The Mormon Battalion story, a heroic subplot in the grand saga of the Latter-day Saint exodus from Nauvoo, Ill., to the Salt Lake Valley, is now memorialized at Salt Lake City's This Is the Place Heritage Park, which commemorates the canyon location where Brigham Young led pioneers into the valley.
Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve dedicated the new Mormon Battalion Monument Plaza on Aug. 21, after its two dominant features were unveiled: heroic-sized bronze sculptures capturing the emotion of the battalion's departure from Council Bluffs, Iowa, in July 1846, and its arrival in California the following January, their trek of some 2,000 miles being the longest infantry march in U.S. history.
"Duty Calls" depicts President Young with his hand on the shoulder of a departing battalion enlistee stooped down to receive the embrace of his young daughter, his arm around his tearful wife holding an infant.
"Duty Triumphs" features scenes at journey's end where two soldiers assist a comrade suffering from thirst and fatigue, another soldier kneels in prayer and yet another clutches an American flag in a triumphal gesture as he and his wife gaze heavenward in gratitude.
Bas-relief sculptures on the plaza commemorate the 1846 voyage of Latter-day Saints on the ship Brooklyn from New York to present-day San Francisco and honor the battalion members' wives, a few of whom came along as army laundresses, but most of whom stayed behind to make their way to the Great Basin with the other Mormon pioneers and to await the return of their husbands.
The monument partially fulfills Brigham Young's pledge that the 500 battalion enlistees would be held "in honorable remembrance to the latest generation."
In his prayer, Elder Ballard also dedicated a new Mormon Battalion Museum in the lower level of the park's existing visitor center and a recently constructed replica of the Brooklyn located elsewhere in the park.
Prior to the prayer, Elder Ballard said of the battalion enlistees, "Even with all of their heartache and sorrow and all the problems they had, they did have a sense of humor." He cited a journal entry in which one soldier told of trying to subdue a mule by grasping its ears. The man was tossed and dragged, giving him, he said, "a great deal more respect for the mules."
"In some ways, I think, that's life, isn't it?" Elder Ballard remarked. "We get whipped around and turned around as we face challenges."
The monument also honors women who marched with the battalion. Elder Ballard's daughter-in-law, Melissa Garff Ballard, was the model for her third-great-grandmother, Melissa Burton Coray, one of five women who went all the way to California. Heidi Morton was also a model for her own ancestor, Melissa's sister, Rebecca Burton.
"On behalf of our family, I think we're going to have some difficulty keeping our daughter-in-law, Melissa, humble, since she's now in bronze," Elder Ballard joked.
Also addressing the spectators was Gail Miller, wife of late Salt Lake City businessman and philanthropist Larry H. Miller. Brother and Sister Miller were the principal benefactors of the monument endeavor, undertaken by the Mormon Battalion Association, a heritage group founded in 1954 to honor the battalion's memory.
"We've watched and supported this project and the progress of it from inception to completion," she said. "Larry even sat as a model for one of the figures."
She added, "I know that the families of those who served in the battalion will come here and look upon these statues with pride and with reverence as they tell their children and their children's children about the sacrifices and hardships faced daily by these brave men, women and children who answered the call of their country at a time that was strained and inconvenient, but who understood that it was a blessing in disguise in helping them come West and leave the persecution that they suffered."
Costumed re-enactors portraying battalion soldiers and their wives lent an air of pageantry to the flag ceremony, which featured a salute of musket fire. The Utah Premiere Brass and Salt Lake Choral Artists performed for the occasion.
Steven L. Neal, the Pendleton, Ore., plastic surgeon who sculpted the statues, recounted some of the march's history and explained his inspiration in creating the sculptures. He said their sacrifice to preserve liberty was not unique to their time or place, "but it is a compelling and a noble example for us, their heirs, to honor and emulate anew."
Their circumstances were particularly difficult, he said. "In 1845, the Mormons were driven from their homes in Nauvoo, Ill., into the wilds and Indian lands of Iowa and Nebraska. Many fled on foot. … Provisions were scarce. … Twelve thousand people were spread over 100 square miles, living in wagons, tents or the open. Many died of exposure, malnutrition, malaria, cholera. It was also a time of war with Mexico. U.S. President James Polk gave an order to raise an army to march to California, and the Mormons were in strategic location."
Brother Neal, bishop of the Pendleton 2nd Ward, Walla Walla Washington Stake, said Brigham Young personally helped in enlistment efforts while seeking the Lord's hand.
"Despite being driven from the United States, the colonizers of this great Salt Lake Valley reaffirmed their allegiance and patriotism to this great nation," he said.
True to Brigham Young's prophecy, the battalion never endured combat. But, Brother Neal said, their stabilizing presence in California preserved it from further bloodshed. Battalion men dug wells, built brick factories, discovered gold in Sacramento and helped build up San Diego and Fort Moore in Los Angeles.
There are several similar battalion monuments. A granite-and-bronze work erected in 1927 stands on the grounds of the Utah Capitol. The Church also re-opened the Mormon Battalion Historic Site in San Diego on Jan. 30. Others are in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and at Fort Moore in Los Angeles.
