Archives West Finding Aid

The Hamilton Gardner military history publication (1952), by Gardner (1888-1961), is titled Pioneer Military Leaders of Utah. In this publication, Gardner sketches the Mormon Battalion story and locates many of the men in their settlements after their return to Utah. Most of these men continued their military service in the local militia. He points out that most of the active field duty in conflicts against the Indians was conducted by military units in the central and southern parts of the territory, whereas the units in north and central Utah were most active in the conflict of 1857, during the Utah Expedition. The territorial militia during the Civil War is covered briefly, as is the Black Hawk War and other Indian conflicts.