The year following the Nauvoo exodus of 1846, Mormons covered vast areas of the American West.
The first to leave were members of the Mormon Battalion who walked across the arid Southwest under orders from the U.S. governmnet. Members of the Battalion traveled from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to Sante Fe, N.M., then west to San Diego, and up the coast to Los Angeles and Sacramento in California. While near Sacramento, a few worked for John Sutter and dug the millrace where gold was discovered. While some remained on the coast to earn money to bring their families west, others crossed the Sierras to the Great Salt Lake, where they stayed only a few days or weeks. They then crossed the plains eastward and arrived in Winter Quarters late in 1847.Sam Brannan, leader of a group of Saints that sailed from New York to Yerba Buena (San Francisco), crossed the Sierras in 1847 and met Brigham Young's party near Fort Bridger, Wyo. He returned to the coast later in the year with Battalion members who went to collect their pay from the government.
A party of Mississippi Saints and others traveled independently from the South and East in 1846 and hoped to meet the vanguard company on the trail. Not knowing that Brigham Young had delayed the initial trip one year because of the temporary loss of 500 men to the Mormon Battalion, the Mississippi group crossed Nebraska. While on the trail they learned from returning travelers that Brigham Young's group was not ahead of them. So when they arrived at Fort Laramie, Wyo., they changed their plans and traveled south to an area on the Arkansas River, now Pueblo, Colo., and wintered. Three detachments of sick from the Mormon Battalion joined them to also winter there. The Pueblo group waited for the vanguard company to come west in the spring.
The vanguard company under Brigham Young left Winter Quarters April 7, 1847, and grouped at the Elkhorn River to organize. They then made their way along the north side of the Platte River. When they reached Fort Laramie, they met a few of the Saints of the Pueblo group who joined them. Brigham sent for the rest who followed a few days behind.
Also following Brigham Young's group were five companies of 1847 pioneers from Winter Quarters.
Thus, once established, the Mormon Trail was well-used.
