At Sword's Point, Part 1: A Documentary History of the Utah War to 1858 (Kingdom in the West: The Mormons and the American Frontier) Rating :
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
Especially commended for college library and Utah history shelves for its wealth of firsthand accounts
By Midwest Book Review
Part 1 of Volume 10 of the "Kingdom in the West: The Mormons and the American Frontier" series, At Sword's Point: A Documentary History of the Utah War to 1858 chronicles the 1857-58 armed confrontation between Mormon Utah Territory and the U.S. government, which was the most extensive American military action between the Mexican and Civil wars. The entire incident is covered in two volumes; this volume is part 1, which examines the war's causes and preliminary events, such as President Buchanan's executive decision to replace Brigham Young as governor of Utah and reinstate federal authority through an army expedition. Also scrutinized are Young's reactions to the threat, the beginning of hostilities, and Thomas L. Kane's departure in 1857 on his subsequently famous mission to mediate a compromise. An extensively researched and annotated collection of primary historical sources, illustrated with a handful of black-and-white photographs, At Sword's Point is especially commended for college library and Utah history shelves for its wealth of firsthand accounts of soldiers and civilians on both sides of the conflict.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.Not Just Buchanan's Blunder
By Polly Aird
Without a doubt, this is one of the most important books on Mormon history of all time. It Mormon-federal relations spanning a decade that led to confrontation in the Rocky Mountains in 1857. The editor, MacKinnon, has assembled a complex and intricate mosaic of the national--even international--decisions, actions, and bungling that resulted in and emanated from this little-known civil war. I cannot recommend it too highly.
The eighteen chapters of this documentary history cover the multifaceted beginnings of the Utah War up to January 1858 when Thomas L. Kane set off on his difficult winter journey to Salt Lake City in the hopes of finding a peaceful resolution. The book includes, by my count, 204 documents or excerpts of at least a paragraph. Of these, the majority are from archival sources. As one would expect, over half are from the extraordinarily rich LDS Archives. Coming in second are those from the government, published in now-obscure reports and unpublished from the National Archives. Articles from old newspapers ranging from Washington, D.C., and New York City to Buffalo, N.Y.; Cincinnati; St. Louis; Lawrence, Kansas; and San Francisco are represented, as are original letters and other pieces from a broad array of libraries and historical societies. MacKinnon has chosen not to reprint documents available from such sources as LeRoy R. Hafen and Ann W. Hafen's 1958 The Utah Expedition 1857-58, or House Exec. Doc. 71, the primary government publication on the war; nor has he included those previously used in his own earlier journal articles. Instead he has focused on documents never before published or never used in connection with the Utah War. We are thus presented with many new "voices," including those of women, that build on earlier works.
MacKinnon places these documents into a lucid narrative that guides the reader through the confusing plethora of emotions, plans, and events in Salt Lake City, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere that resulted in army troops marching west to confront the Mormon kingdom. And he sets the record straight on long-persistent myths and assumptions about the war.
The thirty-two illustrations are accompanied by extensive captions. Many are rare portraits of key and peripheral players, such as that of Thomas L. Kane before the Civil War (404), General Albert Sidney Johnston wearing the brevet brigadier's star awarded for his leadership of the Utah Expedition (447), and the only known image of Captain Albert Tracy (457). They are complemented by early photographs and contemporary sketches, including two previously unknown ones by Captain Tracy showing a panorama of the army's camp and the interior of Fort Bridger after the November 1857 fortifications were erected (448-49, 451). An excellent modern map of the country between South Pass and Salt Lake City (396) helps orient the reader to what one researcher calls the region where the war was actually "fought" in the fall of 1857 (330).
I highly recommend this sprawling, exciting, and well-written documentary history. And I eagerly await Part 2.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.Well written!
By Barry L. Gutzman
Detailed and for the most part objective. Lots of new information
from other sources.
Product Description
The definitive account of a crucial but enigmatic American episode
The Utah War of 1857–58, the unprecedented armed confrontation between Mormon Utah Territory and the U.S. government, was the most extensive American military action between the Mexican and Civil wars. At Sword’s Point presents in two volumes the first in-depth narrative and documentary history of that extraordinary conflict.
William P. MacKinnon offers a lively narrative linking firsthand accounts—most previously unknown—from soldiers and civilians on both sides. This first volume traces the war’s causes and preliminary events, including President Buchanan’s decision to replace Brigham Young as governor of Utah and restore federal authority through a large army expedition. Also examined are Young’s defensive-aggressive reactions, the onset of armed hostilities, and Thomas L. Kane’s departure at the end of 1857 for his now-famous mediating mission to Utah.
MacKinnon provides a balanced, comprehensive account, based on a half century of research and a wealth of carefully selected new material. Women’s voices from both sides enrich this colorful story. At Sword’s Point presents the Utah War as a sprawling confrontation with regional and international as well as territorial impact. As a nonpartisan definitive work, it eclipses previous studies of this remarkably bloody turning point in western, military, and Mormon history.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #2075893 in Books
- Published on: 2008-04-15
- Original language:English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.17" h x6.42" w x1.46" l,1.94 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 556 pages
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