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Show Pioneer Trails Mormon Battalion Story Continued From Last Week 10. That the flag pole from the top of which the Stars and Stripes was to fly for the first time over the City of Los Angeles, was obtained ob-tained under the protection of a military escort consisting of men of the Mormon Battalion. James S. Brown, private in Company D, in his autobiography entitled Life of a Pioneer, records the following: follow-ing: A Spaniard was hired to haul a liberty pole from San Bernardino Ber-nardino Canyon, a distance of eight miles, and as he dared not undertake the journey without military escort,. Corporal Lafayette Lafay-ette Shepard (Company A, Mormon Mor-mon Battalion) and fourteen other men among whom the writer was included, were sent to protect the Spaniard and help get the pole down to the fort . . We hastened back to the fort with our charge, the logs in the rough being about fifty feet each, two two making a pole between ninety and ninety-five feet long when completed, which was done by the members of the Battalion at the Fort. another tough trip - to help him take John C. Fremont back to Fort Leavenworth to stand court-martial court-martial trial." With such an historic record, the Mormon Battalion stands out preeminently pre-eminently in the winning of California Cal-ifornia to the bosom of the republic re-public and should present, or future fu-ture historians fail to accord the boys of the Battalion the just honor and credit due them, a great injustice will be done. As members mem-bers of the National Society of the Sons of the Utah Pioneers, it is our solemn obligation to establish es-tablish and sustain historical truth as pertains to all phases of our pioneer heritage. This story would not be complete com-plete without a word about the pioneer spirit and loyalty of the descendants of this gallant battalion. bat-talion. . Noble and of the true character of their ancestors who made history in that flag raising on July i, 1847, they donned the costumes of their forebearers to re-enact the ceremony on July 4, 1956. Traveling' by somewhat a "different "dif-ferent mode of transportation," the men left Salt Lake City for Los Angeles by bus, where they participated in the historical event. They paraded from the Court and Spring Streets to historical Ft. According to Daniel Tyler in his "A Concise History of the Mormon Mor-mon Battalion in the Mexican War," On May 10, 1847, the Battalion Bat-talion was addressed by General Gen-eral Kearney. No commander ever did or could eulogize or give a greater need of praise to any corps; of veterans than was given this little band by the Commander of the Army of the West. In conclusion he said he ( would take pleasure in repre senting our patriotism to the President and in the halls of Congress, and give us the justice our praiseworthy conduct had merited. When General Kearney left Los Angeles on May 13, 1847, to return east overland, he called on Captain Jefferson Hunt of Company A, ranking Commander of the Mormon Mor-mon Battalion to provide an escort of eighteen of his boys, "those who could shoot straight and endure Moore Pioneer Memorial Site. Here the colorful ceremony was performed by some 100 uniformed members of the modern-day Mormon Mor-mon Battalion led by the organization's organ-ization's historian, Nicholas G. Morgan Sr., who protrayed General Gen-eral Kearney's part in the flag raising, and Lt. Col. Fred E. Curtis who summarized the original battalion's bat-talion's history. Traveling the same historical trails the group visited Las Vegas, Colton, Los Angeles, Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Sacramento Sacra-mento and Virginia City and Elko, Nevada. At Donner Monument they conducted con-ducted a memorial service. And following the trail where possible the battalion returned to Salt Lake City July 9th. The greatness and deeds of the members of the Mormon Battalion will ever live in history and be kept alive by the spirit of this 20th century battalion .... their descendants. |