Utah in the American Civil War The Utah Territory during the American Civil War was far from the main operational theaters of war , but still played a role in the disposition of the United States Army , drawing manpower away from the volunteer forces and providing its share of administrative headaches for the Lincoln Administration . Although no battles were fought in the territory , the withdrawal of Union forces at the beginning of the war allowed the Indian tribes to start raiding the trails passing through Utah . As a result , units from California and Utah were assigned to protect against these raids . Mineral deposits found in Utah by California soldiers encouraged the immigration of non - Mormon settlers into Utah . The U . S . government abandons the Utah Territory . As the war began in early 1861 , the War Department pulled the Federal troops out of the Utah Territory and reassigned them to other regions where they were more immediately needed to quell the brewing rebellion . However , the void in military presence allowed the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter - day Saints ( also known as Mormons ) to regain control over the territory . Although the Mormons were the majority of settlers in the Great Salt Lake basin , the western area of the territory began to attract many non - Mormon settlers . Partly as a result of this , in March the Nevada Territory was created out of the western part of the territory . Earlier in the year , a large portion of the eastern area of the territory was reorganized as part of the newly created Colorado Territory . In October 1861 , the First Transcontinental Telegraph was completed , with Salt Lake City being the last link . Mormon leader Brigham Young was among the first to send a message , along with President Lincoln and other officials . The return of the Union Army . In 1862 , with the ranks of the Union army swelled by more than 100 , 000 volunteers , the U . S . government believed it could now spare enough men to again occupy the Utah Territory . In addition , it was important to protect the overland mail route and telegraph lines along what later became known as the California Trail . Col . Patrick E . Connor marched into Utah with a regiment of California volunteers . His soldiers , of the 3rd California Infantry , constructed a small garrison just three miles ( 5 km ) east of the Mormon stronghold of Salt Lake City . The post , named Camp Douglas for former Illinois presidential candidate and congressman Stephen A . Douglas , was officially established on October 26 , 1862 . Connor at once engaged in an acrimonious and bitter cold war with Brigham Young and the Mormon people , whom he accused of being disloyal and immoral . During the rest of the war , the fort served as the headquarters of the District of Utah in the Department of the Pacific . The District of Utah was organized on August 1 , covering the territories of Utah and Nevada , and Connor was appointed commanding officer . Besides the California units Connor led into the territory , the district was also defended by detachments from the 6th and 11th Ohio Cavalry , elements of the 4th U . S . Cavalry , and the 1st Nevada Cavalry Battalion . The Shoshoni and other Native American tribal groups engaged in several small conflicts with incoming immigrant settlers in northern Utah and south - eastern Washington Territory ( present day Idaho ) , particularly during the late 1850s and early 1860s . One incident in particular involving miners from Montana traveling through Cache Valley was enough to justify an expedition to investigate the situation further . Eager for combat , Connor marched his regiment 140 miles over the frozen winter landscape to deal with the Indians . On January 29 , 1863 , Connor ' s troops encountered the Shoshoni encampment along the Bear River . His men massacred the Indian encampment and then marched back to Utah . Connor encouraged his men to explore the Utah region for mineral deposits , the discovery of which he believed would bring more non - Mormons into the territory , changing the balance of political power . His efforts were successful . His men discovered gold , silver , lead , and zinc deposits in Tooele County in 1864 . As Connor hoped , miners began to flock to the territory . The Rush Valley Mining District was established by soldiers in the western Oquirrh Mountains and more than 100 claims were staked in the first year . Political leadership of the Utah Territory during the Civil War . Before the Civil War , John F . Kinney had been named as Chief Justice of the Territory of Utah by President Buchanan . He served from June 26 , 1860 , until March 1863 . He was directly involved in the events leading up to the Morrisite War of 1862 , and allowed a condemnation of Territorial Governor Stephen S . Harding to be read into the public record after Harding issued a blanket pardon for all Morrisites convicted in connection with the war . Kinney was elected as the Territory of Utah ' s Democratic delegate to the 38th Congress and served from March 4 , 1863 until March 3 , 1865 . In 1861 , President Lincoln had appointed James Duane Doty to the position of Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Utah Territory . In 1863 , Utah ' s territorial governor , Stephen Harding , was removed from office after public backlash from his criticism of the LDS Church and the practice of polygamy . Lincoln appointed Doty to the governorship shortly thereafter . As governor , Doty was able to repair the relationship between the Federal government and the territory ' s Mormons . Utah Civil War units . At the start of the Civil War , the withdrawal of Union Army forces left a void which several Indian tribes took advantage in order to start raids on the mail trails leading through the territory . To solve this , Young offered the government the services of the Nauvoo Legion , the Mormon militia organization . After discussing his offer with Secretary of War Edwin M . Stanton , Lincoln accepted the formation of a thirty man cavalry company for ninety days ; this was later expanded into a 106 - man company . Although the company made several efforts to track down the culprits of the raids , it never saw any military action .