The Civil War was felt in Utah
The sound of
cannons thundering across the green fields of Gettysburg never reached the Salt
Lake Valley. There were no shouts for secession. No blood was spilled in
battles pitting brother against brother. In 1861, Utah wasn’t a state when the civil
war engulfed the nation
Over the next
four years relations between church leader Brigham Young and President Lincoln
were extremely cordial.
1. Camp Floyd closes. The first shots of the Civil War fired
at Fort Sumter on April 12 1861 spell the demise of this federal garrison
southwest of Lehi. The Army outpost was closed so that soldiers stationed there
could return east to fight in the war. Camp Floyd opened in 1858 when 2,500
troops were sent to the territory to suppress a rumored rebellion of pioneer
settlers of The Mormon church against the United States government.
The rebellion
never occurred, but the soldiers remained guarding wagon train routs to
California and conducting surveys of the territory. The camp was adjacent to the
town of Fairfield which had 7,000 residents and was Utah’s third largest city.
As the Civil War broke out, all of the camps equipment was either taken away by
the army, sold off, or the remaining building and property destroyed. The Camp
Floyds soldiers went on to fight for both North and South.
Brigham
Young’s Nauvoo Legion protected the lines of communication, once the Civil War
started preserving telegraph lines and the Overland Trail stage coach, and mail
line in the West. This was a great
relief for President Lincoln because none of the western U.S. allowed slavery.
The Mormons made sure of that. In the spring of 1862 Lincoln wired Utah Leader
Brigham Young and asked for volunteer soldiers to protect these paths of
communication. As a result a volunteer unit of the Nauvoo Legion led by Lot
Smith a Farmington livestock owner was assigned to safeguard the trail and
telegraph lines for 90 days.
Utah did boast
a contingence of Civil War soldiers once the 3rd California Volunteer Infantry
arrived in Salt Lake City in 1862. Although some companies that belonged to this
Union regiment served in California, others were dispatched to Utah territory
to replaced Lot Smith’s unit and locate on the foothills overlooking the Salt
Lake Valley. Led by Colonel Patrick Connor, the army’s mission was to protect
mail and shipping routes during the war. Gold was being mined and shipped
out of California was important in helping to finance the Union cause. Also,
some Californians were sympathetic to the South so Lincoln viewed mail and
telegraphic of great consequence
“Rosie the
Riveter” of World War II can be likened to the” Mormon Sisters” of the Civil
War.
“Rosie” is a uniquely
American icon who came to represent women working in factories in the U.S.
during World War II. The women produced the munitions and war supplies that
helped keep the war effort running while the men were serving in the military.
Rosie climbed the charts of national popularity. She was even on the cover of
the Saturday Evening Post on Memorial? Day, May 29, 1943 making her a certified
symbol of the war effort.
The
term “Rosie the Riveter” was first coined in 1942 which would have made Rosie
age 71 in 2013. If she had filed for Social Security retirement benefits would
have substantial.
To be continued…
DR. KARL WALLACE
D.D.S.
To read more stories by Karl go to: www.karlwallaceblog.blogspot.com
