Trek Re-enactment Completed!

Transcription

1 Mormon Battalion THE VALIANT LTC Max W. Jamison, Publications Officer SPRING 2009 ISSUE Volume 14, No. 1 Trek Re-enactment Completed! The Final Third 1November January 2009 by KEVIN HENSON, Trek Coordinator, 2008 Battalion Trek, aka 2SGT EBENEZER BROWN OF COMPANY A FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO FOLLOWED ALONG and sent encouragement or prayers out in our behalf, our thanks. We also appreciate the support provided by the Mormon Battalion Association and individuals who proved to be key to our effort to conduct research on the original route. The final three months of our Trek hiking are briefly reported on in this installment. For more day-by-day detail, please go to our website blog at The blog link is in the right hand side of the red navigation bar at top of the home page. Left: Downhill Battalion/Butterfield Stage wagon wheel ruts in Cooke s Pass. Right: DENNY HENSON in modern ATV roadway Mormon Battalion Heritage Day Date and Time: 10:00 a.m. Saturday, 13 June Place: Tabernacle on Temple Square, Salt Lake City, UT. Master of Ceremonies: DENNIS NORDFELT, CES. Battalion Trek Report: KEVIN HENSON. Keynote Speaker: ELDER DOUGLAS L. CALLISTER of the Second Quorum of the Seventy. Music: Inaugural performance of our own Mormon Battalion Choir, with postlude by Trace Skeen s cast from Battalion - The Musical. The annual Mormon Battalion Business Meeting th will follow at 2:00 p.m. in the Historic 10 Ward Meeting House, 420 S. 800 East, Salt Lake City, UT. November 2008 Río Grande del Norte to Guadalupe Canyon, New Mexico You are probably aware that the Lost Well, which the Battalion called Foster s Hole, was re-discovered back in the 1980s. KARL WOOD of Las Cruces has taken Scout groups out to the water hole for years. It s pretty rugged and happily, is on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, so you can go if you re up to the mile hike after a bumpy ride across the hillsides. Still, more rugged areas were ahead of us as we went offroad for many days. White Ox camp is in Macho Creek canyon. Cooke s Peak still perches over the area and the ruts created by wagon wheels sliding downslope in Cooke s Pass are truly impressive. It s steep and in the two mile stretch under Massacre Peak, local historians tell us there are 139 known graves associated with those who later followed the Battalion route. COL NORMAN AND PRES ANNE EREKSON came to visit us at Cow Springs (Ocho de Vaca), where we were treated very kindly by property owner, GERRY BILLINGS. He and JERRY

2 Page 2 W A T T S (DENNY S dad) hit it off and the two men had a great time together. The trail t h r o u gh t h e Coyote Hills leads to the Playa Lake bed. JERRY WATTS (left) and GERRY BILLINGS Following the (right) at Cow Springs, New Mexico property owner s suggestion, we examined the area of Livingston Spring. Our impression is that it lies astride the Battalion s likely trail and could be the spring where the Army leaders watered their mules at the expense of the men. This is a new location interpretation as others generally place the route further east, closer to Black Mountain. Though by agreement we can t say much about it, we did hike portions of an unnamed ranch in southeast New Mexico where the Battalion had their most challenging section of trail. The property owners are very private and do not wish to be identified nor bothered in the future, so it was a marvelous opportunity to have permission to hike the area. I m not confident we had the correct side canyons going downslope, but with only one day to hike what the Battalion did in four days and without being sure of their original route, we may have missed the exact route. Still, the area is impressive and one wonders that the men agreed to continue onward. December 2008 Sonora, Mexico to Dateland, Arizona We hired a local tour operator to drive me through the Sonora, Mexico section rather than hike it. Mexican Highway 2 approximates the original trail. We documented what we could, made some local contacts and left before dark. More work will be done on this section in the future when things settle down. Crossing back into the United States, we proceeded up the San Pedro River. Thanks to HERB HANCOCK S excellent book, The Saving Sacrifice, detailing his ancestor LEVI HANCOCK S journals, we were able to identify an old wagon road. It seems to correlate with LEVI S description of where they were just before the Battle of the Bulls took place. In other words, we hope to have shed some additional light on the North vs. South controversy on where the Battle took place along the San Pedro River. The ruins of Presidio Terrenate can be reached fairly easily and have a great story to tell. The interpretive panels at the site helped us understand better how difficult life was on the Spanish Colonial frontier. No wonder there were so many wild cattle in the area. The folks in Saint David surely did treat us well and our presentation to the local historical society was well received. As we passed through the Tucson area, the Christmas holidays were in full swing. People were busy, but even with all that, the LDS stakes put on a fireside. The downtown statue s story was told by those who were responsible for it, emphasizing the historic connections between the Hispanic and Anglo communities that started with the Battalion s passage through in Without the kindness of the inhabitants, the Battalion would have been in deep trouble. JERRY went home to spend the holidays with the rest of his family. Right after Tucson, PETER GUILBERT rejoined us to hike all the way into San Diego. PETER has become a dear friend. We appreciate that VIRGINIA, his wife, would let PETER have that much time to hike with us. PETER S contributions haven t been visible to others, but for DENNY and I, PETER was an answer to prayers. Thanks, buddy. DOW WILSON Family reporting for Trek at Christmas Camp, 25 December 2008

3 Surprisingly at least to me our largest group of hikers traveled with us over the Christmas weekend. The ten member DOW WILSON extended family from Northern California joined us for four days and we enjoyed having them around. All told, we had 26 people hiking down the Gila River bottoms on Saturday, 27 December. It was interesting to watch young adults interact with each other, and gave me some important insights into how the original Battalion members behaved as they hiked along. Page 3 Company, aka The Army of the West, have commemorated the Battalion through their statue and events. The Boy Scout Imperial Council conducts an overnight Battalion Trail hike an annual event for the past three decades. We enjoyed the experience hiking in the dark across the trackless desert surrounded by groups of young men striving for a goal. I have more insights into the minds and hearts of our young people, past and present. JERRY rejoined us after his family Christmas holiday. MAJ TERRY WIRTH hiked with us for a week, sharing his experience in Battalion Trail research as we hiked the Colorado Desert from Plaster City to Vallecito Springs a dangerous section which proved to be the most imposing we encountered. Scouts again joined along to Palm Spring. Our son, JON HENSON, Mason Valley property owners DUANE and DEBBIE JENSON, and CRAIG SM EDLEY joined us in crossing Campbell s Grade to Hikers at Oatman Mesa trail cutdown, 27 December 2008 PETER GUILBERT on original Battalion Trail Down the Gila River section, long trail portions are hikable across federal and/or state lands. At many locations, original hand cleared trail is clearly visible even to the uninitiated in trail research methods. We finished 2008 camped at Dateland, Arizona, just a few miles from the Gila River over two thousand miles from home and feeling nearly that far away in time. It was a somber end to the year much like that experienced by the original Battalion. January 2009 Yuma, Arizona to San Diego, California As the New Year began, our pace quickened at Yuma. As we encountered larger population centers, more events were held more frequently. This impaired my opportunities to post to the blog, so I hope folks can forgive me. A former missionary companion, MARK WOODBURY, came to the Yuma event. Our friends in the Mormon Battalion Yuma Box Canyon Trails: MAJ TERRY WIRTH (bottom) on early auto road, JON HENSON (middle) on Butterfield Stage Road, and PETER GUILBERT (top) on Cooke s Wagon Road (Mormon Battalion Trail)

4 Page 4 miles into San Diego. Choosing to follow the approximate route of el Camino Real, we arrived at Old Town San Diego at 4:00 in the afternoon. Accompanying us were some of the Sierra-Nevada Mormon Pioneer group the reenacting group to which PETER and VIRGINIA belong. On Friday afternoon, 30 January 2009, we held another entrance enactment for a press interview. That evening, the California Pioneer Heritage Foundation hosted a seminar at the LDS San Diego Stake Center, where we met with about 80 folks to discuss the Trek and other Battalion related activities. We presented photos and our Google Earth route, discussing some of the most important findings along our path. I must apologize to the group, as I took more time than allotted. Saturday, 31 January 2009, was the San Diego Combined LDS Stakes Mormon Battalion Heritage Day at Old Town State Park. This was the sixth annual event and according to MAJ TERRY WIRTH, PETER GUILBERT, CRAIG SMEDLEY, KEVIN HENSON, DENNY HENSON, DUANE JENSON, and JON HENSON (left to right) at Campbell s Grade, Mason Valley, California Box Canyon, where we think we finally understand Cooke s journal and their route. While camping at Warner s Rancho, I cooked dinner over a cow pie fire. I d wanted to do it ever since Kansas but just hadn t taken the time. Here at Warner s, it was the last chance and they actually work very well. At Temecula, our friends at Vail Ranch Restoration Association hosted a couple of community events. Over 450 persons attended and we gained some more important information about the trail. Sadly, this proved to be the last of our wilderness hiking as we plunged back into civilization. On Thursday, 29 January 2009, we started our last twelve Battalion Re-enactors at the San Diego Courthouse Replica on 30 January 2009 Reenactors at San Diego Combined LDS Stakes Mormon Battalion Heritage Day on 31 January 2009 coordinators RICHARD and EVA PETERSON, thousands attended. Each of the 14 participating stakes conducts a separate event, game, or teaches an aspect of Battalion history. We appreciated the chance to attend and participate with this important educational event. It was a highlight for us and brought a sense of near completion to the hike. Personal Notes It was at the Old Town event that I parted company with my beloved beard which I d grown (literally) to love during the past seven months. My wife had her husband back finally. The following Monday, our daughter in Utah spiked a high blood pressure level prompting us to send JERRY and DENNY to Salt Lake City to help out if the final stages of the pregnancy got dicey. Happily, everything turned out just fine and we have a beautiful granddaughter, MADYSON. Without a support team, I decided to postpone my San

5 Page 5 Diego to Los Angeles hike until another time. In preparation for that, MAJ TERRY WIRTH and I conducted a little research at the San Diego County Historical Society map collection. While there, we bumped into and met in person CHRIS WRAY who had contributed important information about historic Imperial County water holes. With that, our Trek passes into its own minor place in history certainly not to exceed the original Battalion s march, for that stands as something unlikely ever to be surpassed but to help put perspective to it. In meeting that goal, I think we ve done some helpful work. We are grateful for the opportunity to have done it. Trek Completion Report by KEVIN HENSON, Trek Coordinator, 2008 Battalion Trek But it is very vain to attempt to describe it all to excite sympathetic appreciation; it is the mere chance of a wanderer's lifetime to witness such a spectacle, with all its attendant and weird surroundings. LTC PHILIP ST. GEORGE COOKE, The Conquest of New Mexico and California. I cannot think of a better quote to describe the past eight months as DENNY and I hiked the Battalion s route from Iowa to California. You really had to be there to fully appreciate it. Background and Preliminary Results On 29 January 2009, the Battalion Trek completed the primary hiking phase of its project. We are happy to report that the majority of our major goals were achieved at levels acceptable to us. We are quite satisfied with the amount of confirmatory, revised and new information gained. We are deeply appreciative of the many local groups and individuals who willingly shared their history with us, set us on the right path and provided support in many varied ways. Some have misunderstood our trail research attempt. Some have thought it to be an effort to do for the Battalion Trail what the 1997 LDS Wagon Train to Salt Lake City did for the Mormon Pioneer Trail. We did not expect to attract thousands of hikers. The distances, terrain, and time of year did not lend themselves to large crowds of people. But, as many people did express an interest in hiking some part of the trail as we passed their area, we thought it appropriate to make that opportunity available. Our only regret is that more did not come along. A particular goal was to open communication with the non- LDS history community, gain their trust, cooperation and ascertain their interest in future cooperative efforts joining their local history to the passage of the Battalion. In this we were not disappointed. There is much interest in Battalion history and we have a great opportunity to work with historians at a professional level. We must rise to this challenge. The following synopsis lists our Primary Goals and some major results stemming from our experiences: A. Rehike Original Route as Closely as Possible 1. Between 5 July 2008 and 31 January 2009, DENNY and KEVIN HENSON walked from Mt. Pisgah, Iowa to San Diego, California following the 1846 main route. 2. Trail lineation was researched utilizing prior studies, recent research and field work in cooperation with local researchers/ historians/property owners. 3. Significant portions of original trail still exist. B. Document the Trail 1. A Google Earth file indicating a more exact Battalion route and location of significant events is being created. 2. Over 17,000 digital photographs were taken along the route and some low-resolution videography conducted. 3. Preparatory research and field work has yielded a significant amount of information to correlate with the journals. C. Experience a Degree of How Difficult the March was and Give Modern Perspectives to It 1. Maintained an online blog that provided frequent reports to the public. 2. DENNY HENSON kept a journal we hope will be expanded into a "woman s perspective" giving insights which were not recorded by the original women. 3. KEVIN HENSON will prepare a series of articles and a more extensive report. 4. Other participants will be invited to provide personal insights into their experiences. D. Draw Attention to the Battalion s Legacy using a "Living History" Reenactment 1. Conducted 40 cooperative seminars and presentations in league with local historical societies, museums, and churches along the route. 2. Over 600 people hiked the trail with us at some point. 3. Press releases and interviews were used to acquaint localities to their connection to the Battalion s passage. E. Help Support Battalion Trail Preservation Projects and Efforts to Honor the Men and Women of the Battalion 1. Cooperative educational events were a primary focus, capitalizing upon existing local events when possible. 2. Worked with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), other agencies, and local groups to identify significant trail locations. 3. Shared moral support with various Battalion groups along the route. F. Encourage Cooperation Among Groups Trying to Promote Preservation of Historic Trails 1. Participated in the San Diego "get-together" on 30 January Lent support to development of joint events and efforts to promote the trails. 3. Made presentations to the "Long Trails" group in Salt Lake City and others. Highlighted Findings In addition to our Primary Goals, we would like to note

6 Page 6 some specific findings which we feel will be of interest to Association members. The Peterson Mormon Battalion Trail Guide The vast majority of the seminal 1972 study is a correct interpretation of the Battalion s route. Combining the Trail Guide with more recent work, GIS/GPS techniques, journal reviews and our field work will allow some improvement upon their work. Our Google Earth Virtual Trail is being updated and should be available by early summer. Route to Fort Leavenworth The late historian STAN KIMBALL regarded this as the least studied of the Mormon migration routes. With mid-1800 s original survey notes and maps now in hand, we can identify some early wagon roads and locations on the east side of the Missouri River. Jamestown Missouri An early survey map locates the longlost hamlet which journalist Steele says they passed through on 7/29/1846. Bosco Graves An early graveyard associated with the Pawnee Mission was removed to the Council Grove civic graveyard during the late 1800 s. We believe the BOSCO S may have been part of this re-interment. Wet/Dry Route Research assistance from the Santa Fe Trail Association indicates Big Coon Creek Crossing as the point where the Battalion turned back towards the Arkansas River. Autograph vs. Signature Rock, Oklahoma Most inscriptions on Autograph Rock on the Cimarron Cutoff were made after Journals indicate that the Battalion probably passed Signature Rock, 3 miles to the west. We believe we Sandstone inscriptions at Signature Rock, Oklahoma. located the etched name of LEWIS DENT ( ), civilian assistant to Army of the West Paymaster MAJ JEREMIAH HUDDLESTON CLOUD, JR. ( ) at Signature Rock. A second etched name may be that of his elder brother, JOHN CROMWELL DENT ( ), whom we know arrived in California by The close physical and temporal proximity of the two etched names at Signature Rock (both inscribed 12 inches apart before 1850) suggests that the brothers probably traveled together. This is new information supporting LTC MAX JAMISON S recent work on LEWIS DENT. Gallisteo River Research by DR. HAL JACKSON has identified an alternate section of el Camino Real de Terrenate which satisfies journal route requirements not met by previous proposals. This also implies the Battalion passed by Rancho de los Golondrinas southwest of Santa Fe and helps us understand some of Col Cooke s journal comments. Leaving the Río Grande With the rediscovery of Foster s Hole, the site where the Battalion left the Río Grande needed to be rethought. KARL WOOD of Las Cruces suggests Montoya Arroyo as a good candidate for a number of reasons. Further work is suggested to bolster this location. White Ox Camp Area Ruins found in Macho Creek Canyon confirm it as the Battalion camp of 12 Nov The wagon road between Macho and Cooke s Spring was identified. Livingston Spring This is the best candidate for the first water reached after leaving Soldier s Farewell. It is here the men criticized Army leaders for watering their mules before the men could drink. Whitmire Pass Based upon fieldwork and interviews with local historians, we propose this pass further north as the more likely route between Playas Lakebed and the Animas Valley. We could not find traces of early wagon road at the canyon just north of Rough Mountain. San Pedro River Field work in conjunction with BLM identified an early wagon road leading down into the river bottoms where we interpret the Battle of the Bulls to have begun. We will cite a number of reasons for this interpretation in a later report. Colorado Desert San Diegan CHRIS WRAY graciously shared his research between the Colorado Crossing and Warner s Ranch. In particular, his work on desert water sources in combination with Battalion journals and other 1800s journals has increased our comfort with the route being proposed. Myth Busters The Tucson garrison and residents evacuated the town for reasons other than those given by Battalion journalists. Perspective is important. ELISHA SMITH S grave probably isn t. The Box Canyon interpretative panel is probably wrong on which trace is the Battalion s trail. The Barge Flotilla experiment really wasn t such a bad idea. It worked for others and was just bad luck it didn t work for the Battalion. Other Stuff Along our nearly 2,300 mile route, we found many additional detail items and insights which we hope to relate either in the book or in our Virtual Trail. Limitations It was a hard year to raise money. Consequently, without volunteers and without funds needed to employ a couple of assistants, DENNY and I carried most of the day-to-day business burdens after hiking fifteen-plus miles. There was little extra

7 Page 7 time to conduct interviews, meet local historians, property owners and organize cooperative events. This limitation provides opportunities for follow-up work by us and others who are interested in Battalion history. Opportunities One of our future reports will detail items which warrant additional examination. A couple examples: We did not (as originally planned) hike the two Republic of Mexico trail sections. We drove adjacent to the presumed Sonora route and documented it photographically, but the Baja section remains to be visited. Safety should dictate when this will occur. Similarly, due to time constraints and lack of contacts in the communities, we did not engage with the pueblo and tribal history offices. This is a potentially fruitful area of study. It is our belief that long-term personal commitments to improve relations with the descendants of people the Battalion encountered are advised. There are many areas along the route where local historians are anxious to correlate their history with Battalion history. Doing so would add significantly to our understanding of the original trek. Acknowledgments While respecting the space limitation of this newsletter, we must express our profound gratitude to the following individuals and organizations in no particular order. Without their support and leadership, we could not have accomplished nearly as much as we did. At some future date we will recognize all those who helped us along the way. JERRY WATTS (DENNY S dad), PETER GUILBERT, the Trek s Board of Directors (GINGER HERZOG, PAUL PIERCE, PAUL SANDOR, PAUL LYMAN, LTC JEROME GOURLEY, and BOB TINGEY), the Mormon Battalion Association, RON KIRKPATRICK and family, LTC MAX JAMISON, STEVE ALLIE and the Fort Leavenworth Living History Association, LTC SHERMAN FLEEK, JAY TODD, DAN TALBOT, CHRIS WRAY, the Yuma Company, the Santa Fe Trail Association and its chapters, the Oregon California Trail Association, Rancho de los Golondrinas and staff, the Vail Ranch Restoration Society, the Sierra Nevada Mormon Pioneer Association, the various state and federal agencies with which we interacted, and all the numerous individuals who will be in the book. Parting Thought You will never make a journey of a thousand miles by fretting about how long it will take or how hard it will be. We make the journey by taking each day step by step, and then repeating it again and again until we reach our destination. Proverb adapted by JOSEPH B. WIRTHLIN, Press On. Memberships Received by ERMA BULLOCK, Vice President of Membership As part of our Finding 500" membership program, we have received the following new and renewal memberships since the last issue of The Valiant: LIFE MEMBERSHIPS GALE V. BULLOCK, Orem, UT CLAIRE RIGBY, Highland, UT CAPT FLOYD RIGBY, Highland, UT CRAIG TAFT, Sandy, UT DENZIL E. (JERRY) WATTS, JR., Murray, UT NEW ANNUAL MEMBERS CHARLES K. BIRD, ESCONDIDO, CA KEVIN JACKSON, Fredericksburg, VA KOLTER LAYTON, Beaver Dam, AZ WALTER VON KAMPEN, Harrisburg, PA RICHARD E. WESTWOOD, JR., Highland, UT BARBARA W. YANT, Hotchkiss, CO RENEWING ANNUAL MEMBERS MARY C. ALVEY, Las Vegas, NV JERRY L. ANDERSON, Sandy, UT EUGENE L. BOND, Orem, UT JOHN KENT BROOKSBY, Lakeside, AZ ROLLO H. BRUNSON, St. George, UT Paul R. Civitarese, Foxboro, MA MICHAEL G. COOPER, Stafford, VA NORMAN L. EATOUGH, Provo, UT ALLEN L ERMER, Roy, UT WILLIAM FARRIS, El Centro, CA JON E. FREELAND, Jefferson, FL CAROL JEAN GIBSON, Provo, UT BRUCE S. HUGHES, Cedar City, UT STEVEN A. HUNT, Santa Clara, UT CLIVE T. JACKSON, Salt Lake City, UT HAZEL JACKSON, St. George, UT JOY S. JONES, Washington, UT BLAINE NAY, Cedar City, UT CHARLES R. NELSON, Corvallis, OR ROBERT OLSON, Roy, UT JENNA VEE READ, San Diego, CA LEW ROBBINS, Salt Lake City, UT BETTY J. STONEMAN, Hot Springs, AR LTC FRANK SZELES, Bonita, CA BRIAN L. TAYLOR, Ogden, UT 84404

8 Page 8 Commander s Message "Hurrah and Hurrah! by COL NORMAN T. EREKSON, Commander THE MORMON BATTALION is poised on the brink of great things. Help us move off forward to see that these great things come to fruition: 1. Two monuments, a building, and a memorial garden trail in a high profile location. 2. Highly visible 2009 Heritage Day Program in the Tabernacle on Temple Square with the new Mormon Battalion Choir. 3. Just completed first complete re-hike of the whole trek. 4. Best opportunity to gain Mormon Battalion Historic Trail designation in 30 years. 5. Multimedia opportunities reaching a wide audience. Let us renew our resolve to increase our recruiting efforts to enlarge our ranks and coffers to accomplish this ongoing work of Keeping these men and women in honorable remembrance for ever and ever. Hurrah and Hurrah! Calendar of Events by MAJ RICHARD BULLOCK, Adjutant (See website also.) April (Fr] DUP Flag Ceremony, 6:00 p.m., LDS Conference Center. 19 [Sa] Battalion Executive Committee and Advisory Staff Meeting, 9:30 a.m.; 420 S. 800 East, Salt Lake City, UT. 23 [Th] Company D Monthly Meeting. 7:00 p.m., Logan Senior Citizen Center, 240 N. 100 East, Logan, UT. CAPT JIM HANSEN, Commander, boze97@comcast.net. 30 [Th] Company C Monthly Meeting. 7:00 p.m., Roy City Library, 1950 W South, Roy, UT. CAPT CLARK OLSEN, Commander, or cell j.o.bumber@comcast.net. May [Tu] Dixie Company Monthly Meeting. 7:00 p.m., Cottonmill Dance Hall, 300 W. Telegraph, Washington, UT. CAPT QUENTIN HANSOM, Commander. Hansom@qpaz.net. 13[Wed] Flag Ceremony. American Military Engineers national conference. 8:30 a.m. Salt Palace Ballroom. Contact LYNN S. HILL, LynnHill2@hill.af.mil [Sa] Battalion Executive Committee and Advisory Staff Meeting, 9:30 a.m.; 420 S. 800 East, Salt Lake City, UT. 21 [Th] Company B Monthly Meeting. 6:30 p.m., DUP Rock Chapel, 1151 W South, West Jordan, UT. CAPT LAVAR BURTON, Commander, lburto91034@peoplepc.com Mormon History Association Conference. [T-Su] Springfield, IL. Contact: 23 [Sa] Grave Memorialization. Payson, UT. Dr. William Walker Rust, medical doctor in Nauvoo. Details TBA. 28 [Th] Company D Monthly Meeting. 7:00 p.m., Logan Senior Citizen Center, 240 N. 100 East, Logan, UT. CAPT JIM HANSEN, Commander, boze97@comcast.net. June [Tu] Dixie Company Monthly Meeting. 7:00 p.m., Cottonmill Dance Hall, 300 W. Telegraph, Washington, UT. CAPT QUENTIN HANSOM, Commander. Hansom@qpaz.net. 13 [Sa] Annual Mormon Battalion Heritage Day Program. 10:00 a.m., Tabernacle on Temple Square, Salt Lake City, UT. Keynote speaker ELDER DOUGLAS L. CALLISTER. Contact LTC JEROME GOURLEY, Cell (801) or jeromegourley@msn.com. 13 [Sa] Annual Mormon Battalion Business Meeting. 2:00 th p.m., 10 Ward Meeting House, 420 S. 800 East, Salt Lake City. All Battalion members are invited to attend. Contact COL NORM EREKSON LTC JEROME GOURLEY, conducting. 25 [Th] Company D Monthly Meeting. 7:00 p.m., Logan Senior Citizen Center, 240 N. 100 East, Logan, UT. CAPT JIM HANSEN, Commander, Battalion The Musical. Huntsville Outdoor Theater, Huntsville, UT. Evening performances. Donations encouraged. Contact TRACE SKEEN of Company C, trace.skeen@gmr.net or May be preceded by a Company C trek and also include a Company C picnic. July [Tu] Dixie Company Monthly Meeting. 7:00 p.m., Cottonmill Dance Hall, 300 W. Telegraph, Washington, UT. CAPT QUENTIN HANSOM, Commander. Hansom@qpaz.net. 19 [Sa] Battalion Executive Committee and Advisory Staff Meeting, 9:30 a.m.; 420 S. 800 East, Salt Lake City, UT. 24 [Th] Sons of Utah Pioneers Sunrise Services Flag Ceremony. 6:00 a.m., Assembly Hall on Temple Square, Salt Lake City, UT. Days of 47 Parade. 9:00 a.m. 31 [Th] Company D Monthly Meeting. 7:00 p.m., Logan Senior Citizen Center, 240 N. 100 East, Logan, UT. CAPT JIM HANSEN, Commander,

9 Page 9 Preface, Part 9... Manifest Destiny vs. Promised Land Editor's Note: Previous issues of The Valiant have included Parts 1-8 of the serialization of the Preface to LTC JAMISON S book sponsored by the Battalion, Manifest Destiny vs. Promised Land: Francis Moore, Jr. s Annotated 1846 Mitchell Map; Deciphering an Chronicle of the Mexican-American War, the Mormon Battalion, the Gold Rush, the Alamo, and Texas. The mystery saga continues... Clue 7. The author of the annotations was intim ately familiar with 1848 Texas political boundaries. Microfilm research has isolated the newspaper clipping listing of Texan counties and county seats glued to the inside back flyleaf of the map to one of three issues of the weekly Houston Democratic Telegraph & Texas Register between 4 May and 1 June Clue 8. The author of the annotations must have visited and sketched the Alamo chapel sometime in 1848 through 1849 after the 1848 Seth Eastman lithograph showing it s right front corner intact, and before it s 1850 reconstruction/reassembly by the U. S. Army. No other drawings showing this wall section during the two years of it s collapsed/disassembled state are known to exist. It was not until 1978 that a very dark, but corroborating, 1849 daguerreotype was found at least six years after receipt of this map by the BYU library. Only this 1849 daguerreotype confirms it's collapse/disassembly and reconstruction between 1848 and Clue 9. The text of the annotations strongly suggests that the author was an experienced western traveler, map reader, and/or newspaper editor! Few people of that day particularly eastern politicians and lobbyists could have developed such a good "eye" for and then gleaned historically significant regional current events and intelligence data before they reached the national capital! So there I had it! Only one person could satisfy all nine clues for authorship of the 190 map annotations! My mysterious author could ONLY have been Francis Moore, Jr., the editor of the frontier Houston, Texas newspaper from which my clipping had come! In an atmosphere where good frontier newspaper editors of the 1840's relayed or "telegraphed" national and international newspapers and reports via Mississippi River steamboats, coastal and international packet ships, stage and freight lines, correspondents, and other travelers, Moore had acquired part ownership of the Columbia, Texas Telegraph and Texas Register, moved it to Houston in 1837, and renamed it the Democratic Telegraph & Texas Register. Over the next 17 years, he had become a seasoned and uniquely qualified frontier Texas newspaper editor, receiving westbound news within days and intercepting eastbound news before it reached the east. His annotations and drawings on the 1846 S. Augustus Mitchell m ap were his far ranging gleanings of events intercepted from num erous explorers, correspondents, and newspapers his personal shorthand chronicle of western history during the dynam ic and critical years from 1846 through 1848! It is interesting to note that Moore maintained an active interest in the Mormons during that period, reprinting several articles about the Mormons from both the nonpartisan St. Louis Daily Reveille and the avowedly anti-mormon Warsaw, Illinois Signal. Three of Moore s newspaper articles from 21 October, 26 October, and November 1846 described the scene at Nauvoo as the last Mormons were expelled during the "Mormon War." Moore also carefully tracked the Mormon Battalion. On 26 August 1846, he reported that GEN Kearny had arrived in Santa Fe, and would be followed by a regiment of Missouri Volunteers from Fort Leavenworth and the Mormon Battalion. On 30 November 1846, he reported that COL Price's regiment had been garrisoned in Santa Fe, COL Doniphan's Missouri regiment had been diverted to invade Chihuahua, GEN Kearny had left for California on 26 September, and that he was expected to be followed by CAPT Hudson<s company (dragoons who were disbanded between 7 and 9 October due to lack of mounts) and the Mormon Battalion. 1999: Ten Different Mitchell Maps All of the pieces fell together! I had IDENTIFIED at least TEN different copies of the Mitchell map associated with the conquest of California, the Mormon Battalion, and the Mormon exodus, but had found only ONE of them: (1) 5 June 1846 the unrecovered copy previously carried from Washington, D.C. to California with GEN Stephen Kearny's Army of the West by LT William H. Emory, chief topographer apparently unknown to either Brigham Young or the Mormon Battalion, (2) August 1846 an unrecovered copy Lewis Dent had secretly carried to California with the Mormon Battalion apparently unknown to COL Phillip St. George Cooke, his staff, or any Mormon soldiers, (3) August 1846 an unrecovered copy held in St. Louis by his brother, George W. Dent, (4-9) 18 February 1847 the six unrecovered copies obtained by Brigham Young for his exodus to Utah seven months AFTER the departure of the Mormon Battalion to California, and (10) May 1848 the copy I found at BYU which had been annotated in Houston, Texas by publisher Francis Moore, Jr., the 17-year editor of the Houston, Texas Democratic Telegraph & Texas Register. To be Continued in the Next Issue!

10 Page 10 Mormon Battalion Association THE VALIANT P.O. Box 1983 Sandy, UT In This Issue: Trek Re-enactment Completed! Trek Completion Report Memberships Received 2009 Commander s Message: Hurrah and Hurrah! Calendar of Events Manifest Destiny vs. Promised Land, Preface, Part 9 Unless otherwise stated, Copyright 2010 Mormon Battalion Association. All Rights Reserved.