The mormon soldiers were men from the handcart companies that Brigham Young ordered to go with the US Army...
The men had to desert their families in the snow with nobody to help them...
The US government paid the soldiers and Brigham Young pocketed the money which should have gone to support the wives and children...
No kidding? What was up with that?
There were no handcart companies at that time. Brigham Young "ordered" no one. It was a volunteer company. He did have to do some persuading to get enough men to join because there weren't enough volunteers originally.
The men had to desert their families in the snow with nobody to help them...
This was in July. No snow. Their families had the help of all the other Mormons in the camp. We support each other and don't leave each other without help.
The US government paid the soldiers and Brigham Young pocketed the money which should have gone to support the wives and children...
Completely made up nonsense. The money was definitely needed for the move west and it was put to good use.
Tennessee Nana
Before you post your opinions you should check your facts.
The Mormon Battalion was raised in July 1846; the first handcart company did not make the trip west until 1856.
The men did not desert their families in the snow; the recruitment occurred in the July 1846. Certainly, there would have been hardships on the wives and children during their husbands’ absence, but to claim they had nobody to help them is an vast exaggeration. If anything, Mormons are known for taking care of their own.
Yes, the money paid by the government was used by Brigham Young to help finance the Mormon migration to Utah, but every enlistee knew this before he joined up. None of them expected their pay to be used for the sole support of their families. The men were willing to make such a sacrifice so that the money could be used for the migration of many others in need. Part of the money was likely used to support some of the men’s families.
I find your post to be not only historically inaccurate, but overall its tone is critical and unnecessarily harsh.