THE MORMON BATTALION[xii]
As a result of a correspondence on 26 Jan 1846 from
Brigham
Young
to Jesse C. Little
, presiding elder over the
New England
and Middle States Mission, a battalion was formed.
In his letter,
Young
had Little meet with national leader in
Washington
,
D.C.
to seek aid for the migrating Latter-day Saints, majorities of who were then in
the
Iowa
Territory
. Little arrived in
Washington
on 21 May 1846, eight days after Congress had declared war on
Mexico
. In July 1846, Captain
James
Allen
,
US
Army, with the encouragement of
Brigham
Young
, the Mormon Battalion was mustered in at Council Bluff,
Iowa
.
Captain James Allen
was designated by Colonel Kearny
to raise five companies of volunteer
soldiers from the able-bodied men between the ages of eighteen (18) and
forty-five (45) from the Mormon encampments in Iowa.
On 16 Jul 1846, over 543 men enlisted in the Mormon Battalion, not
included in this number were about thirty-three women, twenty of which served as
laundresses, and fifty-one children. The
commissioned officers selected from among the 543 were:
Captain of Company A -
Jefferson
Hunt
Captain of Company B -
Jesse
D.
Hunter
Captain of Company C -
James
Brown
Captain of Company D -
Nelson
Higgins
Captain of Company E -
Daniel
C.
Davis
Upon on arriving about 10 Jul at
Council Bluffs
, John W. Hess
learned that four companies had been
enlisted and organized.
George
A.
Smith
advised me and other to enlist.
After considering the matter, I was enlisted in Company "E",
Captain
Daniel
Davis
. My wife, Emeline [Bigler]
Hess
, also enlisted, as the Government had provided for four women to each company
of 100 men to go as laundresses.
The battalion marched from
Council Bluffs
on 20 Jul 1846 and arrived on 1 Aug 1846 at
Fort Leavenworth
,
Kansas
. There the battalion members drew
their arms and accouterments, as well a clothing allowance of $42.00.
A military uniform was not mandatory, so many of the soldiers sent their
clothing allowances back to their families in the encampments in
Iowa
.