Jefferson Davis as a Confederate Secretary of war or general

America’s Worst President: How Jefferson Davis Lost the Civil War
January 11, 2020 daniel America’s Worst President, America’s Worst President: How Jefferson Davis Lost the Civil War, How Jefferson Davis Lost the Civil War, Jefferson Davis’s British Delusion, Jefferson Davis’s Plot to Trigger a War between the Union and the British Empire, King Cotton Fails the South, What we can Learn from Jefferson Davis
Strangely America’s worst president never served in the White House. Instead, the worst head of government in American history was Confederate President Jefferson Davis (D-Mississippi).

Davis’s incompetence and bungling was of epic proportions. For instance, Davis; more than anybody else, was the architect of Confederate defeat in the American Civil War.

Thus, Davis did America a great service. Jefferson Davis did more to destroy American slavery; an institution he loved, than any abolitionist. Moreover, Davis was responsible for the destruction of the Southern Society he loved.

Jefferson Davis, a Failure who Looked Great on Paper
In common with three other bad presidents; James Monroe (R-Virginia), Andrew Jackson (D-Tennessee), and James Buchanan (D-Pennsylvania), Davis “looked great on paper.”

Jefferson Finis Davis (D-Mississippi) had a tremendous resume when the Confederate Congress elected him provisional President of the Confederacy. Davis was a West Point Graduate, a former Army Officer, and a war hero. In addition, Davis had served as a Congressman, a U.S. Senator, and U.S. Secretary of War before the Civil War.

Despite all that great experience; and a fanatical dedication to the Confederate cause, Davis failed miserably as president. In particular, Davis displayed incredible ignorance of foreign policy, economics, and military affairs throughout his presidency.

Few leaders have had a greater misunderstanding of the political, economic, and military situation his nation faced than Davis. Notably, Davis completely misunderstand the Confederacy’s diplomatic and military situation.

How Jefferson Davis Lost the Civil War
As President Davis made three miscalculations that laid the groundwork for Confederate defeat.

First, Davis assumed the Confederacy was incapable of defeating the Union on the battlefield. Confederate Armies proved Davis wrong by inflicting defeat after defeat on Union forces.

Second, Davis believed the Confederacy could not win without foreign intervention. The Confederacy; however, held out for nearly four years until 1865, with no foreign aid. Indeed, the Confederacy came close to winning the War without foreign intervention in 1862, 1863, and 1864.

Third, Davis thought he could force the world’s greatest military power the British Empire to intervene on the Confederacy’s side. To clarify, Davis thought British industry and the British economy could not survive without Southern Cotton.

Jefferson Davis’s British Delusion
Cotton was the “oil of the 19th Century” the raw material upon which industry depended.

Davis believed Britain’s lucrative textile industry would shut down without Southern Cotton. The hope was Manchester’s mills could close and mobs of unemployed textile workers would march on London.

Fortunately for Southern blacks, Davis misunderstood British society and the economic situation. Additionally, Davis did not realize what Cotton was. Incredibly, Davis forgot that Cotton is a plant that farmers can grow all over the world.

Instead of sending troops to help the South, the British began buying Egyptian and Indian cotton. Sadly, one result of the Civil War was a cotton boom in Egypt, and the redirection of the African slave trade to provide workers for Egypt’s cotton fields.

Second, Davis underestimated the British people’s hatred for slavery. In fact, Parliament had abolished slavery with the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 and freed over 800,000 black slaves in the Caribbean, Canada, and South Africa. They accomplished British abolition despite opposition from powerful economic forces including sugar growers.

Yet Davis ignored history and believed Her Majesty’s Government would come to his aid. Thus, Jefferson Davis had little faith in the Confederate Army but vast amounts of faith in an imaginary British intervention.

King Cotton Fails the South
Davis’s first attempt to force British intervention was the “Cotton Embargo” in 1861. Under Davis’s orders the Confederate government tried to stop the export of cotton.

Davis thought he could throw the United Kingdom into recession by starving Lancashire’s cotton mills. The embargo failed because there had been record cotton harvests in 1859 and 1860. Consequently, cheap cotton flooded the market, so the mills kept operating.


A better Southern Strategy could have been to export as much as cotton to Europe as fast as possible. To explain, the Confederacy could have sold the cotton, and bought arms and munitions with the proceeds. Or bartered the cotton for weapons and ammo.

The South could have imported vast amounts of weaponry and munitions before the Union blockaded or captured its ports. In addition, the South could have imported machinery to make weapons and ammunition before the Union blockaded its ports. This could have given the Confederate Army the firepower it needed to defeat Union forces.

Instead, the Confederacy did not get serious about selling cotton until 1863. By then the Union had captured the South’s largest port; New Orleans, and blockaded its coasts.


As a result of Davis’s bad foreign policy and faulty economics victorious Confederate Armies were suffering shortages of weapons and ammunition by 1863. By 1865, thousands of poorly equipped and hungry Confederate soldiers deserted the war effort.

Jefferson Davis’s Plot to Trigger a War between the Union and the British Empire
Jefferson Davis’s British delusion lasted until the end of the Civil War. After the Cotton Embargo’s failure, Davis came up with an even worse plan.

The President dispatched Confederate agents to Canada to trigger a war between the Union and the British Empire. Davis’s hopes were to divert Union troops from Southern battlefields and provoke a British attack on the Union.


Davis’s plan was to attack the Union from Canada; a British colony. The Confederate hope was that the Union could attack Canada in retaliation leading to war.

During the Civil War, there were 11,000 British troops in Canada with orders to march on New York City, if war broke out. In addition, Britain’s Royal Navy had the firepower to sink the Union Navy and end the blockade.

To trigger a war between the Empire and the Union, Davis dispatched a small cell of covert operators to Canada in May 1864. Former U.S Secretary of the Interior Jacob Thompson led Davis’s agents. Davis gave Thompson $1 million to finance the covert operations.*

Thompson’s mission conducted several covert operations against from Canada. Those operations included a 19 October 1864 raid on St. Alban’s, Vermont, a plot to to burn New York City, and plots to free and arm Confederate prisoners of war held in the North.

The covert operations failed; President Abraham Lincoln (R-New York) refused to attack Canada, and Britain stayed neutral. Instead of British intervention, the Confederacy faced collapse and defeat in 1865.

The Madness of Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis’s delusions continued until the bitter end of the Confederacy.

Incredibly, Davis thought he could continue the war even after Robert E. Lee had surrendered the main Confederate fighting force, the Army of Northern Virginia in April 1865. Even though most Confederate officials and officers joined Lee in surrendering, Davis fought on.

The main Confederate Armies had surrendered; and Union forces occupied most of the South, but Davis believed he could fight on. The president and a small group of followers wandered around the South for weeks trying to organize resistance.

Eventually, Union cavalry captured Davis in Georgia in May 1865. By then the presidential party was in such sorry shape that Davis was wearing his wife’s shawl for warmth. That led Northern newspapers to claim Davis disguised himself as a woman.

After the Civil War, Davis spent two years in federal prison awaiting trial. Federal prosecutors eventually concluded trying Davis was a waste of time so they released him on bail in 1867. After the war, Davis became a minor celebrity living in poverty and writing his memoirs.

What we can Learn from Jefferson Davis
Davis’s experience shows that supposedly sophisticated leaders can totally misread the situation and delude themselves into thinking blunders are successful policy.

Finally, Davis shows that some political leaders will rather go down in defeat than admit they are wrong. The Confederacy’s experience shows that blindly following a bad leader will lead your cause to destruction.

* See Hymns of the Republic: The Story of the Final Year of the American Civil Warby S.C. Gwynne Chapter 13, page 165 for details of Davis’s covert operations in Canada.

On the Significance of Mormon Wars
by Nate Oman • June 28, 2004 • 7 Comments

One of the interesting questions to ask in the current discussions of war and peace is whether the history Mormon wars tells us anything about how Mormons ought to think about these issues.

As I see it there have been essentially three Mormon wars. The first was the war in Missouri. We tend to think about this in terms of mobs that attacked Mormons, but the reality was quite a bit more complicated. The mobs in question were more often than not units of the state militia. Furthermore, Mormons were far from passive victims. They organized their own militias. (Not to be confused with Arvard’s Danites, which seem to have been yet a third organization.) The second Mormon war was in Illinois. Again, our language of “mobs” frequently confuses the issue. What we are talking about were frequently organized attacks by local militias, attacks that the Nauvoo Legion (or what was left of it) eventually resisted at the Battle of Nauvoo.

I freely confess that I don’t know very much about these two wars, so I will leave their deeper significance to those with more knowledge. The third war is one that I know a little bit more about: The Utah War of 1857.

The Utah War had its origins in some federally appointed officials who fled Utah and reported to the President Buchannan that the Mormons were in open rebellion against the United States. It is clear that the Mormon strategy in the 1850s vis-a-vis the federal government was simply to ignore federal officials and do what they were doing anyway. Furthermore, the Mormons were clearly harassing the federal officials, who claimed that they were the targets of death threats.

The President – advised interestingly enough by his Secretary of War Jefferson Davis – ordered the U.S. Army to invade Utah and put down the rebellion. Brigham Young got news of the plan in July, 1857, by which time the Army was on the march toward Utah (although they got a very late start and moved fairly slowly). Brigham took a couple of actions in response:

First, he declared martial law in the territory. De jure this mean that things like civilian courts and the writ of habeas corpus were suspended, and I think that there were some people (gentiles who might take intelligence to the Army advancing across the plain) were throw in the stockade so to speak.

Second, he called out the Nauvoo Legion, the local Mormon militia. The Legion did a number of things. The Mormon cavalry under the command of Lot Smith burned the praries in front of the advancing army so that there was no fodder for their animals. He also stole or burned U.S. Army supply trains. The rest of the Legion, under the command of Daniel Wells, prepared to resist the invaders in the canyons east of Salt Lake City. They set up barricades across the main roads in places like Echo Canyon and prepared to fight the Army when it arrived.

Third, Brigham seems to have made an alliance with the Indians, encouraging them to attack and steal from the advancing Army. This is where Bagley purports to find the smoking gun demonstrating that Brigham ordered the Mountain Meadows Massacre. For a variety of reasons I won’t get into here, it doesn’t look like Bagley’s argument will hold up. However, Brigham clearly did encourage the Indians to attack and steal from advancing wagon trains.

Fourth, Brigham made plans for the evacuation and destruction of Mormon settlements in Salt Lake should the Army force its way into the Valley. Initially, the plan seems to have been for the Saints to flee north into the mountain valleys of north-west Wyoming and western Montana. However, when it became clear that this plan would not work for a variety of reasons, he shifted his attention South. Outlying Mormon settlements in Nevada and Cache Valley were called in, and more or less the entire Mormon population north of Utah Valley went south. Salt Lake City was prepared for the torch. One point to keep in mind about the evacuation was that it doesn’t seem to have been thought of as a method of avoiding conflict. Rather, Brigham and the leaders of the Nauvoo Legion realized that once the Army was out of the canyons, Mormon resistence would be futile in the open country of the Wasatch Front. The idea was to relocated in a more geographically defensible position. Part of the allure of the northern option was that the region could only be approached via a long series of mountain passes and canyons that could be defended more or less indefinitely it was hoped against a superior Army.

As it happened, Lot Smith’s tactics halted the U.S. Army at Fort Bridger. (It should be pointed out that Fort Bridger was a Mormon settlement of sorts at the time; the Church having purchased it from Jim Bridger.) John D. Lee and company murdered the Fancher Party at Mountain Meadows, and Thomas Kane negotiated a truce between the Army and the Mormons.

So what, if anything, does this episode tell us about Mormons and war? Should Brigham’s response be treated as religiously normative in some sense, or do we simply dismiss the Utah war as something of interest only to historians and the like, lacking any inherent insight into a Mormon theology of war?

Executive Department
Utah Territory
Great Salt Lake City
September 8th 1855.

Sir

(Preface)

Contrary to my usual custom, in regard to the various false, malicious, and slanderous Reports, set in motion against my character, by wicked and designing men, I consider, the one in regard to the Gunnison massacre, and my alleged interference with the Jury, influencing their minds in their decision of that case.

As one calling for a reply, and vindication on my part, I am often made aware of, the utter uselessness, and folly of seeking to vindicate my character, from such foul aspersions, as are occasionally raised against me; from the simple fact, that although, the foul aspersion can be bruited far and wide, held to the fluttering breeze by every press, and rolled as a sweet morsel under every tongue, yet when the vile slander is fairly refuted, and truth appears in the most incontestable manner, it is permitted to lie quietly upon the shelf to slumber, the [page 2] sleep of death or if by chance, it should get published in some obscure nook, or corner of this great Republic, be most religiously suppressed, as though in fear that the truth should be Known, and beleived.5 Still in this case under consideration, I feel it incumbent upon me, for my own satisfaction, and that of my friends, as well, as the relatives of the lamented Gunnison, who have desired me to furnish all the details, and particulars of that unfortunate occurrence, and the subsequent trials, before the U.S. Court, of the Indians supposed to have been engaged therein; to gather up, and publish to the world, all the facts in the case. so far as it is possible at the present date.

After premising so much, I will proceed to the details, only remarking, that I did furnish as full a detail of the massacre, and the attending circumstances at the time to the War Department, dated G.S.L. City Nov. 30, 1853. and which I find by comparing with facts elicited since that time, and now before me, literally true, so far as it goes.

A Copy of that Report, marked A, is hereby subjoined.6 [page 3]

The War

On the 18th of July 1853, the Utah Indians7 commenced open hostilities, by killing a man by the name of Kiel at Payson, and driving off a few cattle;8 they continued waylaying, and shooting who they could find. During the remainder of the summer, and fall, men were frequently killed while going to the Kanyons for wood, traveling from one settlement to another, and in various places in the Territory, while pursuing their peaceful avocations.

The Pauvan Indians, are a band of Utahs, inhabiting Millard County, about 150 miles south of this City. Soon after hostilities had commenced, they visited Walker Indian Chief, and the Utahs, who had taken to the mountains with the view of joining him, and his party in the war against the whites. For some reason unknown to us, but probably attributable to the uniform Kindness extended to them by the settlers in Millard County; they soon returned, and said, that they were not going to fight, unless Walker, [page 4] and the Utahs made them do so, and appeared to be greatly under their influence when they were ranging in their neighborhood, and not so much when farther away.9

The principal scenes of actual hostilities, transpired at Sanpete, Juab, and Utah Counties, although, one person was shot while on guard in Fillmore City, & many Cattle were Killed.10 Kenosha,11 the Pauvan Chief, who was always peaceably disposed, finally concluded, that to take some of his braves into the mountains, on a hunt, would be productive of better feeling than to remain in the settlements, where they were continually excited by accounts of bloodshed enacted elsewhere in the Territory.

It is a difficult matter for an indian, to restrain his natural propensity; slaughter when the breath of war is on the breeze. It Kindles a flame in his bosom, which is only quenched by the flow of blood.

Captain Hildreth &C[ompany],12 before the massacre, during the absence of the Pauvan Chief Kenosha, upon his hunt, were going the Southern route to California, arrived at at [sic] Fillmore, in Millard County, about the 23rd of September a.d. 1853. For corroborating [page 5] testimony, see statement of Saml P. Hoyt herewith subjoined, marked, B.13

On that night, this Company which traveled under the direction of a Captain Hildreth encamped on Meadow Creek, about Eight miles south of Fillmore City; while encamped some Indians came to their Camp, for the purpose, (as they say) of trading with them as is their usual custom; they were roughly treated; told to leave, &c; but they concluded that it was their land, and they had a right to remain. The whites then required them to give up their arms, which they all agreed to, but one Tonif, who had only bow, and arrows, upon which one of the Company of the name of Hart14 endeavoring to force them from him, he stabbed him in the abdomen, upon which, Hart shot Tonif with his revolver, who, after running a few rods, dropped down, and died.

The Company also fired several times at the Indians, wounding one, or two others, and Kept one in Camp tied to a wagon wheel all night, who said, that he suffered severely with the cold. It is presumable, however, that his sufferings was partly from fright, as the weather was not very cold. [page 6] During this affray, Captain Hildreth was absent from his camp, taking care of his stock. Upon learning the facts, he regretted exceedingly what had transpired, and said, if he had been present, he might have prevented it. He further said, that he would settle it, if he could by giving presents, not so much upon his own account, as he was able to take care of himself, and Company, but being acquainted with Indian character, he feared that some other persons, or company would have to suffer, in consequence of it. Thus inadvertently predicting the revenge, which, shortly after, was poured out upon the devoted heads of Captain Gunnison, and party.

Kenosh, having been sent for, came in, and succeeded in measureably quieting the excitement, although Kenosh, & Quent15 said, they would not fight, but they stated, at the same time, that some of the “Pauvan Boys,” as they called them were mad, and might fight; among these, the sons of Tonif, were the principal, although there were many who [held] him in high esteem. Tonif, was an elderly man, of considerable influence among his tribe, and considered one of their head men. It was not supposed, that those who still felt dissatisfied would commit any hostilities upon the whites, except it might be Captain Hildreth’s company. [page 7] They followed them to seek an opportunity of revenge, nearly out of this Territory.16

The excitement died away, and Kenosh went out again upon his hunt, and all appeared quiet.

On the 24th of October Captain Gunnison arrived at Fillmore City, at which place, he visited with a few men, leaving the main party camped at Cedar Springs. about 10 miles north of the City, he transacted various business in that place,—was informed of the peaceable disposition of the Indians in that region, as well as what, had previously occured with them, at Captain Hildreth’s camp.17 He returned to his camp, and on the next day, 25th of Octr, started for the “Sevier” where the party was divided, Captain Gunnison with his scientific, and guide; a Mr. Wm. Potter,18 ( ) [parenthesis material erased] who he had employed at Manti, in all 12 persons, proceeded down that stream towards the Sevier Lake, intending to survey the same, and the remainder passing up that river, some fourteen miles, where they encamped, intending to remain, until they should be required by Captain Gunnison & party. [page 8]

The Massacre

Captain Gunnison, arrived at the first small Lake, or pond, about 3 P.M. and encamped on a small grass plat, almost entirely surrounded by willows. Mr. Potter, his guide, remonstrated with him, and proposed a more open encampment, a short distance off, but was over=ruled by Captn. G.19 Some of the party went shooting ducks, in and about, the river, and Lake. There were no indians in sight, but an indian heard the shooting and crept up, till he could see the hunter, and then followed him, till he saw, where the party were encamped,—he observed their numbers and returned to his tribe. Here he raised the war cry! raised a false scalp upon a war pole, & excited the Indians to revenge upon the Americans, (as he called the party, and which he avered he knew to be Americans, because he had heard them swear,)20 the Killing of Tonif, who was his father.21

The Indians held a war dance until about midnight, when they proceeded (about thirty five in number) to the camp of Captain Gunnison, where they remained quiet until after daylight, and when the party were all collected together, eating their breakfast, raised a terrific yell, and made a sudden [page 9] and deadly attack upon them.

Captain Gunnison, having every confidence in his knowledge of the Indian character, and ability of Commanding a good, and peaceful influence,22 immediately sprung upon his feet, and ran out of the tent, raised his hands, and called upon the indians as friends, assuring them of the fact that they were friends, until he fell covered with wounds. The party, were all killed except 4 persons who succeeding in obtaining their horses, made their escape. Mr William Potter, of Manti city employed by Captain Gunnison, as guide, was among the number who were slain. The entire amount of property, field notes, papers, instruments, firearms, and ammunition in the hands of the surveying party, fell into the hands of the Indians.

After the Massacre

Captain Morris,23 who was waiting in camp about 28 miles up the Sevier river, waiting the return of the scientific party, upon hearing the horrid news, immediately jumped upon his horse, ordering the party to follow, and proceeded with all haste to the fatal spot. He arrived at the first bodies that were found dead about dark, and encamped for the night; his command were considerably [page 10] scattered, many of the horses giving out, and not able to keep up, with those belonging to the officers, which were better fed. Those who came into camp passed a sleepless night, holding their bridle reins in their hands, and others who did not succeed in arriving at the Camp wandered about some two days without a morsel of anything to eat, and were finally found by some travelers, in the most destitute condition, without gun, ammunition, horse, and almost without clothing.

Captain Morris, passed on the next morning to where the other dead bodies were lying, and immediately returned to Cedar Springs, the place where he had left on the morning of the 25th with Captain G. & party. He reached this place on the 28th, and on the 29th forwarded by Express furnished by the citizens of Fillmore city, the particulars to me at Great Salt Lake City, which arrived on the evening of the 31st of October 6 P.M.24 Upon the receipt of the sad intelligence, I immediately sent an Express, accompanied by an Interpreter, and a few presents, to aid Captain Morris, in the recovery of the lost property, and in any such matters as might be needful.25

I learned by the Express that Kenosh the Pauvan Chief was not at the massacre, and probably knew nothing of it, until it was [page 11] accomplished. I therefore considered that through him, the property might be recovered, if the proper influences, and appliances were used, and advised, that an effort be made through him for that purpose. This party met Captain Morris, with his command, at Nephi, Sixty-five miles north of Fillmore, with his command proceeding to Great Salt Lake City, where he intended to go into Winter Quarters. They were surprised that no effort had been made to recover the lost property, and also, that the bodies had been left upon the ground, a prey for wolves, and other ravenous beasts, and birds of prey,—not even having received a temporary burial. Captain M. sent one man with the Express, who arrived at Fillmore on the 3rd of November, and proceeded immediately to carry out their instructions, by gathering that portion of the lost property, brought in by friendly Indians, embracing all the Note books, and all the instruments, except the Odometer,26 and on the 4th dispatched Mr. Call,27 with two friendly Indians, and nine men including the man from Captain Morris party, to bring in the remains of Captain Gunnison, and Mr. Wm. Potter, (of Manti) [page 12] the Guide, and bury the rest on the spot.

The soldiers, who knew where the dead bodies were located, this being the only manner of identifying them, as the wolves, and beasts of prey had completely torn off their flesh. The remains were all buried upon the spot, except Captain Gunnison, and Wm Potter. The remains of Captain Gunnison, although the most thorough search was made for it, could not be found, except on[e] leg bone, and some of the hair, the bone, and what was found of Mr. Potter was taken to Fillmore, and decently interred.

Why Captain Morris did not bury the dead bodies, before he thus left them a prey to the ravenous beasts of the Desert, I do not know. True, it is as he said, that he had no tools for digging a grave, but a guard could have been placed over them, or an Express could have been sent to Fillmore for tools, or teams, to have conveyed them thither, which would have been the proper course. Upon having interrogated Captain Morris upon this point, he replied, that he had thought of throwing the bodies into the River, but had no means of burying.28 Kenosh, exceedingly regretted the occurence, and said, had he been there, he would have prevented it, [page 13] but it is thought, that it would have been a difficult matter for him. He is a young man, and many of those engaged in this affair, were old men, particularly friendly to Tonif, who was Killed by the emigrants under Captain Hildreth, and although nominally under Kenosh, were considered rather a detached band.29 In the absence of emigrants or travelers, whereon to wreak their vengeance, these Indians were gathering as many of their tribe as possible, with the intention, of making an attack upon Fillmore, and then passing on join the hostile Utahs, who were still in active hostilities against the whites.

It was not known to the inhabitants of Millard County, that there were any indians in that particular region. It was known that a portion were off hunting, and so far as known at the time Captain Gunnison visited Fillmore City, that they were generally peaceably disposed.

The excitement consequent upon the Killing of Tonif, having measurably subsided; in this however it appears, the inhabitants were mistaken, as they would probably find out, or have soon learned to their cost, had not the arrival of Captain Gunnison & party in their immediate vicinity furnished them the opportunity of venting their pent [page 14] up vengeance.30

The Arrest

During the fall, and winter of 1854 & 5 Col E. J. Steptoe, who was with this command wintering in this, (G.S.L. City) conceived it his duty, to bring to justice those Indians engaged in this deed of blood.31 He conversed with me upon this subject, and I freely gave him my views, and advice in relation thereto.

It was my opinion, that inasmuch, as the massacre took place during war, that no Court acting in accordance with Law, and Justice, could convict those Indians before any Court, where, the Laws of either the Territory, or the United States were fairly administered. If it was desirable to bring them before the Courts, it was decidedly my opinion, that they could be obtained much cheaper, and easier, in an amicable, and peaceful manner by presents to Kenosh, and others, than by making any hostile demonstration against them.32

The Colonel, in my Judgment very properly pursued the peaceable course. He employed Mr. George Bean, Indian Interpreter,33 to go to Fillmore, and ascertain the probable success of the undertaking. Mr. Bean, found Kenosh [page 15] willing to do as he was required, and finally succeeded in securing in Fillmore, Seven men, the number required by Col Steptoe to be given up for trial. The Col considered that number satisfactory, and upon the return and favorable report of Mr. Bean, sent a small detachment of troops to receive, and guard the prisoners to this city. They were accordingly brought here, accompanied by one Squaw, the wife of one of the prisoners, and quartered in the Barracks of the soldiers, whose shameful conduct in abusing this Squaw, was made a matter of Complaint by her husband to me, and several others.34 He said, he wished that she might be removed, fearing, that the soldiers would actually Kill her: the prisoners were removed to another place, as soon as the Complaint came to the Knowledge of Col Steptoe.

It was during the imprisonment of those Indians, in this city, that it was suggested by Col Babbitt,35 and others, to have the indians under the Habeas Corpus act, upon the ground that they were illegally held, not being in the Judicial District, in which the crime was committed, and being held exclusively by [page 16] the Military without an indictment, and not by Judicial Authority. Mr. Babbitt, did ask my opinion upon the subject. I advised him, to leave the whole matter with the court; the very reverse of what was alledged against me, of instructing the Attorney General of the Territory to have them so released.36

The Trial

On the 10th March Hon John F. Kinney37 Officers of Court, and Col Steptoe with a large escort of soldiers, with prisoners in charge, met in Nephi City to hold the court, which from various words, and sayings, such as selecting the place of execution on their way down &c was supposed would undoubtedly result in the execution of the Indians; judging from all that was said, a listener would have come to the conclusion, that the case was, (to say the least), prejudged it appeared to be the entire object, and intent of the principal portion to slay some indians; seeming to think, that it would reflect, more, or less Glory upon somebody and a small share upon all who should act any conspicuous part in the forthcoming tragedy.38

The first two days, after the arrival at Nephi, there was more drunkenness than sobriety, Bacchus, much to our surprise, found among [page 17] his worshippers, and devotees, the highest, as well as the lowest; the civilian clothed with Judicial ermine, as well as Gallant Militaire, first paid their humble adoration to the God of inebriation. The misfortune was, that they all considered themselves capable of doing business: hence, the insults, and abuse to the jurors by the prosecuting Attorney, and others, as shown in the accompanying documents, marked (C).39

Three only of the prisoners were indicted, and just put upon their trial. It appears, that Kenosh, with Indian shroudness, was for making the best bargain that he could; therefor replied, when asked, why he did not deliver those who were the most guilty, that he would rather spare old decript men, and even Squaws who were of little account, than his young men. It is worthy of remark, that those indians who were the very leaders, were known by all the Officers to be at Nephi, as also at Fillmore, while Judge Kinney, and Col Steptoe, with escort were visiting that place in the fall previous, soon after their arrival in the Territory; at which time, Kenosh proposed to give them up, if they would give him some presents,40 but they declined to take them for this reason, as they avered “owing to [page 18] the unprotected situation of the Southern Settlements.”41 It will also be observed, that they required man for man; for so many Americans, as they called them as was slain, must be paid by claiming so many of that tribe of Indians who committed the deed. This mode of dealing was well understood by the Indians, as it is a custom with them to settle differences in the same manner; with this difference, when they are not very mad, they will substitute horses for men,—taking a horse, instead of a man. To have carried out this policy strictly, eight should have been required, as there were eight men killed, but one of them being a citizen of Utah, Mr. Potter, of Manti. It was not considered of importance sufficient, to require the atoning blood of an Indian, to compensate, unless, indeed, the killing of Tonif by the Americans was considered a set off, of one in the trade as understood by the Indians.42 The Indians, however, soon found out, that the Americans were not very mad, as they soon released all but three of the Indians, for the release of which, Kenosh would have been extremely reluctant, to have given a horse each to have them redeemed. Nevertheless the trial went on [page 19] and it was shown, that the prisoners were more or less engaged in the massacre, by Indian testimony alone, but none of them were the leaders. It was shown, that the massacre took place, during the existence of actual hostilities between the Utahs, and whites; that this band had not participated in the Killing of any of the whites, but had suffered the loss of one of their principal men by the whites, during the war.43 It has been stated in the public prints, by a Report said to be made by a Reporter at the time upon these points, and testimony leading thereto, was over=ruled by the Court, but Judge Kinney, who Presided, said to me that they were not. I therefore rather give credit to his own words, than the report alluded to.44

The court did finally charge the Jury, that they must find the prisoners guilty of murder in the first degree, or acquit them entirely. The Jury did find a verdict of manslaughter, and were told by the Court, and other members of the bar, that they had violated their Oaths.45 But the court finally accepted of the verdict, and sentenced the prisoners to the extent of [page 20] the Law of the United States for that crime; stating to the Indians, that had it been left to the Court to say, they would have been hung.

There was other business before the Court Grand Jury, and before the Court; one item of which was to indict those men who had killed Tonif; but contrary to all usage, and custom, the Court dismissed the Grand Jury, and adjourned the Court.46

Not having tis true, hung up the Indians, as was manifestly their wish and design, but being partially compensated & mollified by successful worship, and adoration at the shrine of venus, and Mrs. Ammon.47 they had successfully tried some of the indians, and some of the Squaws, see accompanying documents marked (D).

They were tried by the Laws of the United States, instead of the Laws of the Territory. An effort was made by Mr. Babbitt, on the part of the defence, to have them tried by the Laws of the Territory, but was over=ruled by the Court; when however, the verdict was given, the Court enquired, if he could not sentence them under the Law of the Territory, as the punishment for the crime of manslaughter [page 21] was greater under these Laws, than the Laws of the U S. The argument of the defence was, that inasmuch as the Court had over-ruled them in their attempt to get the trial before the Court under the Statutes of the Territory, that now it should not depart from its own ruling; this argument, prevailed with the court.

After the Trial

The convicts, were delivered into the Penitentiary near Great Salt Lake City on the 26th day of March A.D. 1855 and made their escape on the night of the 31st on or about of the same month.

After waiting a few days, to see if any one would take interest enough in the matter, to re=capture them, and finding there was not, I sent for, and obtained them, and they are now, and have been since their re=capture in the prison of the Territory according to the sentence of the Court.48

So far as influencing the Jury in their verdict, I utterly disclaim having anything to do with it, neither did the Jury admit that they had received any such instruction from me, or been so influenced in any manner whatever, as alluded, or alledged in the reports [page 22] given, and published, that charge is an unmitigated falsehood, made without the least shadow of proof,49 and we consider, the whole affair, a Judicial farce, unworthy of honorable men, and reflecting no credit upon any of the parties concerned; neither resulting in any good influence upon the Indians.50

Thus I have given, an unvarnished statement of the whole affair, as it is generally understood by all who have any Knowledge of the matter.

The accompanying papers, though not as full and complete as they might be, still most conclusively show all the main facts in the case; whatever is not fully shown therein is of notorious truth, such as Mr. William Potter a citizen of Manti, having been slain with the rest of the party; which fact seems to have been studiously left out in all the reports of the late trials.51

I have the honor to be

Hon. Jefferson Davis
Secretary of War
War Department
Washington City
D.C.

Most Respectfully
Your Obd Sert
signed Brigham Young.

Gov. & Ex=officio Supt of
Indian Affairs.

Whoa boy. Where to start…

-Lincoln manipulated Davis into attacking Ft. Sumter. This made the Confederacy seem like the initial aggressors and made Lincoln seem like a more competent politician.
-Davis and Alexander Stephens constantly fought with each other. Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, by contrast, worked well together.
-The Confederate cabinet was unstable and its members always fought each other. Davis wanted his cabinet to be representative of all the states within the Confederacy, but there were more states than there were cabinet positions. This caused resentment among the states which lacked representation in the Confederate cabinet which pressured Davis to frequently replace people which caused more resentment. By contrast, Lincoln simply filled his cabinet with the most qualified individuals and orchestrated their responsibilities so they would work together rather than bicker.
-Davis and Lee didn’t agree with each other in regard to strategy. Davis favored a defensive strategy, but Lee favored an offensive strategy. Lincoln trusted the judgment of his generals.
-Occasionally Davis did socially awkward things. For instance, after the First Battle of Bull Run, Davis learned about the battle before it had ended. He sat his gee and rode toward the battlefield. When he encountered Confederate soldiers walking in the opposite direction, he dismounted his horse and said something to the effect of “Why are you retreating? It is I, Jefferson Davis, your president. Follow me back to the battle.” The soldiers stared at him for a few seconds and responded, “The battle’s over, sir. We won.” Then Davis was like, “Oh, um…” By contrast, Lincoln was witty and had was a great speaker. (cf. the Gettysburg Address)
-Davis wanted to be a general, not a president. He frequently interfered with his generals. Davis was like “I’m THE PRESIDENT! I should lead the war!” By contrast Lincoln basically told his generals “Lol. I’m just a lawyer/politician. I don’t know anything about war. You guys are more qualified. Please win this. Let me know what I can do to help.”
-Related to the above, Davis ignored domestic crises, especially the economic ones, in the Confederacy. He didn’t understand inflation well. He wasn’t able to implement an efficient tax system.
-Davis was aloof. People in the Confederacy were starving. Once he was riding his horse and some starving soldiers called out, “Feed us, Jeff! We’re hungry!” He ignored them.
-Davis was bad at international diplomacy. He asked Europe to help the Confederacy. Europe said no. By contrast, Lincoln told Europe to stay out of the war. Europe obeyed.
-Davis practiced nepotism. He appointed friends and family members to military positions, even when those people were unqualified.
-Davis frequently argued with and alienated state governors. In a confederation, this is suicidal.
-Lincoln was flexible; Davis was rigid. Lincoln wanted to win; Davis wanted to be right. Lincoln had a broad strategic vision of Union goals; Davis could never enlarge his narrow view. Lincoln searched for the right general, then let him fight the war; Davis continuously played favorites and interfered unduly with his generals, even with Robert E. Lee. Lincoln led his nation; Davis failed to rally the South.

~ William J. Cooper, Jr.

The Mormon War
Sunday, March 1, 1857
The Mountain Meadows Massacre. Courtesy of the Internet Archive.

The Mountain Meadows Massacre. Courtesy of the Internet Archive.
The Mormon War, otherwise known as the Utah War or Mormon Rebellion, describes the violence surrounding an armed confrontation between Mormon settlers in Utah Territory and the U.S. Army, which lasts from March 1857 to July 1858. Tensions between followers of the Latter Day Saint movement (Mormons) and Protestant Americans had simmered for two decades, including intense conflicts in the 1838 Mormon War (otherwise known as the Missouri Mormon War, involving David Rice Atchison as a militia general and resulting in the death of the movement's founder, Joseph Smith Jr.) and the 1844-1846 Illinois Mormon War (resulting in the Mormon Exodus to Utah Territory under the leadership of Brigham Young).

In the 1857-1858 Mormon War, President James Buchanan sends U.S. troops to Utah Territory in the so-called "Utah Expedition." The Mormons, fearing violent persecution, arm themselves and occasionally skirmish with U.S. soldiers. No casualties result from battles with the U.S. forces, but in total, approximately 150 people die violently in the conflict, most notably in the Mountain Meadows Massacre, which involves the Mormon slayings of between 100 and 140 migrants of the Baker-Fancher wagon train in southern Utah, between September 7-11, 1857. The various factors and motivations instigating the massacre remain unclear, but it is notable that roughly as many lives were lost in the Mormon War as in the "Bleeding Kansas" era.

Also notable is the apparent involvement of future Missouri bushwhacker and famed raider of Lawrence, Kansas, William Clarke Quantrill. Quantrill goes to Utah in the spring of 1858 to resupply federal forces, and he supposedly befriends Southern-sympathizing guerillas and acquires a taste for banditry, and a year later he returns to Kansas and falls in with Missouri border ruffians.