David L. Bigler

In 1857 President James Buchanan ordered U.S. troops to Utah to replace Brigham Young as governor and restore order in what the federal government viewed as a territory in rebellion. In this compelling narrative, award-winning authors David L. Bigler and Will Bagley use long-suppressed sources to show that - contrary to common perception - the Mormon rebellion was not the result of Buchanan's ""blunder,"" nor was it a David-and-Goliath tale in which an abused religious minority heroically defied the imperial ambitions of an unjust and tyrannical government. They argue that Mormon leaders had their own far-reaching ambitions and fully intended to establish an independent nation - the Kingdom of God - in the West.Long overshadowed by the Civil War, the tragic story of this conflict involved a tense and protracted clash pitting Brigham Young's Nauvoo Legion against Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston and the U.S. Army's Utah Expedition. In the end, the conflict between the two armies saw no pitched battles, but in the authors' view, Buchanan's decision to order troops to Utah, his so-called blunder, eventually proved decisive and beneficial for both Mormons and the American republic.A rich exploration of events and forces that presaged the Civil War, The Mormon Rebellion broadens our understanding of both antebellum America and Utah's frontier theocracy and offers a challenging reinterpretation of a controversial chapter in Mormon annals.

In 1855 the Mormons established a mission at the foot of famous Lemhi Pass near Salmon River, where the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery first crossed the Continental Divide and Sacagawea was reunited with her brother. Fort Limhi was, at first, part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' outreach to the Indians throughout the West. But the mission soon assumed a critical role in Brigham Young's plans for the Saints as they faced the imminent confrontation with the U.S. government which came to be known as the Utah War. Fort Limhi: The Mormon Adventure in Oregon Territory is an innovative account of a fascinating but forgotten story. Journals, diaries, letters and recollections of the men and women who served at the mission during the three years of its existence provide a wealth of information about native history and culture in eastern Idaho. The Mormon missionaries intentionally selected a spot that put them at the crossroads of ancient trails used by Nez Perc , Shoshone, Bannock, and Flathead bands as they battled each other and pursued their annual pilgrimages to trade, harvest salmon, and hunt buffalo. The sources also cast important light on little-known trails followed by Indians, traders, and emigrants. Ordinary western folk who survived an extraordinary exploit tell their stories in their own words, and these narratives are dramatic, compelling, ironic, enlightening, and downright fun. With its astonishing fish stories, desperate Indian battles, life-threatening chases, and heroic rides to rescue a terrified and helpless outpost, this work has all the elements of a great frontier novel. It even tells of the star-crossed love of Lewis Shurtliff and Louisa Moore, whose romance, like the story of Fort Limhi, came to a tragic ending. Historians often seemed baffled by Brigham Young's visit to Fort Limhi in 1857 while the fires of the Mormon Reformation burned in Utah and the territory's relationship with the federal government was collapsing. Young's trip was far more than a vacation for his family and advisors. As award-winning author David Bigler reveals, the Salmon River Indian Mission played a pivotal role in the resolution of the Utah War of 1857-1858. The catastrophe that ended the colony at Fort Limhi brought Utah back from the very brink of war with the United States. Fort Limhi provides new material on the obscure fur-trade veterans and misfits who called themselves "mountaineers" (the contemporary term for that "majority of scoundrels" now known as the fearless "Mountain Men") and sheds light on their contentious relations with their Mormon neighbors. The story of Fort Limhi has long deserved a larger role in the history of Idaho and Montana. It provides new insights into the role of Mormons in the West and their Indian relations, and explains some long-standing puzzles about the Utah War of 1857-1858.

Mormonism's formative years in the West have never been evaluated with the clarity and objectivity David L. Bigler brings to the story of our nation's most unique territory and its proud and peculiar people. Forgotten Kingdom combines an insightful understanding of the theology of early Mormonism with a lifetime of research into federal and LDS church sources to forge a creative reinterpretation of this fascinating and contentious history. Early settlement, Indian affairs, the Reformation, handcart migration, and much more are discussed in the early chapters. Forgotten Kingdom objectively evaluates some of the most troublesome puzzles in Mormonism's history and presents some intriguing solutions to many of its mysteries. The bitter political battle between the federal government and the Mormon church is told with special emphasis on the forgotten men and women who lived with its consequences. Meeting the standards of the most demanding scholarship, Forgotten Kingdom tells a story so odd and interesting that it both challenges and entertains. Bigler's gentle wit seldom misses the high irony of a story that has entertained Western observers since Samuel Clemens. A fascinating cast of little-known Latter-day Saints, including Hannah Tapfield King, Joseph Morris, Jeter Clinton, Sylvanus Collett, George Reynolds, Lydia Spencer Clawson, and George Hill, shows both the diversity of opinion within the faith and the devotion of its people to their institutions. The Utah War of 1857 was a pivotal episode in Utah's history. This event and those which led up to it are often given scant treatment in previous histories of the period. The reader will find the author's meticulous research and clear prose enlightening on this topic and others. California, Nevada, Arizona, Wyoming, Idaho, and other western lands were impacted by the Mormon theocracy's battle for independence. Nevada became a separate entity because its early settlers rejected theocratic rule and Congress determined to cut Mormon domains back to governable size. This history is not limited to Utah, but reflects a broad view of the history of the Far West. Patrick E. Connor, Daniel S. Tuttle, Duncan J. McMillan, Charles S. Zane, Robert N. Baskin, Caleb W. West, Clarence E. Allen, and many others are among the forgotten leaders whose role in the Americanization of Mormonism is often overlooked in the traditional histories. Their stories are told in this volume.