Division of Archives and Records Service

Territorial militia records, 1849-1877; 1905-[ca.1917].

View history of records' creator.

Schedule Description

These papers document the administration and activities of various segments of the territorial militia, also known as the Nauvoo Legion. They were brought together by archives staff in the late 1950s and early 1960s in an effort to collect all documents about Utah veterans from any source and to serve as a state repository for those documents. Numerous categories of papers are included, among them correspondence, receipts and bills, diaries and journals, muster rolls, payrolls, rosters, reports, and returns. These papers relate to the administrative responsibilities of Lieutenant General, Daniel H. Wells, and his headquarters staff. They also include papers of the local military districts with

their own battalions, regiments, and companies. Orders were dispersed from headquarters and various reports sent from local headquarters, so most of the papers are from the territorial period. There are other papers collected in the early 20th century by the Adjutant General of the Utah National Guard in an attempt to document pension claims of Indian War veterans. A few papers were collected later from private donors by the Military Records Section of the Utah Historical Society. Correspondence, orders, and court-martial papers comprise the most descriptive and heterogeneous of the documents. Letters between local units and headquarters are the most common. There is also correspondence with outsiders, such as a letter to Samuel Colt

regarding the purchase of firearms or with the Secretary of War regarding federal reimbursement for expeditions. Much information relates to routing administrative matters such as the organization of local militia companies. Other topics include campaigns against Indians, including the Blackhawk and Walker Wars and various raids on or by the Ute, Shoshone, and Navajo. The confrontation with Johnston's army in the late 1850s is discussed briefly. Guarding the Overland Trail mail and telegraph routes for a few months during the Civil War is also mentioned. In addition to correspondence, journals or typed transcripts are relatively descriptive. They include personal or company diaries kept at the time of service. They also include reminiscences of service

sent in to validate pension requests in the early 20th century. Various lists comprise the bulk of the documents. They include muster rolls, returns listing men and equipment, payrolls, and lists for specific activities (e.g._furlough lists, morning reports, duty rosters, detachment lists, etc.). Financial documents, including supplies, bills, provision lists, receipts, and so forth, comprise a small group of documents. There are account ledgers for various expeditions against the Indians which were reimbursed by the federal government. Other miscellaneous documents include occasional maps. In 1870, Governor J. Wilson Shaffer issued a proclamation that proscribed the militia as commanded by Lieutenant General Wells.

In 1887, the federal Edmund-Tucker Act disbanded the Nauvoo Legion entirely. Much information was initially collected by the Nauvoo Legion Adjutant General, which was transferred to and added to by the Utah National Guard Adjutant General. The records were later transferred to the Military Records Section of the Utah State Historical Society, which also added information. Finally, the records were turned over to the Utah State Archives.

Scope and Content

These papers relate to the administrative responsibilities of the lieutenant general, Daniel H. Wells, and his staff such as the adjutant general (James Ferguson 1849-1861), quartermaster general, and commissary general. They also include papers of the local military districts with their own battalions, regiments, and companies. Orders were dispersed from headquarters to the local units, and various reports were made from the local units to headquarters. Thus most of the papers are from the territorial period. However, there are others from the early 20th century, collected primarily by the Adjutant General of the Utah National Guard in an attempt to document the claims of Indian War veterans for pensions.

The adjutant general was the most significant officer in terms of record keeping for the Legion. He was responsible for furnishing subordinates with blank forms, keeping a rank roll of officers, keeping muster rolls from throughout, keeping a record of property, and keeping the proceedings of all departments with a full record of all expeditions and expenses incurred. The Legion supply officers, such as the quartermaster and commissary generals, and the various lower ranking commanders were obligated to keep up their records so that they could report to the adjutant general.

Correspondence, orders, and court-martial papers comprise the most descriptive and most heterogeneous of the documents. These are generally grouped together and arranged largely in chronological order. Letters from local units to headquarters and from headquarters to local units are the most frequent. There is also correspondence with outside agencies or individuals, such as a letter from Samuel Colt regarding purchase of firearms or to the Secretary of War requesting federal reimbursement for expeditions. Much of the correspondence and orders relate to routine administrative matters such as the organization of local militia companies.

Indian relations is another prominent topic. The emphasis is on campaigns against bands of Ute, Shoshone, Navajo, and others during the Walker wars, Blackhawk wars, and various raids. Some of the letters are to or from Brigham Young in his role as Territorial Superintendent of Indian Affairs, in addition to those in his role as Commander in Chief. Occasionally proceedings of civilian district or probate courts are found in cases regarding Indians.

The confrontation with Johnston's army is discussed in a few letters of the late 1850s. Utah's guarding of the Overland Trail mail and telegraph routes for a few months during the Civil War is also mentioned. Court-martial papers are common throughout, and include charges, minutes, verdicts, and fines. Military survey crews sent to explore and map new areas are included as well. Personal correspondence of General Wells and some of his clerks, such as John Winder, appear interspersed with those relating to military matters.

Journals or typed transcripts are also included, particularly in a group of documents numbered 1286-1307. These include personal or company diaries kept at the time of service. They also include typed reminiscences of service sent in to the National Guard Adjutant General (not directly connected to the Nauvoo Legion Adjutant General) in the early 20th century to substantiate claims of service and validate pension requests. A few typed papers summarizing such data are also included.

Various lists comprise the bulk of the documents. They include numerous rosters, rolls, returns, and reports. There are reports which have a narrative form similar to a journal but which were sent to headquarters. More commonly referred to as reports or returns are listings of men and equipment which broadly describe the condition of a unit. These usually cite the number of men, horses, equipment, etc. but may or may not provide names. For example, regimental and brigade returns provide the names of the officers along with their dates of election and commission, but only the numbers of the other officers, musicians, and privates along with the numbers of equipment, horses, and arms. The word "returns" may also be used for election returns collected from the election of officers. Various lists of officers may include these election returns, requests for commissions to be issued, recommendations for appointments, and listings of assignments.

Muster rolls and payrolls generated by each military district or individual units within the district are common. Muster rolls provide a listing of the men mustered with muster in dates plus the equipment (firearms, horses, tack, etc.) that they brought with them. Technically they were to include muster out dates as well, although many do not. The term "muster roll" is often applied loosely, for example, "staff and field muster rolls" are more precisely returns, recording the equipment held by the major and the adjutant, without providing muster dates. Payrolls provide listings of militia members and the amounts paid them for their service. There are name lists for specific activities (e.g.. furlough lists, morning reports, duty rosters, etc.), rank rolls (names and rank), service reports (names and number of days served), detachment lists (individuals detached on a specific expedition), and other types of rosters which provide names of those serving. Some of these, particularly the payrolls, were later used by the U.S. War Department to calculate reimbursement of expenses incurred in anti-Indian campaigns. All were frequently used in the early 20th century by the Adjutant General's office and the U.S. Pension Bureau for proof of name and record of service in validating pension claims.

Financial documents, including correspondence regarding supplies, bills, receipts, provision lists, calculations etc. comprise a small group of documents primarily numbered 1600-2750. There are account ledgers for services in various expeditions against the Indians. Bills and receipts from individuals, the territory, and the federal war department are also present. The federal government would reimburse the territory for costs incurred in fighting Indians. The federal government was also billed in 1862 for the months the militia guarded the Overland trail.

There are a few maps. Those numbered 4628A-4632 contain two of parade grounds/camp, one of the Fish Lake area, one of the Sevier River area, and one of the St. George to Green River trail. Rarely a sketched map will be included as part of a letter.

In 1870, Governor J. Wilson Shaffer issued a proclamation that proscribed the militia as commanded by Lieutenant General Wells. In 1887, the Edmunds-Tucker Act disbanded the Nauvoo Legion entirely.

Notes

Papers are arranged numerically according to a number assigned by the archives staff in the early 1960s. Papers were roughly grouped by size and type, e.g.. correspondence, financial, or rolls. Correspondence is often further arranged chronologically. Rolls are often further grouped by military district or modern county. However these clusters are not mutually exclusive.

Paper, unbound: brittle, tears

The Military Records Center acquired the documents from the late 1950s into the early 1960s, rearranging and grouping them by document type, date, and/or military district. Indexes were prepared for most of the correspondence, but plans to index all documents were never completed. Documents were microfilmed from 1963 to 1981. Some refilming was done in 1991. The series was processed by A.C. Cone in 1990. Some document numbers were never assigned: 262, 411, 1186, 1400-1499, 4792-4829, and 2751-2999. In 1990, still other numbers were noted as either missing or never assigned: 561 and 1593-1599. Many papers once kept by the adjutant general were previously arranged by a different document and envelope number that appears on some of the documents. What was once the index to that old numbering system, known as documents 5521 through 7469, was removed and made into series 6330.

Has a variety of unusual document types, some with particular aesthetic appeal. Also receive a fair amount of reference use. Therefore the series was preserved in the original paper as well as being filmed to reduce handling of that paper.

Most of these records were acquired from the Adjutant General's office. Some were filed there during the territorial period as they were created in the office or sent in by local units. Others were acquired by the National Guard Adjutant General, not a literal descendent of the Territorial Militia Adjutant General, as part of his duties in documenting pension claims to the U.S. War Dept. of Pensions. Still others were acquired by the Utah State Historical Society Military Records Section from a variety of private donors (individuals such as Mrs. Glen S. Burt, Daughters of Utah Pioneers, LDS Church Historian's office, etc.) and interfiled with the other territorial militia documents.