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