Draft:Latter-day Saints Militias and Military Units
 | Review waiting, please be patient.
This may take 3 months or more, since drafts are reviewed in no specific order. There are 2,584 pending submissions waiting for review.
Where to get help
How to improve a draft
You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Editor resources
Reviewer tools
|
| Submission declined on 26 March 2024 by Chetsford (talk). This draft's references do not show that the subject qualifies for a Wikipedia article. In summary, the draft needs multiple published sources that are:
Where to get help
How to improve a draft
You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Editor resources
This draft has been resubmitted and is currently awaiting re-review. |  |
Comment: Potentially notable, however, FamilySearch is not WP:RS. Needs more robust sourcing. Chetsford (talk) 00:46, 26 March 2024 (UTC)
| Part of a series on |
| Mormon Militias |
|---|
 |
Throughout its history the Latter Day Saint movement operated multiple militias and military units. One of the first militas was the Danite. The first military unit was the Nauvoo Legion, the city militia for Nauvoo, Illinois.[1][2]
Danites[edit]
The Danites were a fraternal organization founded by members of the Latter Day Saint movement in 1838 in Missouri. They operated as a vigilante group during a period of intense conflict known as the 1838 Mormon War.
Nauvoo Legion[edit]
The Nauvoo Legion was a state-authorized militia of Nauvoo, Illinois, from 1841 until 1845. It was one of the largest private military forces in the United States at the time and served to protect the city of Nauvoo and its inhabitants. In 1845 the Nauvoo Legion lost its official sanction as an arm of the Illinois militia, following a controversy in which the Nauvoo Expositor newspaper was destroyed by the Legion on Joseph Smith's orders. The unit was dissolved and as former soliders went west, they joined the Mormon battalion.
Whistling and Whittling Brigade[edit]
With the repeal of the Nauvoo Charter, the city was left without an official militia or police force.[3][4] In response, in March 1845, Brigham Young organized the Bishops and Deacons to "take care of the poor and guard the city at night, to keep everything straight".[3] Out of these efforts came an organization known as the Whistling and Whittling Brigade who used legal, nonviolent means to monitor apostates, strangers, "Gentiles", or enemies and encourage them to leave town.[3][4] Members would surround and follow suspicious individuals without engaging in conversation; they whittled pieces of wood, casting shavings in the person’s direction, all while whistling, gathering more members of the group.[3][4] The organization lasted for less than two months and was phased out as Nauvoo regained law enforcement.[4]
Mormon Battalion[edit]
The Mormon Battalion was the only religious unit in United States military history to be recruited solely from one religious body and having a religious title as the unit designation.[citation needed] The volunteers served from July 1846 to July 1847 during the Mexican–American War. The battalion made a grueling march of nearly 1,950 miles from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to San Diego, California.[5][6]
Utah Territorial Milita[edit]
The Utah Territorial Militia, also known as the Nauvoo Legion, was reestablished in 1849 in the Utah Territory. Its primary role was to provide security against Indian depredations to spreading Mormon settlements.[7]
Lot Smith Cavalry Company[edit]
The Lot Smith Cavalry Company was part of the Utah Territorial Militia during the Civil War. For three months, this company patrolled the main trail from Salt Lake City east to Independence Rock on the Sweetwater.
Present day[edit]
Today, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints operates a security division known as the "Church Security Division" to protect church leaders and General Conference sessions.[8][9]
References[edit]
- ^ "Servicemember Branches". www.churchofjesuschrist.org. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
- ^ Fleek, Sherman L.; Freeman, Robert C. (2023-04-12). The Mormon Military Experience: 1838 to the Cold War. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0-7006-3432-3.
- ^ a b c d Moody, Thurmon Dean (1975). "Nauvoo's Whistling and Whittling Brigade". BYU Studies Quarterly. 15 (4).
- ^ a b c d Mahas, Jeffrey David (2017). ""I Intend to Get up a Whistling School": The Nauvoo Whistling and Whittling Movement, American Vigilante Tradition, and Mormon Theocratic Thought". Journal of Mormon History. 43 (4): 37–67. doi:10.5406/jmormhist.43.4.0037.
- ^ "Mormon Battalion Historic Site at San Diego". Locations. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ "Four Things to Know about the Journey of the Mormon Battalion". The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ "Protecting the Home Front: The Utah Territorial Militia During the Civil War | Religious Studies Center". rsc.byu.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ "Church Security Resources". www.churchofjesuschrist.org. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
- ^ "Latest from Mormon Land: Here's a little-known fact about LDS Church security". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2024-04-25.