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wouldn't go, he would! Let the 'Mormons' be the first men to set their feet on the soil of California. . . If we want the privilege of going where we can worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience we must raise this battalion.3 He felt if the Mormons failed to earn the respect of the nation, the further criticism would be their downfall. The men were promised that if they went with the Battalion and obeyed the Lord's commandments and their leaders' counsel, they would not fight against other human beings and would return to their families. The Army promised $42.00 per man per year plus pay while in the ranks. A Captain received 550.00 a month; a Private, $7*00. They could keep their "arms and accoutrements ." A flag was hung in a tree in front of which 549 men took the oath to serve their country. Church leaders counseled the Mormon officers to treat their men with respect and dignity, as if they (the officers) were the men's fathers, and to wear and honor their temple garments at all times. On 20 July the new recruits inarched four to eight miles down-river and camped. "On July 21st they started on the march to the tune, 'The Girl I Left Behind Me1."4 Caratat was a member of Company A; his cousin, William Rowe, in Company D. Another cousin, Manning Rowe, is reputed as also being a member of the Battalion, but his name does not appear on Battalion rosters in any of the companies.5 The new recruits marched to Fort Leavenworth where they received their first supplies, then headed for Santa Fe-across the whole of Kansas, a tiny corner of Oklahoma, and into New Mexico. They endured many hardships, particularly after Captain Allen, whom they had come to trust, died at Fort Leavenworth a few days after 10 |
