Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-06-29
ITS ORIGIN, OBJECT AND CARFEp
Address Delivered BY Bishop Whitney behalf The
Veterans Held at Sahar, Monday, U"H

ents OF Indian affairs. with Governor
Doty, requested this aid for the set
tiers, but the reply, even from Gen.
eral Pope, department commander. was
% the effect that they must depend up.
en- the militia to compel the Indians Ia.
behave. The main seat OF war was
Sanpete, SEWER and Pluto counties, but
the Injection spread to other parts;
even as far as Washington county.
where Brlgadler General Erastus snow
was in command. Battles were fought
IN Salina canyon, at Fish Lake. Thistle
Valley Grayelly Ford, Pine Valley
Twelve Mile Creek, Thistle Creek can
yon and other places. During the war
nearly thirty settlements In Sewer
Pluto, Sanpete, Kane Washington and
Wasatch counties had TO be abandoned
with an almost total loss " stock and
improvements The total cost of the
war, In addition TO many lives lost
was nearly one and a half million dol.
lars, which heavy burden was borne
by the people Of Utah without any aid
from the general government.
Among the promotions in the Legion
~ this period was that Of Brigham
Young, Jr, to the Office Of brlgadier-
general, In the Salt Lake military dis
trlct william b. Preston had been
commlssaryof brigadein the Cache dis
trict since 1859. Anthem II. Lund, dur
ing the Black Hawk war, was a lele.
graph operator In Sanpete. holding the
office Of lieutenant. The late President
George Q. Cannon was chaplain in one
OF the regiments, and President Joseph
T.. Smith George Teasdale, and others
occupied similar positions. Angus NJ.
Cannon was q lieutenant colonel In the
Iron military district and Jo-
seph u. Taylor captain at
Salt Lake City. Moses Thatcher
was n captain Of cavalry and sub
sequently q staff officer TO General
Hyde In the Cache district, and Charles
w. Penrose was chaplain and aide TO
General Benson IN the same district.
About this time came up also such mon
as Colonies Thomas G.. Weber Henry
T. Richards, George NJ, Ottinger. Ma
1ors David Mckenzie. George Romney;
Captain James Sharp, Llelt. Seymour
b. Young and others.
In times Of peace The Legion pre-
served Its discipline by frequent drills
and reviews. Each autumn an encamp-
ment OF several days would be arranged
In various parts. and spirited sham bat
ties would occasionally take place. In
some OF these encampments near Salt
Lake city as many az three thousand
troops would participate.
This practice was kept up until the
year 1870, when the governor Of the
Territory, Hon j. Wilson Shaffer, for
bade the fall musters, ignored the gen
eral officers OF the Legion, and practi-
cally put an end to It's existence II
came about IN this way. Lieutenant
General Wells, by Adjutant General
Clswson had issued on the 18th OF
August an order for three days mus
ter in the Salt Lake, Utah Juab, San
pete and other military districts, and
for the election OF brlgadier general
10 take command OF the Cache district.
Preparations for those events were In
progress when on the 10Th OF Septem-
Der Governor Shaffer Issued two proc
lamatlons the first one appointing and
commissioning =. H. Conner as major
general and w. NJ. Johns as colonel and
assistant adjutant general OF the Utah
militia; the second one forbiddlng and
prohibiting all musters. drills and gath
erings OF the militia without his orders
or the orders Of the United States mar
shall The governor thus ignored, not
only Generals Wells and Clawson, who
with all other officers Of the Legion had
been elected according 10 law and COM
missioned by his predecessors. Cover
nors Doty Durkee and others. but also
ignored the right of the Legion TO
choose its own officers, a right exer-