IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF SEVENTY-THREE YEARS.

The Battalion as Utah Pioneers.—Also it should be always held in mind that the members of the Battalion were among the pioneers and founders of the state of Utah. For though the main body of the Battalion went to California its members were never for a day separated in thought or purpose from the main body of their people, whom they had assisted in their westward-moving pilgrimage by the means sent to them from their pay; both from Fort Leavenworth and from Santa Fe; the seeds and the tents and arms equipment they brought with them when returning from their historic march; and the newly mined gold for currency. All of which was so helpful in founding the commonwealth to be, to say nothing of the advantage their service in the army of the west had been to their people in securing the effective element in the plea for their right to occupy Indian lands along the Missouri river in Iowa and Nebraska. Besides one hundred and fifty of their number with their tents, arms, teams, wagons and other equipment, quartered at Pueblo during the winter of 1846-7, followed so closely upon the heels of the first company of pioneers led by Brigham Young, that they arrived in the Salt Lake Valley only five days after the advent of the first pioneer company.

Achievements of the Battalion.—Four great movements made possible the development of the west—the great intermountain region and the Pacific slope. These were:

• 1. The opening of the highways;
• 2. The conquest of northern Mexico;
• 3. The discovery of gold in California;
• 4. The adoption of irrigation farming by an Anglo-Saxon people.

In all of these movements the Battalion was an important factor.

The part the Battalion took in opening the highways to the Pacific has already been detailed in the story of their march, and fully recognized in the military order already quoted in these pages, and which is now on file as a government document in Washington.

Territory Added to the United States by the Conquest of Mexico.—"In all," says a reliable authority, "more than five hundred and ninety thousand square miles were added to the territory of the United States as a result of the [Mexican] war." This included the west half of what is now the State of New Mexico, the west half of Colorado, all of Utah, Nevada, Arizona and California. For this territory, which equaled in extent two-thirds of the territory of the thirteen original states of the Union, the government paid Mexico $15,000,000. "Including Texas," says the authority here followed, "the additions of territory were more than nine hundred and sixty-five thousand square miles."[78:a] Or, as another historian states it, "territory equal in area to Germany, France and Spain added together."[78:b]

The Gadsden Purchase and the Battalion Route.—Commenting on the Battalion's march and the map he made of it, Colonel Cooke says: "A new administration, (this was the Pierce administration, 1853-1857) in which southern interests prevailed, with the great problem of the practicability and best location of a Pacific railroad under investigation, had the map of this wagon route before them with its continuance to the west, and perceived that it gave exactly the solution of its unknown element, that a southern route would avoid both the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevadas, with their snows, and would meet no obstacle in this great interval. The new 'Gadsden Treaty' was the result: it was signed December 30, 1853." This purchase added to the territory of the United States forty-five thousand five hundred and thirty-five square miles; for which was paid $10,000,000. The purchase was made by James Gadsden of South Carolina, minister to Mexico, hence the name Gadsden Purchase.[78:c]

In addition to the wagon road opened westward through southern New Mexico, Arizona, and California, we have seen that it was a detachment of twenty-five discharged members of the Battalion which brought the first wagon through from the coast via Cajon Pass to Salt Lake Valley, following what is now the general course of the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake railroad, and which became known in the early Utah California times as the southern California route to the coast. Also, as we have seen, the Battalion members returning from the gold fields of the American river region cut a new wagon road, much of the way, for their seventeen wagons and two cannons from the western side of the Sierra, across the summit of that lofty range, thence down to the eastern sloping deserts of Nevada, and so to Salt Lake Valley.

The conquest of Northern Mexico, including, of course, California and Utah, as well as New Mexico and [Transcriber's Note: text is missing in the original] lence of their conduct, not only on the march to the Pacific fleet of the American navy, and the "Army of the West," the main division of which was under the command of General Stephen W. Kearny. The Battalion's part in the conquest is detailed in the foregoing narrative, and also is acknowledged in the military order by Col. Cooke, referred to several times and given in full in a preceding page of this book.

In addition to all this, the Battalion reflected great credit upon the community of Utah pioneers—of whom it never ceased to be a part—by reason of the excellence of their conduct not only on the march to the Pacific coast, but also when doing garrison duty in southern California. The efforts to secure the re-enlistment of the Battalion, and, failing that, the effort to secure the enlistment of a second Mormon Battalion, were the conscious confessions of both California and federal officials—since both participated in such efforts—to the worth of these United States soldiers. "They religiously respected their rights and feelings of the conquered people of California; not a syllable of complaint of a single insult offered, or any outrage done by a Mormon volunteer," is the record of the Battalion, and the re-enlisted volunteers, according to the report of them by Governor Mason. Such is the reputation of the Battalion; of its officers, chosen from its ranks; and of its men, the rank and file.

The part the Battalion played in the discovery of gold has already been detailed.

Connection with Irrigation.—The connection of members of the Battalion with the introduction of irrigation among an Anglo-Saxon people, and most likely coming from their suggestion, is a deduction from circumstances rather than a fact sustained by direct and positive proof. When Brigham Young's company of pioneers were about to leave Green River on July 4, 1847, they were overtaken by a detachment of thirteen men from the Battalion, who were in pursuit of men who had stolen horses from their camps some seven days' travel eastward. These men had been with the several invalided detachments from the Battalion—about 150 in all—that had wintered at Pueblo, in what is now the state of Colorado. They were incorporated into the pioneer company and came on with it to Salt Lake valley, and undoubtedly members of this group would be upon the ground that 23rd day of July, when ploughing was first attempted on the south fork of City Creek, on the present site of Great Salt Lake City.

The annals of that day say that the ground was so dry and hard that in the attempt to plow it several plows were broken. Whereupon, at someone's suggestion—who it was that made it the annals do not disclose, and it is not known—a company was set at work to put in a dam in the creek and flood the land in order to plow it. This was the beginning of Anglo-Saxon irrigation.

As already stated, who it was that made the fortunate suggestion that the water be turned out upon the land in order to make it possible to plow it, is not known, but we have seen that thirteen members of the Battalion were among the pioneers, and some of them had seen irrigation in operation among the Mexicans at Santa Fe and further south in the valley of the Rio Grande. What more likely than that some of those men who had seen irrigation in progress should suggest the flooding of the land to prepare it for plowing, as they had seen it conducted over the land to convey moisture to the growing vegetation? The probability of it has moral certainty.

FOOTNOTES:

X.

THE SUBSEQUENT DISTINCTION ACHIEVED BY THE BATTALION'S COMMANDING OFFICERS.

During the Civil War Col. Cooke though a Virginian served on the side of the Union army, and rose through the grade of brigadier general (1861), to the rank of brevet Major General (1865).

Lieut. A. J. Smith.—Lieutenant A. J. Smith in the same war rose from the grade of commander of California volunteers to that of brigadier general of volunteers (1862); and to major general of volunteers (1864). In the battle of Nashville he commanded the sixteenth corps of General Thomas' right, and received the brevet of major general in the regular army for his services in that battle.

Lieut. George Stoneman.—Lieutenant George Stoneman in 1861 was in command at Fort Brown, Texas, with the rank of captain. Later he was in command of the Union cavalry in the Peninsula campaign. After the death of General Philip Kearny, at Chantilly, Stoneman took the command of the fallen general's division, and commanded the Third Corps at Fredericksburg. At Chancellorsville he commanded the federal cavalry. In a raid upon Andersonville, the object of which was to liberate the federal soldiers imprisoned there, he was captured by the confederates. After the war he was in command of one of the many military departments created by the government; and from 1883 to 1887 was governor of California.

XI.

ANECDOTES.

Col. Cooke and Christopher Layton.—"On one occasion, while the Battalion was crossing a river with a ferry-boat, Col. Cooke was sitting on his mule on the bank looking at them. The boat went down into such deep water that the setting poles did not touch bottom. 'Try the upper side,' said he. They did so, but could not touch bottom. The colonel then took off his hat and said: 'Good bye, gentlemen. When you get down to the Gulf of California, give my respects to the folks.' He then rode off and left them, not waiting to see whether they would reach shore or go down the river. He soon returned and found that they had got ashore. While sitting there, Christopher Layton rode up to the river on a mule to let it drink. Col. Cooke said to him, 'Young man, I want you to ride across the river and carry a message for me to Capt. Hunt.' It being natural for the men to obey the Colonel's order, he [Layton] tried to ride into the river, but he had gone but a few steps before his mule was going in all over. So Brother Layton stopped. The colonel halloed out, 'Go on, young man; go on, young man.' But Brother Layton, on a moment's reflection, was satisfied that if he attempted it both he and his mule would stand a good chance to be drowned. The colonel himself was satisfied of the same. So Brother Layton turned his mule and rode off, saying, as he came out, 'Colonel, I'll see you in hell before I will drown myself and mule in that river.' The colonel looked at him a moment, and said to the by-standers, 'What is that man's name?' 'Christopher Layton, sir.' 'Well, he is a saucy fellow.'"

Col. Cooke and Lot Smith.—On another occasion, (while the Battalion was at Santa Fe) Col. Cooke ordered Lot Smith to guard a Mexican corral, and having a company of United States cavalry camped by, he told Lot if the men came to steal the poles to bayonet them. The men came and surrounded the corral, and while Lot was guarding one side, they would hitch to a pole on the other, and ride off with it. When the Colonel saw the poles were gone, he asked Lot why he did not obey orders and bayonet the thieves? Lot replied, "If you expect me to bayonet United States troops for taking a pole on the enemy's ground to make a fire of, you mistake your man." Lot expected to be punished, and he was placed under guard, but nothing further was done about it.

The Colonel, the Mule and Bigler.—"Col. Cooke called upon W. H. Bigler as a provost guard one day to guard his tent. The colonel had a favorite mule, which was fed some grain on a blanket. One of the freight mules came up and helped to eat the grain. The Colonel drove him off several times, but he would follow him again, until the colonel got vexed, and said to Bigler, 'Is your musket loaded?' 'No sir.' 'Then load it and give it to me.' Brother Bigler is the last man on earth that any one acquainted with him would have supposed would have played any tricks on the colonel. But he took out a cartridge and bit off the ball end, which he dropped on the ground. He then rammed the powder and paper down the gun, capped it and handed it to the colonel. Several of the officers of the Battalion stood looking on. As the mule came back to get the grain and had arrived within a rod of him, the colonel fired the charge into its face; but the only effect that it had upon the mule was to cause it to give a snort, wheel around and kick at him, and then run off a few rods, after which it turned to come back again. This created a good deal of amusement with the lookers on. The only remark the colonel made, as he handed back the musket to Brother Bigler, was, 'Young man, that gun was not properly loaded.'"

Wire, Wire, Damn You Sir.—"Col. Cooke had rather more sternness than familiarity in him. When he gave an order, if he was not fully understood by the soldiers, they did not like to question him. On one occasion he wanted some wire to fix up his tent. He ordered one of the soldiers to go to a certain man and get some wire, but he did not speak plainly and the soldier did not understand what he said. Nevertheless the soldier started to go on the errand, but began to think that he could not tell what to ask for. So he went back to the colonel and asked him what he had told him to get. The colonel said, 'Wire, wire, wire, damn you sir.' The soldier went to the man and asked for some wire for Col. Cooke. But the man had not got any wire. 'What did you ask for?' inquired the colonel, when the man returned. 'I asked for wire, wire, wire, damn you sir.' 'That will do, that will do, young man. You may go to your tent.'"

Col. Cooke's Respect for the Battalion.—"These instances show a little of the kind of temperament Col. Cooke possessed, but he had a good, generous heart. He entertained great respect for the Mormon Battalion and he always spoke kindly of them before the government and all men. When he went through Salt Lake City with Col. A. S. Johnston, in 1858, he uncovered his head in honor of the Mormon Battalion, that five hundred brave men that he had led two thousand miles over sandy deserts and through rocky canyons, in the midst of thirst, hunger, and fatigue, in the service of their country. May God bless Col. Cooke; and may he bless the Battalion and their posterity after them."[88:a]

FOOTNOTES:

ADDENDA.

THE BATTALION'S MONUMENT.

The appointment of this commission and the mandate given to it were the sequence of an act of the previous legislature (the eleventh), which had appointed a former commission of seven citizens to investigate the subject of such a monument, choose a site for it upon the capitol grounds, select a design and report to the legislature next succeeding. Accordingly a site was selected, a competition held in which the architects and the sculptors of Utah and also of the United States were invited to participate, and in which prominent sculptors and architects from the whole country did participate, submitting plans and models of their designs, from which a committee composed of Utah's prominent artists and architects selected three as winning first, second and third places, respectively, and to which were awarded cash prizes as per terms of the competition. Acting upon the judgment of this committee the design accorded first place was recommended by the Monument Committee to the twelfth legislature and an appropriation of one hundred thousand dollars asked for, not to be available, however, before 1920, and only when a like amount of money should be raised from other sources.

The report of the first committee resulted, as before stated, in the appointment of the present Commission, the making of the aforesaid appropriation of two thousand dollars additional for contingent expenses, and authorizing procedure with the work.

Mr. G. P. Riswold, the successful sculptor in the competition, associated with Messrs. James R. M. Morrison and Mr. Walker, architects, Chicago, Illinois, were notified of the action of the legislature. The following spring Mr. Morrison of the firm of the sculptor and associated architects, being in Salt Lake City, and meeting with some members of the Commission volunteered the making of a larger model of the design submitted by Mr. Riswold. This model has been inspected by a special committee appointed by the Utah State Commission and finally adopted by the full Commission as the accepted design and model of the monument to be erected on the Capitol grounds.

Description of the Monument.—The written report of Mr. Samuel C. Park, formerly mayor of Salt Lake City, made on behalf of the committee that went to Chicago to inspect the model, to the Utah State Mormon Battalion Commission—may well be taken for a description of the Mormon Battalion Monument that it is proposed to erect on the capitol grounds:

"To the Chairman of Members of the Mormon Battalion Monument Commission:

"As a member of your subcommittee delegated to go to Chicago to inspect the model of the proposed Mormon Battalion Monument, I have the honor to report:

"* * * The base is in triangular form with concave sides and rounded corners.

"A bronze figure of a Battalion man is mounted upon the front corner. Flanking him on two sides of the triangle are cut in high relief, on the left, the scene of the enlistment of the Battalion under the flag of the United States of America; on the right a scene of the march where the men are assisting in pulling the wagons of their train up and over a precipitous ascent while still others are ahead widening a cut to permit the passage of the wagons between the out-jutting rocks.

"The background is a representation of mountains of the character through which the Battalion and its train passed on the journey to the Pacific.

"Just below the peak in the center and in front of it is chiseled a beautiful head and upper part of a woman, symbolizing the 'Spirit of the West.' She personifies the impulsive power and motive force that sustained these Battalion men and led them, as a vanguard of civilization, across the trackless plains and through the difficult defiles and passes of the mountains.

"The idea of the sculptor in the 'Spirit of the West' is a magnificent conception and should dominate the whole monument.

"The bronze figure of the battalion man is dignified, strong and reverential. He excellently typifies that band of pioneer soldiers which broke away through the rugged mountains and over trackless wastes.

"Hovering over and above him the beautiful female figure, with an air of solicitous care, guards him in his reverie. Her face stands out in full relief: the hair and diaphanous drapery waft back mingling with the clouds while the figure fades into dim outline in the massive peaks and mountains, seeming to pervade the air and the soil with her very soul.

"'The Spirit of the West' is but one of the many attributes of Deity symbolizing that Infinite Love and care which the Deity has for all his children and it represents the hope, courage, and determination which moved and impelled the Battalion Man, his comrades and all the others who have followed in their footsteps in the settlement and development of the great west.

"It is the Spirit back of the breaking of the soil by the farmer, back of the institution of our schools, back of our mines, back of our government and of our very hearthsides. It permeates the air, the soil and the hearts of men. It tempers the character of all who come within the influence of the boundless plains and majestic peaks. It has led men to make a garden of a desert and a treasure house of the mountain. It has justified and approved every sacrifice to make this part of the world a better place in which to live. It is constant, never ending—infinite.

"It is pleasant to contemplate these thoughts as expressed in the model, at this time when the world is all but overcome with the idea of individualism, and while new governments, shifting as the sands, conceived in greed, envy and malice daily are born, struggle and die.

"Our proposed monument represents and commemorates such ideal in co-operation, steadfastness and progress as should be a lesson and an inspiration to this and to succeeding generations.

"The back of the monument has been most happily designed.

"It is the third side of the triangle and remains to be described.

"The central idea is the dimly suggested figure of an Indian woman, of the southwestern type, whose head shows in relief against the background peaks and whose body and outstretched arms draped in the customary blanket are faintly suggested in the crags and rocks. In fact the head is the only part of the figure that is chiseled clear in outline, the balance of the figure being only dimly suggested."

Evanishment of Race.—"Just as the 'Spirit of the West' in the front dominates and pervades so this figure has the air of receding and disappearance. The evanishment of a former race. The figure is heroic in size and beautifully conceived. On either side, really on the lower folds of the blanket or on the rocks whereon the blanket is suggested, are two more scenes incidental to the journey and labors of the battalion. On the right half is a scene at Sutter's mill where some of the battalion members in digging the tailrace for the mill turned up the first gold bearing gravel that led to the great gold rush to California in ''49,' and contributed so many millions to the wealth of the country.

"On the left half is shown a battalion man digging a ditch and leading the water from a creek to overflow the land so that the pioneers could break the ground that had shattered their plow points and broken their plows.

"This was the introduction of irrigation into Utah.

"The back of the monument in its conception and treatment, by its stateliness and suggested grandeur and what the artists call 'atmosphere' made a distinct impression upon the committee and no changes or modifications were thought of nor suggested. It seemed a very happy solution of a difficult problem.

"From the irrigating stream and the tail-race of the mill it is designed to have small streams of flowing water forming a pool in the shape of a half moon at the rear and so arranged as to pass this water through to the other side to form two pools or lagoons on the front side of the monument.

"Immediately surrounding the monument the architects have laid out a pavement in red brick tile with a border of an Indian design. This dark tile will save the glare and dazzling reflection of the bright sun of our clear atmosphere upon a white granite monument.

"There are also graceful and symmetrical walks, a granite coping and seats suitably located and arranged to give everyone ample opportunity for a casual or studied view of the monument and its parts.

"Beyond these walks and seats immediately around the monument, the pools, lagoon and walks are designed to join in and harmonize with the rest of the capitol grounds.

"Nothing like this monument has ever been designed or built before. It is original and unique. Few states can boast the achievements such as are commemorated in this design. More than 72 years have elapsed since the battalion made its memorable march, and the most of its members have passed to the great beyond. So this monument should be built at once if we are to proceed according to first hand evidence and information and not according to more or less fanciful and legendary tales concerning them and their difficult journey.

"It is sufficiently creditable and glorifying to tell their history as it was and without adornment. The most important events are to be shown in bronze and stone upon this monument.

"Its execution will certainly tax the sculptor to his utmost, but I believe it is in thoroughly capable hands and when built will be one of the really great monuments of the United States. * * *

"Therefore, let us adhere to the proposed model with steadfast purpose to build it not only as an added attraction to the many we have for the tourist and visitor, but more especially as an object of great interest for study and inspiration for our children and our children's children."

The Duty of the People of Utah.—Such is the Monument to be erected in commemoration of this great march of infantry whose achievements are so closely and inseparably connected with winning for the United States her present inheritance in the intermountain west and on the shores of the Pacific. Also whose achievements and glory are so inseparably connected with the founding of the State of Utah, as the work of part of her pioneer-state builders. It is the duty of the people of Utah, to whom appeal is now made, to raise the $100,000 necessary to make the State's appropriation of a like amount available to build the monument. To fail in such a duty would be to disgrace the State. No other State in the Union has such a unique incident to celebrate as this Battalion incident in our Utah Pioneer history. It is both heroic and dramatic; and in the results achieved is one of the largest events contributed by any state to the history of our country. Utah owes it to the state and to the nation to build this monument, that memory of this greatest march of infantry in the world, and the heroism of those who made it, shall not perish from among men.

It is the purpose of the Utah State Mormon Battalion Monument Commission to raise this fund by the 30th day of January, 1920,—Battalion Day—being the seventy-third anniversary of the official ending of their march, and arrival upon the shores of the Pacific. The respective counties have been organized for the campaign for the funds, subscription lists have been opened. It is proposed to conduct a campaign of public meetings in the interest of the Monument throughout Utah and the surrounding states, and give the people of the inter-mountain west every opportunity to honor themselves and their posterity and their state by fittingly memorializing the March and Achievements of the Mormon Battalion.