Mormon Battalion

Mormon Battalion
Soldiers of the Mormon Battalion honored at Fort Moore Pioneer Memorial in Los Angeles
Active	July 1846 – July 1847
Disbanded	1847
Country	United States
Allegiance	United States  United States Army Army of the West
Garrison/HQ	Fort Leavenworth, Kansas[1]
Engagements	Mexican–American War California Long March (1846–1847) Capture of Tucson (1846)
Commanders
Notable commanders	Lieutenant Colonel James Allen (July–August 1846) Captain Jefferson Hunt (August 1846) Lieutenant Andrew Jackson Smith (August–October 1846) Lieutenant Colonel Philip St. George Cooke (October 1846-May 1847) Captain Jefferson Hunt (May–July 1846)

Part of a series on
Mormon Militias
Lieutenant General Joseph Smith Addresses the Nauvoo Legion
Military Units Caldwell County Militia Danite Lot Smith Cavalry Company Mormon Battalion Nauvoo Legion Spartan Band State of Deseret Territorial Militia Utah Territorial Militia Whistling and Whittling Brigade Zion's Camp
Conflicts 1838 Mormon War Battle at Fort Utah Battle of Crooked River Battle Creek massacre William McBride Massacre (1851) Morrisite War Mormon War (Illinois) Utah War Wakara's War Mountain Meadows Massacre Black Hawk War (1865–1872)
Notable leaders George M. Hinkle Joseph Smith Brigham Young Sampson Avard John C. Bennett Daniel H. Wells William H. Dame Lot Smith
Related Topics Expulsion of Mormons from Jackson County, Missouri Missouri Executive Order 44
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The Mormon Battalion was the only religious unit in United States military history in federal service, recruited solely from one religious body and having a religious title as the unit designation.^[2] The volunteers served from July 1846 to July 1847 during the Mexican–American War of 1846–1848.^[3] The battalion was a volunteer unit of between 534^[4][5] and 559^{[6][Note 1]} Latter-day Saint men, led by Mormon company officers commanded by regular U.S. Army officers. During its service, the battalion made a grueling march of nearly 1,950 miles from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to San Diego, California.

The Battalion’s march and service supported the eventual cession of much of the American Southwest from Mexico to the United States, especially the Gadsden Purchase of 1853 of southern Arizona and New Mexico. The march also opened a southern wagon route to California. Veterans of the Battalion played significant roles in America's westward expansion in California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and other parts of the West.

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