The Mormon Rebellion; America's First Civil War, 1857-1858

Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma, 2011. First Edition, 1st Printing. Fine/Fine. SIGNED by both Authors [9.25x6.5in]; xv, 392 pp., frontispiece of General James Ferguson, 26 illustrations and images, one map of the Utah Territory and routes taken, bibliography and index; Mottled tan paper over boards with similar end papers and darker cloth back strip,black ink lettering on spine, all edges trimmed; Mottle tan dust jacket with stylized and bordered black lettering on front and spine, color illustration of soldiers and horses marching in a snow storm, review and advertisement on back cover; Negligible shelf wear to book or dust jacket, tipped in University of Oklahoma prospectus and book signing advertisement. From the dust jacket, "In 1857, President James Buchanann ordered U.S. troops to Utah to replace Brigham Young as governor and restore order in what the federal government viewed as a territory in rebellion." Buchanann was dealing with several critical issues regarding state's rights in slavery and authority of the U. S. Constitution and Federal Government. Brigham Young, as the leader of the Mormon settlement was keen to establish control and protection from persecution of his people. The preface highlights the deliberate and unintended confusion between both parties and how the misunderstandings and other related interests can lead to bad decisions. There is a quote from a New York Herald about the event, "Thus was peace made - thus was ended the "Mormon War," which, miracle dictu, was much less sanguinary and direful than the "Kansas War," and may thus be summarily historized: Killed, none; wounded, none; fooled everybody."

Both David L. Bigler and William Bagley (1950-2021) provide solid historical accounts of the American West from different perspectives than academic scholars. Bigler wrote, "...history must be more than a counterfeit rendition that encourages complacency and false pride ... It must be as balanced and, above all, as honest, which means factual, as admittedly flawed historians can make it ...