VIII.
RECORD OF THE BATTALION IN CALIFORNIA.
The Battalion had opened a wagon road to the Pacific, but had arrived too late to participate actively in the conquest of California. It was useful, however, in the performance of garrison duty at San Diego, San Luis Rey, and Los Angeles; and, in connection with the New York volunteers, recently arrived under command of Col. Jonathan D. Stevenson, via Cape Horn to San Francisco Bay, also in connection with the constantly increasing naval forces along the coast, they assisted in making secure the conquest achieved.
While performing garrison duty many members of the Battalion at San Diego obtained permission to accept employment of the inhabitants of the town, such as making adobes, digging wells, building houses, and making bricks. The first bricks in San Diego, and for matter of that in California, were made and burned by members of the Mormon Battalion.[58:a] They made an enviable reputation for industry and frugality.
Efforts to Re-Enlist the Battalion.—As the expiration of the term of the Battalion's enlistment drew near, strong efforts were made for their re-enlistment by General Kearny, before departing for the east in May.
"On the 4th of May," writes Tyler, "an order was read from Col. Cooke, giving the Battalion the privilege of being discharged on condition of being re-enlisted for three years as U. S. Dragoons; but under the circumstances the generous proposition could not consistently be accepted." General Kearny addressed the Battalion on the 10th of May: "He sympathized with us in the unsettled condition of our people," says Tyler, "but thought, as their final destination was not definitely settled, [in this of course the General's information was defective] we had better re-enlist for another year, by which time the war would doubtless be ended, and our families settled in some permanent location. In conclusion he said he would take pleasure in representing our patriotism to the President, and in the halls of congress, and give us the justice our praiseworthy conduct had merited." It was on this occasion, according to Tyler, that Gen. Kearny in praising the Battalion said: "Bonaparte crossed the Alps, but these men have crossed a continent."[59:b]
Col. Jonathan D. Stevenson of the New York volunteers, who succeeded Col. Cooke in command of the Battalion by being given command of the southern district of California—Col. Cooke having been detailed to accompany Kearny on his return to the east—made an effort to induce the Battalion to re-enlist. Stevenson's effort was prompted by Governor Richard B. Mason's instructions. Stevenson represented among the advantages of the Battalion's re-enlistment, the privilege of choosing their own officers, "and the fact that the Mormon commander would be the third in rank among the officers of California, and might become first."
The Battalion's officers quite generally favored re-enlistment, but not so the men, who, under the leadership of "Father" Pettegrew, William Hyde, and Sergeant Tyler, were in favor of returning to their families and the body of their people.
The result of the effort at re-enlistment was, that a company of eighty-one, officers and men, re-enlisted for six months, and performed garrison service at San Diego.
Homeward Bound.—The rest of the Battalion, on being mustered out of service, in July, began their march for the Great Basin of the Rocky Mountains, going via Sutter's Fort, at the juncture of the American and Sacramento rivers, north-eastward from San Francisco about seventy-five miles, and now the site of Sacramento, capital of the state. About one-half of these returning volunteers arrived in Salt Lake Valley on the first of October. The reason for not more than one-half of this number reaching Salt Lake Valley that fall—they numbered about 240 when leaving Los Angeles—arose from the following circumstances: Arriving at Sutter's Fort, and finding opportunity for employment at good wages, a number desired to take advantage of that opportunity, and accordingly, with the consent and approval of their associates, "a few" remained. On the sixth of September, when the returning volunteers were leaving the basin of Lake Tahoe, they met Samuel Brannan,—leader of the "Brooklyn Colony" of Mormons to San Francisco Bay via Cape Horn, in 1846. Brannan was returning to California from his visit to Brigham Young, whom he had met at the Green River Crossing, and accompanied to Salt Lake Valley. He gave the Battalion members a doleful account of the semi-desert region where the Mormon people were settling, and predicted their final removal to California. He urged all, except those known to have families in Salt Lake Valley, to return to California and work until spring. This without avail. The next day, however, the volunteers met Captain James Brown, ranking officer of the Pueblo detachment of the Battalion, and a small party enroute for California. He brought with him letters from many of the families of the Battalion; also an epistle from the Mormon leaders advising those who had no means of subsistence to remain in California and labor during the winter, and make their way to Salt Lake valley in the spring, bringing their earnings with them. About one-half of the volunteers accepted this suggestion and returned to Sutter's Fort where they found employment.
The rest of the company continued their journey to Salt Lake valley where they arrived at the time already stated.