“Buchanan's Blunder” and the Utah War | Peace and Violence, Ep. 5

After the 1838 “Mormon War” and their official expulsion from Missouri, Latter-day Saints relocated to Illinois where they built up the city of Nauvoo and a number of other settlements in Hancock County. After a short time of relative peace, they were again embroiled in conflict with their enemies which culminated in the murder of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. This was followed two years later by the battle of Nauvoo and yet another expulsion from a US state with the blessing of its governor. Then it was off to the West where, not long after the Saints’ arrival in the Salt Lake Valley, conflicts began to arise with Native Americans. And by 1857 US President James Buchanan had ordered a force of 2,500 military personnel, under the command of Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston, to march to Utah to ensure that Brigham Young be replaced as the governor of Utah, which brought on the “Utah War.” In this episode of Church History Matters, Scott and Casey discuss all of this and of course trace Latter-day Saint involvement in the violence which occurred along the way.

This is the fifth episode of our podcast series on peace and violence in Latter-day Saint history. For a full transcript of this episode, as well as show notes and additional resources, visit our website at https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/podcast-episode/buchanans-blunder-and-the-utah-war.

You can also subscribe to our podcast via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms, and follow us on popular social media platforms. Visit https://linktr.ee/churchhistorymatters to connect with us.

Originally published November 26, 2024

DISCLAIMER: While we try very hard to be historically and doctrinally accurate in what we say on this podcast, please remember that all views expressed in this and every episode are our views alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Scripture Central or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.