In 1832 Joseph Smith, Jr., the Mormons' first prophet, foretold of
a great war beginning in South Carolina. In the combatants' mutual
destruction, God's purposes would be served, and Mormon men would
rise to form a geographical, political, and theocratic ""Kingdom of
God"" to encompass the earth. Three decades later, when Smith's
prophecy failed with the end of the American Civil War, the United
States left torn but intact, the Mormons' perspective on the
conflict - and their inactivity in it - required palliative
revision. In The Civil War Years in Utah, the first full account of
the events that occurred in Utah Territory during the Civil War,
John Gary Maxwell contradicts the patriotic mythology of Mormon
leaders' version of this dark chapter in Utah history. While the
Civil War spread death, tragedy, and sorrow across the continent,
Utah Territory remained virtually untouched. Although the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - and its faithful - proudly
praise the service of an 1862 Mormon cavalry company during the
Civil War, Maxwell's research exposes the relatively
inconsequential contribution of these Nauvoo Legion soldiers.
Active for a mere ninety days, they patrolled overland trails and
telegraph lines. Furthermore, Maxwell finds indisputable evidence
of Southern allegiance among Mormon leaders, despite their claim of
staunch, long-standing loyalty to the Union. Men at the highest
levels of Mormon hierarchy were in close personal contact with
Confederate operatives. In seeking sovereignty, Maxwell contends,
the Saints engaged in blatant and treasonous conflict with Union
authorities, the California and Nevada Volunteers, and federal
policies, repeatedly skirting open warfare with the U.S.
government. Collective memory of this consequential period in
American history, Maxwell argues, has been ill-served by a
one-sided perspective. This engaging and long-overdue reappraisal
finally fills in the gaps, telling the full story of the Civil War
years in Utah Territory.
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