The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints leader was able to convince about 500 church members to join the U.S. government requested battalion-and this in spite of earlier ill treatment from state militia groups in Missouri and further persecution in Illinois, that ultimately led to the death of church prophet Joseph Smith by a local mob.
An annual ceremony honoring the men, women and children, who left other family members behind to march with the battalion, is scheduled for Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at the LDS Bountiful Regional Center.
"That was a pretty gutsy thing to ask of the men to step up to the plate and respond," Mormon Battalion Heritage Day Committee chairman Jay Todd said. "It was a call by the religion's leader to serve the country. But believe me, a lot of them did not want to do it."
The battalion is said to be the only religiously identified military unit in federal service in American history. It was named by Lt. Col. James Allen, who was the battalion's first commander and recruiting officer.
During its 1,900 mile journey from Iowa to San Diego, the Battalion blazed a wagon road to the West, helped the army occupy California and made a positive impact on the way Mexicans came to think about Americans toward the end of the war.
"The march was legendary in its difficulty," Todd said. "It was incredibly hard going through mountainous areas."
About 350 of the battalion's members made it to San Diego. Though the battalion never engaged in battle, many sick were left in Colorado, and 30 died, including 22 soldiers, two women, three children and three non-soldiers.
"They died because they were spent," Todd said.
The battalion reached San Diego on Jan. 29, 1847, nearly three weeks after the last armed resistance.
Saturday's ceremony commemorates the 160-year anniversary of the battalion. It will include speaker Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, historic re-enactors conducting the posting of the flags and the Pledge of Allegiance and the Sterling Singers.
jbergreen@sltrib.com
