Former Texas Ranger Ben McCulloch left for Utah on April 13, 1858 with orders straight from the president to stop the Mormons led by Brigham Young and federal troops commanded by a fellow Texan from going to war.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints had been a target of persistent and often violent persecution since its founding in 1830 by Joseph Smith. Driven from Ohio and Missouri, the Mormons enjoyed temporary tolerance in Illinois until a mob murdered Smith in 1844.
In search of a sanctuary for his flock, Brigham Young led a mass migration to the valley of the Great Salt Lake. The thriving colony soon petitioned for admission to the Union as the State of Deseret, but congress chose instead to create the Territory of Utah.
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