Did American Mormons fight against US?

Answer 1

No. American Mormons have never fought against the United States in a war or military operation. They have disapproved of what the United States government was doing at times, and they have spoken out against things that are commonly accepted in American culture, but they have never had a battle.

Answer 2

No. It was the other way around. "The U.S. Army" (U.S. Government) went to war against the Mormons. Also in terms of using the word 'WAR', it wasn't an actual war. Neither side had any battles.

Wikipedia reads: "The Utah War (1857-1858), also known as the Utah Expedition,Utah Campaign,Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellionwas an armed confrontation between Mormonsettlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the United States government. The confrontation lasted from May 1857 to July 1858. There were some casualties, mostly non-Mormon civilians. The war had no notable military battles."

Here is a short overview of the circumstances regarding the military involvement in Utah in 1857-58. (From Wikipedia)

"In 1857-1858, President James Buchanan sent U.S. forces to the Utah Territory in what became known as the Utah Expedition. The Mormons, fearful that the large U.S. military force had been sent to annihilate them and having faced persecution in other areas, made preparations for defense. Though bloodshed was to be avoided, and the U.S. government also hoped that its purpose might be attained without the loss of life, both sides prepared for war. Firearms were manufactured or repaired by the Mormons, scythes were turned into bayonets, and long-unused sabres were burnished and sharpened.

Rather than engaging the enemy directly, Mormon strategy was one of hindering and weakening them. Daniel H. Wells, lieutenant-general of the Nauvoo legion, instructed Major Joseph Taylor:

"On ascertaining the locality or route of the troops, proceed at once to annoy them in every possible way. Use every exertion to stampede their animals and set fire to their trains. Burn the whole country before them and on their flanks. Keep them from sleeping, by night surprises; blockade the road by felling trees or destroying the river fords where you can. Watch for opportunities to set fire to the grass on their windward, so as, if possible, to envelop their trains. Leave no grass before them that can be burned. Keep your men concealed as much as possible, and guard against surprise."

The Mormons blocked the army's entrance into the Salt Lake Valley, and weakened the U.S. Army by hindering them from receiving provisions.

The confrontation between the Mormon militia, called the Nauvoo Legion, and the U.S. Army involved some destruction of property and a few brief skirmishes in what is today southwestern Wyoming, but no battles occurred between the contending military forces.

At the height of the tensions, on 11 September 1857, more than 120 California-bound settlers from Arkansas, Missouri and other states, including unarmed men, women and children, were killed in remote southwestern Utah by a group of local Mormon militiamen. They first claimed that the migrants were killed by Native Americans, but it was proven otherwise. This event was later called the Mountain Meadows massacre, and the motives behind the incident remain unclear.

The "Aiken massacre" took place the following month. In October 1857, Mormons arrested six Californians traveling through Utah and charged them with being spies for the U.S. Army. They were released, but were later murdered and robbed of their stock and $25,000.

Other incidents of violence have also been linked to the Utah War, including a Native American attack on the Mormon mission of Fort Limhi in eastern Oregon Territory. They killed two Mormons and wounded several others. The historian Brigham Madsen notes, "[T]he responsibility for the [Fort Limhi raid] lay mainly with the Bannock." David Bigler concludes that the raid was probably caused by members of the Utah Expedition who were trying to replenish their stores of livestock which had been stolen by Mormon raiders.

Taking all incidents into account, MacKinnon estimates that approximately 150 people died as a direct result of the year-long Utah War, including the 120 migrants killed at Mountain Meadows. He points out that this was close to the number of people killed during the seven-year contemporaneous struggle in "Bleeding Kansas."

In the end, negotiations between the United States and the Latter-day Saints resulted in a full pardon for the Mormons (except those involved in the Mountain Meadows murders), the transfer of Utah's governorship from church President Brigham Young to non-Mormon Alfred Cumming, and the peaceful entrance of the U.S. Army into Utah." (Wikipedia)

Please note: Although, the historian states that a full pardon was given for the Mormorns (except those in the Mountain Meadows murders). Very little was known about the massacre until after the American Civil War. Then only one person (John D. Lee) was tried (in two trials). Lee's first trial ended inconclusively with a hung jury, but a second trial was convened and resulted in his conviction in 1877 for the massacre (John D. Lee). As a result John D. Lee was executed by firing squad in 1877. (Twenty years after the incident.)

Answer 3

shore