A TERRITORIAL MILITIAMAN IN THE UTAH WAR JOURNAL OF NEWTON TUTTLE EDITED BY HAMILTON GARDNER*
W
else the Utah Expedition 1 of 1857-61 has been called, it remained for the officers and men who participated in it strictly a military operation. To them, whether of the Regular Army or of the Utah Territorial Militia, the important factor involved was the simple duty of a soldier—to obey the orders of legally constituted authority. T h e decisions on matters of public policy which brought about this troop movement were the sole responsibility of the President of the United States, James Buchanan. In equal measure, the determination to resist it rested in the authority of the governor of the territory, Brigham Young. The military establishment on either side did not decide the issues; they merely followed instructions. HATEVER
The real objective story of the expedition, unobscured by political and religious partisanship, remains to be told. But from the military point of view, a substantial beginning has already been made. The diaries of two participating United States Army officers have been published, both by state historical societies. 2 It is now appropriate that the journal of a Utah militiaman should be presented. T h e diarist was Newton Tuttle, of Bountiful. Born at New Haven, Connecticut, April 13, 1825, the son of Zerah * Col. Gardner is an occasional contributor to the Utah Historical Quarterly, his "Report of Lieut. Col. P. St. George Cooke" having appeared in an earlier issue of this volume. A retired soldier, lawyer, and scholar, one of his main interests is the study and writing of Utah's military history. 1 This is the official W a r Department name for the campaign. In Utah it was currently referred to as "Johnston's Army" (sometimes incorrectly as "Johnson's Army"), and the "Echo Canyon W a r . " Elsewhere it was variously called the "Utah W a r , " the "Contractors' W a r , " the "Mormon Rebellion," "Buchanan's Blunder," and "Secretary Floyd's Treason." 2 Otis G. Hammond, ed., The Utah Expedition, 1857-1858; Letters of Capt. Jesse A. Gove . . . (Concord, New Hampshire, 1928). "The Utah W a r ; Journal of Albert Tracy, 1858-1860," Utah Historical Quarterly, XIII (1945). The first entry in the Tracy journal is for March 24, 1858, and consequently does not cover the present story. In evaluating all three of diese journals consideration should be given to the respective religious prejudices of the writers.
