Show OLD TIMER K fi oliden A VETERAN OF GEN CONNORS CONNOR COMMAND VISITING OGDEN the friend of forty years and now the guest of hon fred J kiesel sergeant presto burrell of idaho a of the early sixties in utah and idaho Is now tow in ogden a guest of fred J kiesel they first met lo 10 1863 at soda springs the veteran who marched from california a with general P E M connors fo command mand Is straight as an arrow and white as the driven now and takes pride in the fact that he is a pioneer of the town which bears hi his s name and the uncle of the lieutenant governor of idaho some history is given below which will recall the stirring old times to many old timers mr burrell enlisted in the third california infantry september ag 1801 1861 to fight for the union cause in the civil war his regiment under the command of colonel connor was mustered into the service of the united states at stockton cal but instead of being ordered east to participate in the dattlo s of the rebellion it was ordered to utah johnsons army sent here to quell the mormon disturbance in 1858 had been ordered e east as t at the outbreak of the war and colonel connors command was sent here in its stead to preserve the peace between mormons cormons and gentiles to protect immigrants and to keep the indians in a state of leaie peace an I 1 to resist any infraction of the law lawt t of the united states colonel connors command marched to utah leaving california in july 18 1862 6 2 and reaching camp floyd the old camp of johnsons army in october from camp floyd the command consisting of GOO infantrymen of the second california cavalry marched to salt lake we camped before we reached the jordan bridge said mr burrell while we were camped there two men visited colonel connors qu quarters art and as we understood it warned him not to cro cross crom m the bridge with his command and come into salt jakc he lie told the two men we understood that he would cross the river even though he lie found the infernal raglon i on the other side the next morning before we started to march we were instructed to fill our cartridge boxes and have our arms ready tor for instant use col connor made us a speech he lie told vs v S 1 to be cautious not to give of offense felise to anybody and toi do nothing to bring brin discredit on the army of f the united states then we ie proceeded to inagh into salt aab lake c in battle oriler order bifi the cavalry ahead it was evening by the time wo we got there we baited halted in front of the governors residence and governor cummings made us a speech in when that was wag over wo we started stained out to the bench where fort douglas i is now located it was late at night when we gott jere and it was pitch dark and cold As sergeant of the gearil I 1 posted the first sentry ever posted at what Is now fort douglas we at once began to prepare for our out winter camp we dug pits or dugouts in in the ground and spread our over ovet them and in that way mado mada ourselves comfortable the Morri morrisine site trouble had occurred shortly before we got to salt lako lake and the men odthe of the party were confined in the penitentiary while the women found lodgings a a best they could in salt lake lare the con confined Morri sites welcomed our corn com in ing during the winter a petition waa circulated for or their pardon and the governor pardoned them the next spring the company to which I 1 belonged was sent to escort escor a colony of to soda springs idaho where they settled that wa waz 1 in the spring of 63 and our com company Dant remained in idaho to protect immigrants until the fall of 1864 when we returned to salt lake and arro mus inus out I 1 returned to idaho and three years later I 1 took tools up a taneli on the blackfoot river where I 1 have resided ever since mr burrell says that while ho lie was stationed at fort douglas there wera no clashes between the military force and the mormon authorities at A one time howsmer how when the cavalry cavalry came down to th tho 0 1 lower ow e r b bench ell c I 1 i t to 0 drill it created a commotion in the town among the people who thought that they were coming to seize Brig brichan harr young some soine of our sold soldiers fers were down town at the time said uld mr burrell and came out to the tile post to report that the people were gathering up all the guns they could find and mak jing their way to the lion mon hou house some sonic of them thein it was said were even armed with picks and shovels I 1 saw colonel connor observing the town through his glass he lie would look nt at the town awhile and then lie would put his glass down and smile gri grimly nily 1 mr burrell was at fort douglas when a portion of colonel connors command had the bear river battle with the shoshone Sho ahone indians on janu ary 29 1863 one company of infantry and the entire second cavalry were sent from salt lake under command of colonel connor and indians were killed in the battle fifteen white soldiers i were killed in the battle and twenty seven perls perished bed at af ferword berward from their wounds 1 I was at fort douglas when the tile dead and wounded were brought back said mr burrell and helped wash and bury many of them mr burrell was never in a fight with the indians himself but tells a story of how Alor cormons mormons mons were intercepted Intercept eI in bear lake county idaho and one of them was billed the captain or of mr burrells company sent a detachment of soldiers under sergeant mar ley to bury them thern this sergeant mr burrell says afterward moved to salt lake and married |