Connecting History: New Additions to the Biographical Database
Two new developments make the Church History Biographical Database more expansive—and more individually relevant.
We are excited to announce two new features in the Church History Biographical Database. First, we have added data about the Mormon Battalion’s members into the database. The second is an integration with FamilySearch that lets you filter search results to show only your direct line ancestors.
A Brief History of the Mormon Battalion
In July 1846, two years after the deaths of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, the Saints were approached by the United States Army. At the time, the United States was involved in what would later become known to Americans as the Mexican American War, and the Army needed soldiers. The Saints, for their part, needed money to fund crossing the plains. Thus, the Army suggested that Latter-day Saint men join its encampment in Potawatomi (present-day Council Bluffs, Iowa) and form a battalion. To this day, their Army unit remains the only American military unit based solely on religious affiliation: the Mormon Battalion.
Although historians disagree on the exact number of Battalion participants, we know that approximately 500 Latter-day Saint men mustered (or enlisted) and marched in the Mormon Battalion. Battalion members were split into five companies, assigned letters A–E. Regardless of a participant’s company, however, the overall experience in the Battalion was quite uniform: they trekked two-thousand miles across the grueling terrain of the American Southwest from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to Los Angeles, California. Though the Battalion members were registered in separate military companies, on the trail they all traveled together. Some men even traveled with their wives and children, who are commonly known to as “camp followers,” as they were not officially registered with the military. There were over 100 camp followers who marched with the soldiers.
At three separate points during the march, members of the Mormon Battalion who were sick or otherwise unable to continue the march, along with soldiers assigned to accompany them, broke off in what is referred to as a “detachment.” Each of the three known detachments were re-routed to what is now Pueblo, Colorado, where they spent the fall, winter, and early spring before traveling to Salt Lake City, Utah. They arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on July 29, 1847, less than a week after the Brigham Young Vanguard Company.
Ultimately, 333 men and five women completed the Mormon Battalion march to the West Coast, arriving in San Diego, California, on January 29, 1847. Companies A, C, D, and E continued north and were stationed in Los Angeles, while Company B remained in San Diego. All Battalion members who completed the march to California were formally discharged at an event held in Los Angeles on July 16, 1847.
For more information about the Mormon Battalion, we invite you to look at the following resources:
George M. Ottinger, “The Mormon Battalion” (12175)
Mormon Battalion Data in the Church History Biographical Database
We recently added the Mormon Battalion data to the Church History Biographical Database. Details about an individual’s participation in the Mormon Battalion now appear in his or her timeline, as you can see on the profile page of Ephraim Green, a member of Mormon Battalion Company B. In addition, it’s possible to see a list of participants in each of the five Mormon Battalion companies. We have also included a sixth “company” comprised of camp followers.
We have done our best to accurately reflect military ranks, positions, and whether a Battalion member a) enlisted but didn’t march, b) enlisted and marched, or c) acted as a volunteer. All three of these statuses represent official military rankings of the time. Using the Mormon Battalion search filters on the left-hand side bar, you can narrow your search based on these elements, as well as whether a Battalion member detached to Pueblo.
Every Latter-day Saint listed as participating with the Mormon Battalion has been identified using primary sources including, but not limited to, personal journals and reminiscences, muster rolls, clothing rolls, and pension requests. Many of these sources link back to the Church History Catalog and have been digitized to accommodate research needs. More sources will be added as they become publicly available.
Some of the primary sources we used to verify members of the Mormon Battalion that are digitized and openly available to research are:
- “Names of Pueblo soldiers and Mississippi brethren” (MS 15561)
- “Mormon Battalion return lists” (MS 1248)
- “Mormon Battalion Company A muster roll” (MS 5261)
- “Mormon Battalion Company C muster roll” (MS 9125)
- “Mormon Battalion record book” (MS 3439)
- “Descriptive roll” (MS 5267)
- “Morning report, 1846 September-October” (MS 20385)
“Mormon Battalion Encampment, 1896”
Your Ancestors in the Biographical Database
We’ve also partnered with FamilySearch to develop a way to display your direct ancestors in the Biographical Database. In the left-hand sidebar, there is now a new option to select: “Show Only My Ancestors.” You can also click the “Show My Ancestors” hyperlink next to the search bar. When you click either of these options, you will be prompted to log in to your FamilySearch account. After you have logged in to FamilySearch, you will then be taken back to the Biographical Database where only your direct ancestors will appear in the search results.
Information you can find on your ancestors (or any person) in the Biographical Database may include:
- Vital information (birth and death dates)
- A photograph of the individual
- Parent’s names (these will be hyperlinked if their parents have profiles in the database)
- Baptismal date (for their live baptism as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
- Pioneer company and travelling companions/group
- Mission and dates of missionary service
- Battalion company and rank
- Sources
Our sources are what really sets this database apart. Compiled over decades of research by employees and volunteers in the Church History Department, these sources can provide information on pioneer, mission, and/or Mormon Battalion experiences someone may have had. We encourage you, as you use the database, to explore the sources found at the bottom of every profile and organization (company or mission) page in the database.
Improving the Biographical Database
As you use the database, we invite you to submit feedback. You can do this by clicking on the blue “Submit Additional Information” button at the bottom of every profile and organization (company or mission) page, or by using the “Feedback” button that appears on the right-hand side of every page in the database.
Our goal with the database is to present a rich and ever-increasing understanding of the lives of early Latter-day Saints and their contribution to the history of the Church. Please let us know about your research experiences and what you uncover!
Top image: C.B. Hancock, “Enlistment of Mormon Battalion, Council Bluffs, Iowa” (PH 2814)