Part 1: History of Utah Territory from 1851-1869
In 1851, Utah Territory had been created, which was due to the petition by Utah settlers who settled in the valley of Great Salt Lake. They had originally proposed of a larger State of Deseret, which was later rejected by Congress. The territory had bordered Idaho and Oregon to the north and New Mexico Territory to the south. To the west was California and to the east was the Colorado River watershed.
In 1851, Utah Territory had been created, which was due to the petition by Utah settlers who settled in the valley of Great Salt Lake. They had originally proposed of a larger State of Deseret, which was later rejected by Congress. The territory had bordered Idaho and Oregon to the north and New Mexico Territory to the south. To the west was California and to the east was the Colorado River watershed.
The new territory would have the capital of Salt Lake and Brigham Young was installed as the governor of Utah Territory. The people in Utah wanted an autonomous government governed by church authorities but the territorial legislature created by the U.S. government provides say that it must have a territorial governor, secretary of the territory, U.S. attorney, chief justice, and bureau of Indian affairs.
Brigham Young also created provisions to have its own territorial army, which would be heavily recruited and would later be one of the most advanced military system and the most powerful. It would be quite organized and would have been similar to he barbarian armies that destroyed Rome and the Golden Horde. It was a tough army and was very popular to join among Mormon men after their LDS mission, though joining the army wasn't compulsory. It was something highly encouraged by LDS families to join the army. The army was called "The Grand Army of the Deseret." It would be credited for expanding the Utah Territory into being much bigger.
The State of Utah would continue to establish itself and would be actively settling in places around the Wasatch Front. The people were very happy and content of their life in Utah. However, they did not like the interference of outside groups in their territory. They had favored subsistence agriculture and were very hard-working and independent truly. Due to the secularism of the government, the people of Utah were very obedient to church authorities but had resented the state government. However, it was the 1850's and people at that time were quite wary of outsiders and were very indifferent of them. There were skirmishes between the inhabitants and the Catholic community and the Grand Army and the police force were very instrumental at stopping these skirmishes. One of those notable skirmishes took place during October 18, 1853, were 500 people died in one night. Since then, relationships between Mormons and outsiders lessened hostility, similar to the blacks and whites in the South, but tensions were quite significant but lessened.
In 1857-1858, President James Buchanan sent U.S. troops to Utah which was know as the Utah expedition. This was due to the U.S. government's resentment towards the Utahns. The news was heard all over Utah and preparations for the war were happening full speed ahead. France also volunteered to help the Utah army and were willing to share Napoleonic tactics as well, and were also begin to bring in resources as well. The Utah Army had recruited 20,000 strong, well trained soldiers and 10,000 soldiers were recruited from France to help aide in the war.
In March of 1857, the U.S. Army began to march towards Mt. Nebo led by General Johnston near present-day Payson, UT. This was called the battle of Mount Nebo. When the two sides met, it was a very close battle. About 1,000 of the infantry were lost on the Utah side and 1,000 were lost in the American side. General Johnston retreated from Mt. Nebo to advance towards present-day Benjamin, UT and surprised the American Army. The battle was well-planned which was different from the previous battle which combined guerrilla tactics and quick horsemanship. They subjugation of the opposing side was quite quick but the battle was close too as well. About 2,000 soldiers lost from the Utah side and 2,500 soldiers have been lost in the American side.
Fighting continued over many months of the war, with resources from the American side depleting. This was due to the inability for the American people to finance and support the war, as they were apathetic about it. The Grand Army of the Deseret discovered how to steal resources from the American army. When the Utah army had discovered a massacre in Lehi, UT involving 100 people, they were quick to advance. The Utah army was strong and were able to subjugate the weakening American army. This halted the advance of the Americans to Salt Lake Valley. The American army lost about 1,000 soldiers during that battle and the Utah army lost about 700 soldiers. This was called the Thanksgiving Massacre and War which is why the Thanksgiving Point area was named after. The battle took place there basically. Celebrations of victory were at fervor in Utah. There was a great parade in State Street in which everyone celebrated and welcomed the soldiers with a big fireworks show in the end. The Thanksgiving Point War Memorial was erected and celebrated all the wars that happened. It listed the names of who was in the battles and the ones that died.
In 1858, silver was discovered in Nevada at the Comstock Lode. It had began to attract a significant amount of non-Mormons which made the Mormons feel threatened and the Utah government as well. The inhabitants seeked to avoid Mormon domination as well. Rumors had persisted that they would break away from the State of Utah. Knowing this, about 100 soldiers went into the Comstock Lode and shot about 20 miners. This was known as the Comstock Lode Massacre which left 50 people dead and 120 injured total. This angered people who lived in the western reaches of Utah Territory and they had protested for status of becoming a territory. The Nevada Territory was created which was recognized by only Colorado
and Nebraska, leaving it virtually unrecognized by the rest of the United States. The Utah government realized that they can get back at them soon. A similar struggle had also happened during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush, which also resulted in fighting but they were able to subjugate them. Heavy troops patrolled the area all around the Pikes Peak Gold Rush and had occupied them, thus leading to territory movements not following through. Later, private companies from Utah decided to take over mining operations. Utah received 3/4 of the assets and the United States received 1/4 of the assets as well. The State of Utah got rich off the mining industry definitely.
In 1861, news have been released that the Civil War was going on. This pushed the Utah army into getting involved in the war. Since Utah was allied to the North during the war, they felt like its their place to be in the war. They came into the battles and they just like destroyed everything in their path. Many generals in the Confederate army were slaughtered, mostly from the Utah army. Their firepower was very high despite having to go a fair amount of resources. One of their greatest contributions in the war was the Siege of Richmond in 1862, in which 75% of the city was burned. It was a carefully thought-out plan. They had built tunnels towards the center of the city and also the capital building which took about six months to formulate. They would also try to run back from those tunnels quickly. There also were ships on the riverside outside the city that would use cannons to bombard the city. The incident was really quiet and no one from the city ever woke. There were only 9,529 survivors during that attack. With all the resources and generals that were taken away from that war, the Civil War left everyone in the south economically damaged with the economy not recovering until 1900. Many cities were destroyed and only a mere quarter of the were rebuilt before the 1900's. With the North and the State of Utah being victorious, the south endured widespread poverty and disease which lasted until the 1900's.
After the Civil War, in 1865, fervor was growing for statehood in Utah. Orson Scott Hyde, a notable prophet, had felt the need for Utah to become a state. He once had a vision of God who called him to abolish polygamy and make Utah become a state. His revelations were very controversial as many felt that they would lose their wives. But all in all, most of the LDS apostles and leaders believed his revelations to be true. Brigham Young once had the same vision as well and Only half the general public believed in his revelations and most were adamant on giving up their wives since they wanted to be obedient to the doctrine. So President Brigham Young issued the 1866 Manifesto which banned all further polygamous marriages in the Church. Most of the people had agreed and kept only one wife. Many of the people that decided not to follow the manifesto were excommunicated and arrested as Utah jails have been filled out with prisoners.
Local politicians and church apostles actively campaigned for statehood and many people decided to jump into the movement. It was a popular movement that gained a lot of support. Utah lawmakers tried to change the laws and adjust the government in order to get accepted for statehood. The people were willing to give up other things to contribute to the growing movement, such as their pro-LDS government that they have. It basically made the state more secular in many ways. They petitioned Congress for statehood which they done finally. There were 95% of the people voted for statehood and 77% on the House and Senate respectively. Statehood had passed on January 4, 1869 and the people had celebrated on the streets with a ton of festivities and a large American flag was erected on the unfinished Salt Lake Temple.
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