List of Black Hawk War Veterans Made for the Years 1866 and 1867 ~ submitted by David R. Gunderson

List of Black Hawk War Veterans Made for the Years 1866 and 1867

For the most part, the Indians and the settlers got along well during the first two decades after the arrival of the settlers.  But, it is impossible for two peoples, with such different cultures, to come together without difficulties.

In early 1865, when Congress, belatedly[1] decided to normalize land titles in Utah, the differences came to a head, and from April 1865 to September 1872, Utah's Black Hawk War, the longest and most serious Indian-White conflict in Utah’s history, was carried out. The first three years were the most intense. The Records show that during the War, 72 settlers and at least 122 Indians were killed and that the War caused the destruction of thousands of dollars of property and cost the territory at least $1,121,037. [2]

Mt. Pleasant Relic Home

The final peace treaty was signed in Mt. Pleasant in 1872, at the home of Bishop W. H. Seely (currently, the Mt. Pleasant Relic Home.)

In an attempt to obtain some recompense for members of the Nauvoo Legion from the U. S. government, George A. Smith[3] had a list made of the men who had served during the years of 1866 and 1867. It was ignored by Congress. However, it preserved a record of the names of those who served.

   

 

Medal for Black Hawk War Service
Awarded to Andrew Beckstrom^[6]of Mt. Pleasant in 1905        

Medals^[1] of Honor for service during the “Indian Wars” were authorized by the State of                

Utah on 9 March 1905[2], The Utah Legislature           
 also approved pensions for this service in 1909.

             On 4 March 1917, Congress also approved a Pension Plan^[3], for veterans or their survivors^[4]
of “Certain Indian Wars”.

          The following sections[5] give the name, rank, pay grade and assignment of the men of Mt. Pleasant who served during the Black Hawk War during 1866 and 1867.

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[1] Gottfredson, 345

[2] This was 40 years after the start of the Black Hawk War and after most of its veterans had passed away.

[3] Longsdorf, 139

[4] Gottfredson, 350, Indicates that Sen. Reed Smoot got the bill amended so that it covered the services of Nauvoo Legion Troops
  who were technically in Church service.

[5] L. Tom Perry Special Collections at BYU on line at https://archive.org/stream/indiandepredatio00utah#page/80/mode/2up.

[6] Andrew Beckstrom was a veteran of the Black Hawk War and is the great-grandfather of Betty  G. Woodbury