The Utah War ~ Index
The Utah War and the Exodus South from 1857 to 1858.
During the fall of 1857 quite a large crop of wheat was harvested by the settlers. Early in 1858, President Brigham Young ordered a general "Move South" because of the report that General Albert S. Johnson and his army was coming to Utah to destroy the people. This was known as the Utah War. The first part of April of this year the word came for the settlers at the Maughan's Fort to "Move South" and remain at Brigham City temporarily. The move was hastened somewhat as the Indians in Cache Valley were becoming dangerous.
The grain was stored in the houses of the colonists. July 24th of that year, Francis Gunnell, Zial Riggs, John Reese, Thomas Obray and Robert and Alexander Hill returned to the fort and found that the Indians had stolen the grain from the houses. The volunteer grain was ready for harvest and these men harvested it, getting about twenty bushels to the acre. Through the advice of President Brigham Young, the resettlement of Cache Valley was deferred until the spring of 1859 because of the Indian troubles.