Speaker: William P. Mackinnon

SW10016: All Hell is Boiling Over: The Utah War’s California History

This presentation examines neglected aspects of the Utah War, when in early 1858, the Buchanan administration sought to reinforce Col. Albert Sidney Johnston’s Utah expedition–then snowbound at Fort Bridger–with a massive infusion of troops into Utah from the Pacific Coast, especially California. The paper tells the story of this plan’s origins, its sometimes bizarre development, …

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