Mormon Battalion 1846-1996
Posted by: brwhiz
N 31° 58.278 W 110° 16.360
12R E 568722 N 3537485
This Historical Marker is located in front of the LDS Church at 381 N Pomerene Road in Benson, Arizona.
Waymark Code: WMFTC3
Location: Arizona, United States
Date Posted: 11/27/2012
Views: 7
1846 Mormon 1996
Battalion
In Council Bluffs, Iowa on July 16, 1846, over 500 dedicated Mormon men enlisted in the U.S. Army Infantry to serve their country during the Mexican War. They willingly heeded the call from their prophet, Brigham Young, leaving their families camped on the plains of Iowa.
These patriots completed their arduous march of more than 2,000 miles from Ft. Leavenworth to San Diego, claiming this land for the United States and blazing trails for future colonization. Their march took the company through the San Pedro Valley where they were attacked by a herd of ferocious wild bulls. They turned west near here on their way to the Presidio of Tucson where they raised the first American flag.
Later, under President Brigham Young's colonization plan, a group of Mormon colonists returned to this San Pedro Valley, arriving November 29, 1877.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.