History of the Saints

Utah War Part 4: Utah's Response

The United States Army, under the command of Colonel Edmund Alexander, was marching on Utah, but when would they arrive and what was its intentions? No one knew for sure. But sometime on the morning of September 12, 1857, Governor Brigham Young received a messenger in Salt Lake City with alarming news. The army had marched on past Fort Laramie with the intention of entering Salt Lake City in the fall. With the safety of his people at stake, Governor Young declared martial law and sent out a Nauvoo Legion force called the Eastern Expedition.