A Concise History of the Mormon Battalion (1881)

Recognized as the longest military march in modern history, the reader is taken through the painful separation of Battalion members from their families during the exodus from Nauvoo into the unexplored and waterless Southwest; and finally to their arrival and subsequent activities in California. Sgt. Tyler is careful to note spiritual experiences amid the hardships of travel, sickness, and an overzealous medic who prescribed calomel for virtually all illnesses. He includes hundreds of vignettes revealing personalities of Battalion members, their pioneering of the Southwest, and their impact on the history of California - including the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill. (See also B. H. Roberts' work, THE MORMON BATTALION: ITS HISTORY AND ACHIEVEMENTS, 1919) 212 pages