Utah War still shrouded in mystery
The Utah War in 1857 to 1858 is still surrounded by mystery and the future of research looks bright, said William P. MacKinnon during his lecture for the Leonard J. Arrington Mormon History Lecture Series Thursday.
“I can report tonight that the world of Utah studies is alive and well, if not booming,” said MacKinnon, an independent historian who has spent years researching the Utah War. “I think we’ve been seeing the tip of the iceberg.”
MacKinnon said the war has not been researched thoroughly enough and hopes its bicentennial as well as continued interest in the Mountain Meadows Massacre will bring renewed motivation and research.
“By the time of my 1977 lamentation, the Utah War was a forgotten incident in U.S. history,” MacKinnon said.
He said he has already seen an increase in interest since he began his own research.
“There hasn’t been a tsunami of input, but it has been creative,” MacKinnon said.
One recent example of this creative research is a play called “March of the Salt Soldiers: The Utah War” by Leonard J. Arrington’s son James Arrington, MacKinnon said. The comedy will show in the Caine Lyric Theatre Oct. 11.
“Think of it,” MacKinnon said. “We even have a stage version of the war now.”
Several recently-published histories of the Utah War have placed a lot of blame on Brigham Young, MacKinnon said. He said many recent histories haven’t been kind to Utah figures of the time and many publications in the future will do the same.
“Fasten your seatbelts,” MacKinnon said. “It’s going to be a bumpy reputational ride.”
However, MacKinnon said he hopes future research will discover new information without creating unneeded confrontation.
“My hope is that there will be enough civility that light generated will overcome the heat,” MacKinnon said.
MacKinnon said researchers must look to local hometown newspapers, letters from involved soldiers to relatives in Europe, as well as newspapers in Salem and Boston for new information. He said he hopes talented researchers will be joined by new academically-based researchers in order to achieve a greater depth to future research.
MacKinnon said there are still many facets of the Utah War left to be researched. The role of women on both sides of the conflict, the identities of news correspondents involved, the cost of financing the Utah War and the role of Native Americans in the war are just a few of the unexplored research opportunities, MacKinnon said. He said he hopes students and citizens alike will become involved and realize the wealth of information that can be uncovered locally.
“Citizens of Cache Valley, take note,” MacKinnon said. “In my opinion the Utah War had no victor. This outcome frees us all to contribute to the history.”
The Leonard J. Arrington Mormon History Lecture Series is held annually. Students who attended this year’s lecture and took notes are invited to participate in a writing contest. Submissions for the contest are due Dec. 19. Kathleen Flake, associate professor of American religious history at Vanderbilt University, will be next year’s speaker.
-rac.ch@aggiemail.usu.edu