introduce a bill authorizing the Territories to elect their own Governors,
Judges &c.12 I will merely observe, that if such a law should pass it would
be very likely to obviate any necessity for a “Rebellion” in the Territories,
and the attendant necessary expense of sending formidable and terrible
armies to crush it out.
I hope that Mr. Secy. Floyd will accept our submission “in whispers of
terror” in advance.13 This motion of Mr. Morris is a move in the right direc-
tion, and will, I trust, prevail.
2–3; Y
oung to George Q. Cannon, December 24, 1858, BYOF; Deseret News, December 1, 1858, 2; Young to Charles Sinclair, November 30, 1858, BYOF; Historian’s Office Journal, December 1 and 3, 1859 “Verdict: Not Guilty,” Deseret News, January 12, 1859, 4; Alexander,
“Carpetbaggers, Reprobates, and Liars,” 226–228.
11. Young’s statement about the burning of the records referred to the burning of legal records in the custody of Thomas S. Williams and George Stiles. While as many as 800
volumes were destroyed in the privy fire, these appear to have been law books, not official court records. When Cumming and Kane examined the district court records, both men claimed to have found them to be complete. When seeking compensation from Congress, Stiles spoke only about the loss of his “private law library.” Kane, diary, April 15 [?] , 1858, 53; Brooks, On the Mormon Frontier, April 19, 1858, 2:657; George P. Stiles to Jeremiah S. Black, June 22, 1857, in United States Department of Justice, Files relating to Utah, 1855–1912, CHL.
12. On December 9, 1858, Illinois Congressman Isaac N. Morris indicated that he would introduce “A bill authorizing the people of the several organized Territories of the United States to provide, through their respective legislatures, the appointment or election of their governors, judges, and all other territorial officers.” Congressional Edition (Washington: James Steedman, 1858), 53.
13. In a recent report discussing the Mormons, Secretary of War John B. Floyd stated that
“when a sufficient power was put on foot to put success beyond all doubt, their bluster and bravado sunk into whispers of terror and submission.” George A. Smith dismissed Floyd’s remarks: “The report of Ex-Gov., Sec. of War, seems very bitter. Whether the number of relatives he has in the employment of Russell and Waddell at 1000 dollars per year, for services not actually worth 400 dollars, has any influence on the counsel of the wise minister, or not, the future must determine.” “Report of the Secretary of War,” December 6, 1858 in Message from the President of the Two Houses of Congress (Washington: James B. Steedman, 1858), 6; Smith to Kane, January 14, 1859.
320
the prophet and the reformer
Admission is most desirable; but if Congress cannot accede to us so
great a boon, let them at [p. 3] least extend an Enabling Act.14 I understand
from reports that Judge Eckels is in Washington. I think he will not have
much influence. Hurt and Craig are removed:15 those still are numbers of
the junto, to which I am sorry to add Mr. Sinclair, and I fear Cradlebaugh,16
have thought proper to attach themselves. Our imported Postmaster still
remains,17 and Peter Dotson is still Marshal of the Territory. The Army also
we are told by Mr. Secy. Floyd are necessary to be retained in Utah.18
What has become of the Report of the Commissioners? It has not
yet been received here.19 It was strongly urged by them while here that
the Army would be called elsewhere so soon as His Excellency the
President could remove them with safety to all political parties, being
already convinced there was no necessity for their prolonged retention
in this Territory, & in our settlements especially.
Those are all objects to be obtained and obstacles to be removed,
and our friends must excuse us for directing their attention thereto.
I am happy to learn,
recovered your health, and sincerely hope that you are quite yourself
again. We trust that you received your trunk and all your things safely
and unimpairedly from the hands of Mr. Horace S. Eldredge, by whom
they were sent.20
Mr. Wilson, so far as his course is an indication [p. 4] to his inten-
tion, will probably act in concert with Governor Cumming on all general
14.
In this context, an enabling act is legislation that recognizes a territory’s rights to petition for admission as a state. See Eric Biber, “The Price of Admission: Causes, Effects, and Patterns of Conditions Imposed on States Entering the Union,” The American Journal of Legal History, vol. 46, no. 2 (April 2004): 119–208.
15. Federal Indian agents Garland Hurt and Columbus L. Craig.
16. Federal judges Charles E. Sinclair and John Cradlebaugh.
17. Postmaster Hiram Morrell.
18. Floyd explained in his report: “These people . . . evince a spirit of insubordination and moody discontent. They keep up strictly their organization, which has for its object and end the complete exclusion of federal authority from all participation in the governmental affairs of the Territory . . . the necessity which called for the presence of troops in Utah will require a strong force still to be kept there.” See Message from the President, 7.
19. Floyd reported to Congress: “The reports from the commissioners sent to Utah for the purpose of ascertaining the exact condition of things are already in your hands, and are at once useful and interesting.” See Message from the President, 7.
20. George Q. Cannon, rather than Horace Eldredge, delivered the trunk to Kane. Cannon to Young, April 14, 1859, BYOF.
Young to Kane, January 14, 1859
321
questions;21 and the Governor still holds his independent course, which
gives his Administration power, and makes it effective in preserving
good order.
The Legislative Assembly is now in session, and acting quite harmo-
niously with Governor Cumming and the Secretary, Mr. Hartnett. A few
memorials will be adopted to the General Government, and forwarded
to our Delegate; but it is doubtful whether they arrive in time to be
presented before the adjournment.22
You, Colonel, are daily and hourly remembered by us all in our sup-
plications to the throne of power, and in the domestic circle. We shall ever
appreciate the good, the generous, the energetic and talented Little Col.
Excuse me Col., and do not feel that I am intruding, knowing your views
are so different from ours, as, I express not only my own, but the sentiments
of all around me—those and many, very many more than you associated
with while we were favored with your presence in this so far distant retreat.
So far distant why should we not expect to be left free from the interfer-
ence of our enemies, instead of being forever pursued, misrepresented and
traduced—but forgive me for recurring to this unpleasant subject.
We have had a favorable harvest. Many of our people have labored
for the Army. Trade with [p. 5] the merchants—mostly Gentiles, as
they call themselves—has been brisk, and high prices for their goods
maintained. A large quantity of cloth, homespun, has been manufac-
tured, and a degree of general prosperity attends every interest of the
Territory; and we trust that the strenuous efforts our enemies are now
making in certain quarters will not soon again be able to interrupt the
peace, quiet and general prosperity of our young and thriving Territory.
We have forwarded to Geo. Q. Cannon regular files of the “Desere
t
News” and “Valley Tan,” to which we expect you to have full access.
May the God of Abraham bless you Col., your dear Wife and chil-
dren; your Mother and all your reverend Father’s family; with all that
pertain to you and them; and may you rejoice continually in the prosper-
ity and success which shall attend all your efforts, and the Holy One of
Israel guard and protect you from every evil.
The health of myself, family and friends generally is good.
Sincerely and truly your friend
Brigham Young
21. On Alexander W
ilson, see Kane to Young, August 25, 1858.
22. For these memorials, see Young to Kane, November 22, 1858.
56
Young to Kane, May 3, 1859
from the beGInnInG of the Utah War, the Mormons—remembering their
experiences in Missouri and Illinois when the courts and militia were used
against them—feared that federal judges and the federal army might join
together to persecute them. The orders of General Winfield Scott, the army’s
commanding general, increased Mormon worries. Scott told the commander
of the Utah Expedition that U.S. troops might serve as a “posse comitatus”—
as a police force—if the public peace required it. “Should the governor, the
judges, or marshals of the Territory find it necessary directly to summon a part
of your troops to aid either in the performance of his (the governor’s) duties,
you will take care that the summons be promptly obeyed,” the orders said.
Scott probably intended that the territory’s new governor would be the only
official to call out troops. His orders were similar to those earlier issued in
Kansas Territory where the federally appointed governor was managing the
administration’s policy. Moreover, Scott ordered the soldiers in Utah to act in
a “zealous, harmonious, and thorough co-operation” with the governor. Still,
Scott’s orders were not entirely clear. They suggested that a federal judge or a
territorial marshal might order out the military.1
By May 1859, when Young wrote the following letter to Kane, the Latter-day
Saints believed that their worst fears were being realized. Two months ear-
lier, Judge John Cradlebaugh had established a court in Provo and called on
the military to help him. Cradlebaugh wanted to try those responsible for the
1. S
ee orders from Lieutenant Colonel George Lay, a member of General Winfield Scott’s staff at army headquarters, to General William Harney, June 29, 1857, in James Buchanan,
“Message from the President of the United States,” February 26, 1858, Ex. Doc. 71, in Executive Documents Printed by the Order of the House of Representatives during the First Session of the Thirty-Fifth Congress, 1857–’58, 14 vols. (Washington, D.C.: James B. Steedman, 1858), 10:1.
Young to Kane, May 3, 1859
323
killing of three men in Springville, Utah, two years earlier, as well as prosecute those responsible for the Mountain Meadows Massacre.
Young believed that the federal judges were targeting him. Judge Charles
Sinclair reportedly had said: “The Mormons were unwilling to admit that they
had been guilty of treason or any other crimes with which they have been
charged. But before he [Sinclair] was through with them he would show them
that they had done a great deal.” Young went into seclusion and ordered an
armed guard to protect him.2
Both Kane and Young at first may have believed reports from the southern
Utah settlers regarding the Mountain Meadows Massacre that shifted the blame
to local Indians. But by 1859 Young recognized the guilt of some Mormons
(though still not fully understanding the numbers involved) and offered fed-
eral judicial authorities assistance to bring them to trial “to be condemned or
acquitted as an impartial, unprejudiced judge and jury should decide.”3 When
the deeply suspicious Cradlebaugh rejected this offer, the Mormon believed
that the judge was signaling that he saw Young as complicit in the crime.
On March 8, Cradlebaugh charged the grand jury in Provo. He said that
“some person high in authority in the estimation of the people” had been
responsible for the massacre.4 In Young’s mind, Cradlebaugh’s words were
clearly aimed at him. In a private letter, the church leader called the grand
jury address “special pleading,” “pre-judgment,” and “venom without cause.”5
Young felt, however, that the situation would eventually resolve itself, “for a
charge of that description, delivered amid the surrounding of gleaming bayo-
nets . . . can but work its own defeat.”6 But publicly Young remained silent.
The Mormons complained about the behavior of the troops. Apostle George A. Smith,
who had been sent to Provo to observe events and send Young daily reports, said the soldiers were using “foul-mouth scurrility, ribaldry and profanity.”7 The soldiers were also reported to have upset several wagons and accosted citizens as they went about their business.8
2. H
istorian’s Office Journal, December 21, 1858, January 1, 1859, and March 5, 1859.
3.Thomas G. Alexander, Brigham Young, the Quorum of the Twelve, and the Latter-day Saint Investigation of the Mountain Meadows Massacre (Logan: Utah State University Press, 2007).
4.“Charge of John Cradlebaugh,” District Court, Provo City, March 8, 1859, BYOF.
5. Young to Asa Calkin, March 10, 1859, BYOF.
6. Young to Horace Eldredge, March 11, 1859, BYOF.
7. Historian’s Office Journal, March 1 and March 5, 1859, CHL, and George A. Smith to Young, March 15, 1859, BYOF.
8. Daniel H, Wells, “Items Submitted to Governor Cummings, March 25, 1859, Miscellaneous Correspondence During the Utah War,” draft copy on back of draft “Beating Against the Air,” CHL.
324
the prophet and the reformer
Cumming, who was in Provo during the third week of March, said
that “a great variety of events [had] occurred which have excited great
alarm in the minds of the people.” Cumming was especially upset that
Cradlebaugh, when failing to get the petit and grand juries to hand up
writs favorable to his campaign, assumed the office of a justice of the
peace. This move allowed him to summon and interrogate witnesses
on his own, some of whom were confined without the benefit of habeas
corpus in a tent at “Camp Ridgely”—the soldiers’ headquarters near the
court house. Among the prisoners was Provo’s mayor, who was held
overnight. During these tense days, some settlers fled into the moun-
tains, and Provo’s citizens sent a petition to Cradlebaugh accusing him
of intimidating the citizens.9 Provo leaders also increased the size of the
police force, which the soldiers saw as a provocation. Responding to a
request from the army officer who was in command in Provo, Johnston
dispatched an overwhelming force of eight companies of infantry, one
company of troopers, and still another company of artillery.10 Johnston
told these men not to interfere with “the rights of the citizens” and to act
only in self-defense.11
Church leaders in Salt Lake City feared that Johnston’s troops might march
on them or that Judge Sinclair might hold a military-supported court near
church headquarters.12 Men hastened to their arms, and 5,000 men signed
a petition asking Cumming to take charge of the situation. Daniel H. Wells
asked Cumming to disperse the “mob” at Provo and send the troops back into
their barracks.13
About all Cumming could do was write letters. He sent one to Johnston
and another to Secretary of State Lewis Cass, his superior in Washington.14
Cumming claimed that the recent moves of the military had been undertaken
with no good reason: “There has been no opposition nor any just reason to
9. Y
oung to George A. Smith, March 15, 1859, BYOF. For Cradlebaugh’s response to the
charge, see “United States District Count,” Deseret News, March 30, 1859, 1.
10. Alfred Cumming to Lewis Cass, March 25, 1859, draft copy on back of “Beating Against the Air,” CHL.
11. Fitz-John Porter to G. R. Paul, March 19, 1859, in Johnston, Life of Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, 224–225.
12. Young to George A. Smith, March 21, 1859, BYOF.
13.“Text of Grievance Given to Alfred Cumming,” March 22, 1858, in BYOF.
14. Johnston responded to Cumming’s letter by denying the governor’s right to challenge military orders. Johnston to Albert Cumming, [no date], cited in Johnston, Life of Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, 237.
Young to Kane, May 3, 1859
325
expect opposition on the part of the inhabitants, who, so far as my observa-
tion is concerned, have manifested no disposition to oppose the civil officers
in the discharge of their duties.” Cumming’s policy was largely supported by
the more moderate territorial officials, including Alexander Wilson and Jacob
Forney, who favored conciliation over confrontation and believed that only the
governor could call forth the army.15
Cumming wanted to clear up the question about who might order the
troops to serve as a posse. “I . . . respectfully request that the discrepancy
which exists between the instructions given to the civil & military departments in this territory, may be removed by some further action on the part of the
Government,” Cumming wrote Cass. He also requested that “all requisitions
for troops be made through or by the Governor of the Territory, in order to
The Prophet and the Reformer Page 47