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In 1857, President James Buchanan, for political reasons, decided to replace Brigham Young as acting governor of the Utah Territory. Anticipating the Mormon reaction, Buchanan ordered an Army force of 2,500 soldiers, under the command of Brevet General Albert Sidney Johnston, to Utah to ensure that the his orders were carried out. Young responded by calling out the Utah Territorial Militia (also known as the Nauvoo Legion) and placed the territory on a war footing. At Simpson’s Hollow, the militia captured and burned 22 army supply wagons under the leadership of Capt. Lewis Simpson (thus the name Simpson’s Hollow) On October 5. The destruction of this and two other wagon trains carrying a total of 368,000 pounds of military supplies and the onset of winter snows which closed the passes to Utah, forced the Army to spend the winter at the recently burned Fort Bridger. By the spring of 1858, the federal government and the Mormons had settled most of their differences and Alfred Cumming was installed as territorial governor. Excerpted fromBLM brochure. |
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