History of Utah, 1540-1886 - Brigham Young University

END OF THE WAR. 529
well, and from that point mules could be furnished
sufficient for a train of 200 wagons. By dismounting
a portion of the cavalry, horses could also be spared
for the field batteries. All was in readiness, and orders
were given that the army of Utah should advance.
There could be no longer a doubt, if ever there were
any, that the troops would make short work of the
Mormon militia. Behold, the days of the Utah rebellion
were numbered!
But meanwhile events had occurred which prom-
ised a peaceable solution of the difficulty. The spirited
resistance of the saints had called forth unfavorable
comments on Buchanan's policy throughout the
United States and throughout Europe. He had
virtually made war upon the territory before any
declaration of war had been issued; he had sent forward
an army before the causes of offence had been
fairly investigated; and now, at this critical juncture
in the nation's history, he was about to lock up in
a distant and almost inaccessible region more than
one third of the nation's war material and nearly
all its best troops. Even the soldiers themselves,
though in cheerful mood and in excellent condition, had
no heart for the approaching campaign, accepting, as
they did, the commonly received opinion that it was
merely a move on the president's political chess-board.
In a word, Buchanan and the Washington politicians
and the Harney-Johnston army must all confess themselves
beaten, hopelessly beaten, before a blow was
struck. The army was as powerless before the people
it had come to punish as was Napoleon's at Moscow.
All that remained to be done was to forgive the Mormons
and let them go.
Through the pressure brought to bear, coupled
with the expostulations of Kane, Van Vliet, and
Bernhisel, Buchanan was induced to stop the threatened
war, and on the 6th of April signed a proclama-
tion promising amnesty to all who returned to their
Hist. Utah. 34