The Longest Infantry March in History
The Mormon
Battalion March, 1846-47
By
What has been called the longest infantry march in history—approximately
1,850 miles—began 20 July 1846 on the Little Pony River in Council Bluffs,
Iowa. During the Mexican War of 1846 James K. Polk, president of the United
States, requested five hundred Mormon men to help in the war effort.
Mormon leaders agreed: in addition to demonstrating their basic loyalty,
Mormons would benefit from the military pay, the arms which the men could keep,
the allotment for uniforms (since the Mormons were allowed to wear their own
clothes), and being transported west at government expense.
On July 20 the battalion commenced a 180-mile march down the left bank of
the Missouri for Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. While no Mormon was killed in the
venture, two died enroute. The first, Samuel Boly, expired only twenty-eight
miles from Council Bluffs.
The first part of this trail hugged the river bluffs. (It is interesting
that all of the roads the Mormons used along the Illinois, Mississippi, and
Missouri rivers followed the bluff line closely, for in those days of frequent
flooding, roads were never built on the flood plain.) Today, the closer to the
bluffs, the closer to the old roads. These bluff roads still exist, but one can
get a good view of the area on Interstate 29 as far as Mound City, Missouri.
The men soon crossed the Nishnabotna River and entered Missouri from which
they had been driven in 1838-39. They remained on guard, but suffered no
difficulties from Missourians. Their first camp in Missouri was near Linden, a
community of which little exists today save a graveyard. (Ask locally for
directions.)
Next they passed through Mound City and Oregon, named after the famous
trail. A marker on the courthouse square mentions the Mormons’ passage. The
largest Missouri community on the battalion route was Saint Joseph and to
impress the Missourians, they marched double file with music, astonishing many
who had not believed the Mormons would answer their country’s call. Later Saint
Joseph became the beginning of the Pony Express Trail.
The only part of this section of the march which still appears as it would
have in 1846 is a back country road from Weston to Beverly. (Ask locally for
directions.) On 1 August the battalion crossed the Missouri by ferry directly
opposite Fort Leavenworth, which had been built in 1827 to help regulate
western migration, Indian affairs, and the fur trade.
The Mormons left the fort August 13 marching southwest. They crossed the
Oregon Trail west of Eudora, Kansas, and intersected the Santa Fe trail near the
crossing of Highways 59 and 56. They followed this trail all the way to Santa
Fe.
On August 27 they reached Council Grove, one of the principal stops on the
Santa Fe trail. Here Colonel James Allen, who had brought Polk’s request for
the battalion to Brigham Young, died. The Mormons had liked Allen and held a
memorial service for him.
Between Council Grove and today’s Durham, trail ruts are still visible. Near
Lyons, the men first sighted buffalo. At the famous Great Bend on the Arkansas
River, they picked up the river trail and followed it to Ingalls in Gray
County. Soon after reaching the Arkansas they sighted Pawnee Rock to the
northwest, a famous landmark on the trail.
Francis Parkman, a famous historian, noted meeting the battalion near
Larned, Kansas. West of Larned on Highway 156 is the Santa Fe Center which has
much information about this old trail; near Dodge City some wagon ruts are
still visible.
At Ingalls the battalion crossed the Arkansas and marched towards the
Cimarron River. At this crossing the first of three sick detachments, ten men
and several families, were sent back along the Arkansas to Fort Pueblo to spend
the winter. These three sick detachments met the Mississippi Saints at Fort
Pueblo and, the following summer, collectively joined Brigham Young and the
pioneers at Fort Laramie.
From Ingalls into New Mexico the old trail cannot be followed closely by
automobile. Ruts and markers, however, can be seen near Keyes and Boise City,
Oklahoma, and Grenville, New Mexico.
Near Springer, Interstate 25 follows the old trail closely all the way to
Santa Fe. Along this interstate, travelers can see Wagon Mound, another
well-known landmark, some ruts, and several trail markers.
Santa Fe, founded about 1609 and the oldest seat of government of all state
capitals in the United States, is well worth a visit. The advance companies of
the battalion reached Santa Fe the evening of October 9 and camped in a wheat
field back of the cathedral. They had by then marched nearly eight hundred
miles from Fort Leavenworth and nearly one thousand from Council Bluffs.
Ten days later, the men were on the march again. Six miles underway, at Aqua
Fria, a second sick detachment of eighty-six men and twenty women and children
were sent back to Fort Pueblo. The reduced battalion, then consisting of 397
men, followed the old Spanish Trail southwards along the Rio Grande, passing a
line of Spanish communities strung along the river. Interstate 25 follows the
trail closely through old Albuquerque, now the largest city in New Mexico,
passing Elephant Butte just inside Sierra County, to Truth or Consequences.
Three miles west of here, on November 9 and 10, the third and final sick
detachment of fifty-eight men was sent back to Fort Pueblo, leaving 339
trail-hardened men.
Shortly afterwards, near Hatch, the battalion left the Rio Grande and
followed other Spanish trails - some vague, some established - towards the
continental divide near the Arizona border. Enroute the Mormons were excited to
find petroglyphs thirteen miles north of Deming in Cook’s Canyon, considering
them circumstantial evidence of the Book of Mormon. Visitors will find it
difficult to visit Cook’s Canyon today, even by ranch roads. (Ask locally for
directions.) Ruts of the old Butterfield Stage road are visible through this
canyon. There is also a trail marker out of Deming on Highway 180. From Deming,
several roads, none following the trail, lead to Arizona. The most scenic is
through the Coronado National Forest.
Just inside Arizona the old trail dipped into Mexico and picked up the San
Pedro River near Naco. Along this leg of the trail the second Latter-day Saint
died, Elisha Smith.
On December 11 the battalion fought its only engagement of the Mexican
War—one with wild bulls. One man was gored in the leg and sixty to eighty bulls
were killed. A marker on a road southwest of Charleston describes this event.
From the San Pedro River the battalion passed through Tucson and headed for
the Gila River along which, north of Theba, they saw more Indian petroglyphs at
what is today’s Painted Rock State Park. Several days later they crossed the
Colorado River near Yuma and entered present-day California.
Their journey was nearing an end, but first they had to cross the dreadful
Imperial Desert in Mexico between the Colorado River and today’s Mexicali.
Along here, roads do not stay close to the original trail, but after Ocotillo,
Highway S2 generally parallels the trail.
They entered Box Canyon northwest of Ocotillo which in parts was a foot
narrower then their wagons. Places where the Mormons had to cut through the
canyons are still visible. After this, the battalion rested at Warner’s Ranch.
Following various small rivers they passed the famous San Louis Rey Mission,
one of the twenty-one Spanish Missions founded in California. Thereafter they
marched along El Camino Real, the Royal Road, connecting these missions, to
their destination at Mission San Diego where they arrived January 29, 1847.
They established themselves one mile below the mission and about five miles
from General Stephen W. Kearney’s military headquarters on the sea. Here a
large statue of a battalion member can be seen.
The battalion filled its enlistment term with performed routine garrison duty in San Diego, San Louis Rey, and Los Angeles, until being discharged 16 July 1847. Some reenlisted for six months, but most made preparation for joining the pioneers in the Great Basin. They pushed north and picked up the Old California Trail east of San Francisco. Some decided to winter at Sutter’s Fort and were present when gold was discovered in January 1848. Those who had gone on arrived in Salt Lake Valley 16 October 1847.
Route maps
Iowa
Missouri
Kansas Part 1
Kansas Part 2
New Mexico Part 1
New Mexico Part 2
Arizona
California
One map showing entire march
I got this as an e-mail, 9/24/06:
"ahem...
I, Sir, am proud to announce that we have, in fact, found some individuals crazy enough to remarch the entire route of the Mormon Battalion. We will start at Mt. Pisgah next July and honor first contact by James Allen with the Mormons. About a week later, we'll be in Kanesville and then head for Leavenworth. After recuperating there for a week, we will head out for Santa Fe, thence to Arizona locations and arrive in San Diego about Jan 26, 2008 for commemorative events. Finally, we will hike up to LA to Ft. Moore where the Battalion was dismissed from service. We invite interested individuals, groups or families to hike along with us for a portion of the trail ( or in extreme cases, the entire route).
Interested parties may contact me at this address until further notice. This event is being co-sponsored by the US Mormon Battalion.
Sincere regards to all reenactors
Kevin Henson, aka - Ebenezer Brown, 2nd Sgt. Co A"
I politely declined. - Jonah
A follow-up, 3/9/07:
Just an update on our plans.
The Battalion Trek, initially scheduled for 2007, will start July 2008.
The new schedule will be posted at www.battaliontrek.com later this summer. Details will also be included.
Interest in hiking along with us for a day or more has created more logistical issues to address. For safety purposes, we must be prepared for the larger numbers of people and hope everyone understands the delay.
We hope those of you with an interest in "living history" will join us and have a memorable experience. Or, just stop by our camp in the evening for a chat.
Regards -
Kevin Henson
kevin@battaliontrek.com
An e-mail received on 4/2/09
I am VERY happy to announce that we did, in fact, successfully complete the first end-to-end rehike following the 1846 Mormon Battalion Trail. Starting in central Iowa on July 5, 2008 we worked our way west along sections of the Santa Fe Trail, el Camino Terrenate, Cooke’s Wagon Road, the Butterfield Stage Route, Juan deAnza Trail, and finished at San Diego on January 29, 2009.
We conducted route research along the way – our primary goal. We provided public forums regarding Battalion history and appreciated local groups sharing their history with us as well. Over forty public events were held at museums, living history events and special presentations – and we estimate over 4,000 people viewed our group.
Over the seven months we were on the trail, only two of us hiked the entire distance, some 2,400 miles. over 550 people hiked with us at one time or another. Many “got into the spirit” by making a reasonable stab at dressing “period appropriate” even if it wasn’t always authentic. The majority of these people had their first “living history” experience with us. Our sincere hope is that some of them will remember it fondly and want to join a group in their area.
Of particular delight to us was the opportunity to interact with local historians, reenactors and descendants who truly appreciate the history that unites us all. And, we found unrecognized Battalion history. The carved names of Lewis and John Dent who accompanied the 1846 Battalion were serendipitously found at Signature Rock in Oklahoma. Lady Luck smiled upon us. Our findings will be used to produce a new “Mormon Battalion Trail Guide” with documentation of our findings.
A blog was maintained most days and much of our experience is posted on our website at: http://battaliontrek.com/blog/index.php.
To all the “serious” reenactors out there, thanks for the inspiration.
YOS
Kevin Henson
Battalion Trek Coordinator
