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Mormon Battalion
| Mormon Battalion | |
|---|---|
 Soldiers of the Mormon Battalion honored at Fort Moore Pioneer Memorial in Los Angeles | |
| Active | July 1846 – July 1847 |
| Disbanded | 1847 |
| Country |  United States |
| Allegiance | United States
Army of the West |
| Garrison/HQ | Fort Leavenworth, Kansas[1] |
| Engagements | Mexican–American War
|
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
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| Part of a series on |
| Mormon Militias |
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The Mormon Battalion was the only religious unit in United States military history in federal service, recruited solely from one religious body and having a religious title as the unit designation.[2] The volunteers served from July 1846 to July 1847 during the Mexican–American War of 1846–1848.[3] The battalion was a volunteer unit of between 534[4][5] and 559[6][Note 1] Latter-day Saint men, led by Mormon company officers commanded by regular United States Army officers. During its service, the battalion made a grueling march of nearly 1,950 miles from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to San Diego, California.
The Battalion’s march and service supported the eventual cession of much of the American Southwest from Mexico to the United States, especially the Gadsden Purchase of 1854 of portions of modern southern Arizona and New Mexico, extending the American-Mexican border further south to access the most suitable surveyed east-west land route for the future trans-continental railroad (later constructed 1866-1869). The Battalion's march also opened a southern wheeled wagon accessible route to California. Veterans of the Battalion played significant roles in America's westward expansion in California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and other parts of the West.
- ^ "Saints March In!".
- ^ Fleek 2006, p. 45.
- ^ Fleek 2006, p. 27
- ^ Black, Susan Easton (1994), Powell, Allen Kent (ed.), Utah History Encyclopedia, Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press, archived from the original on April 11, 2013
- ^ "Historic Events", CaliforniaPioneer.org, California Pioneer Heritage Foundation, archived from the original on August 13, 2011, retrieved April 9, 2013
- ^ Lloyd, R. Scott (June 6, 1992), "Monument honoring Mormon Battalion to regain its luster", Church News
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