Mormon Battalion Historical Site

Dedicated in 2010, this visitor center interprets the experiences of the members of the Mormon Battalion, a contingent of volunteers who arrived in San Diego in January of 1847 to support the American military garrison located here during the war between Mexico and the United States. Five companies totaling over 500 men had been mustered in at Council Bluffs, Iowa, on July 16, 1846. Along with 32 women, these men made the longest march in military history, walking 2,000 miles from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to San Diego. The visitor center replaced a previous facility and offers new exhibits while continuing to offer tours for visitors featuring led by missionaries from the LDS Church in period dress.

The Mormon Battalion is one of the lesser-known chapters of religious and military history but offers significant lessons as the only example of an American military unit recruited from a single religion and officially designated as such. The battalion is the result of church leaders sending a representative to Washington D.C. in hopes of securing relief from years of persecution and support for the eventual western trek and settlement in Utah. The Mormon diplomat arrived in Washington just days after the war with Mexico began and was presented with a request and opportunity to recruit a battalion for federal service. Church leaders saw military service as a way to demonstrate loyalty to the U.S. in an era when many viewed LDS members with suspicion.

Members of the Mormon Battalion arrived here after marching from Council Bluffs, Iowa. Some of the troops were later sent to San Luis Rey and Los Angeles, while others remained at this garrison. During that tie, the volunteer soldiers labored to support the construction of a variety of military and civilian structures, creating the bricks that would be used to build the first courthouse in San Diego.

Michael Landon and Brandon Metcalf, The Remarkable Journey of the Mormon Battalion, 73-76. Norma Baldwin Ricketts, The Mormon Battalion: U.S. Army of the West, 1846-1848, 131-141. Sherman L. Fleek, History May Be Searched in Vain: A Military History of the Mormon Battalion, 320-348. David L. Bigler and Will Bagley, eds., Army of Israel, chapters 5, 7.