Camp Floyd GazetteNewsletter of the Friends of Camp Floyd

Vol. 3 Spring 2014 No. 2

1

Curators CornerWinter and a Farewell

By: Megan Keller

It has been a successful winter at Camp Floyd. We hosted two Murder Mystery Afternoon events in February and March. The first event sold out so fast, we added another in March. The afternoon started by playing the same games the soldiers once played at Camp Floyd. Suddenly, a murder took place and visitors had to figure out what happened. It will certainly be an annual addition to the events at Camp Floyd. Look for it next winter!

In February, Camp Floyd attended

Museum Advocacy Day at the State Capital. Hosted by the Utah Museums Association and the Office of Museum Services Board of Directors, the day helps Utahs legislators understand the impact museums have on the state. We attend Museum Advocacy day every year to keep the state legislature informed on our activities and community involvement.

A few weeks ago, Colonel Chuck Mood, USAF retired, told the museum of an exciting find on ebay. He located a sword once owned by Van Vliet, a solder stationed at Camp Floyd. More information on the new addition to the Camp Floyd collection is in an article

by Mood. Look for more information on the display of the sword in the future.

Finally, it saddens me to say I will soon be leaving Camp Floyd. I have accepted a job as a curation specialist through the University of Hawaii at the Pohakuloa Trainning Area and will be moving to the big island of Hawaii. I love the mix of local and national history at Camp Floyd and have truly enjoyed working here. I will remain at museum until early May 2nd and will continue to support Camp Floyd as a member of the Friends of Camp Floyd. Feel free to e-mail me at MeganKeller@utah.gov.

Camp Floyds Murder Mystery Afternoon (left).

Camp Floyd at Museum Advocacy Day at the State

Capital (right).

2A M1860 field & staff sword, and accompanying sword belt, once belonging to the estate of Major General Stewart Van Vliet has been acquired by the Camp Floyd State Park and Museum. Van Vliet, a captain in 1857, played a critical role in the opening days of the Utah War. He was the messenger the Mormons would fight and resist all Federal troops sent to the territory. Captain Stuart Van Vliet, a career US Army officer and assistant quartermaster, slowly worked his way to Salt Lake City. Having been warned by mountaineers that his life would probably be taken by the Mormons, Van Vliet left his 25-man military escort of the 10th US Infantry behind and proceeded the last 150 miles to Salt Lake without them.

The captain had worked with Mormons before, and had earned their trust for his fair treatment of them at both Winter Quarters and Fort Kearny on their initial trek out West.

In fact, Brigham Young said of him that He has invariably treated them (the Mormons) kindly, as he would a Baptist, a Methodist, or any other person, for that is his character. He has always been found to be free and frank, and to be a man who wished to do right and no doubt would deal out justice to all, if he has the power. He was part of only a handful of US military officers that the Mormons felt were sympathetic to their cause.

Now the captain was entrusted with a mission from General William S.

Harney as the discreet staff officer to be sent to the Mormons. An afterthought really, with 2,500 troops already on their way to Utah to establish the new Military Department of Utah and to ensure that Alfred Cummings would replace Brigham Young as territorial governor, Van Vliet was sent to recommend a camp location for the troops now on the march and to ascertain if the Mormons could supply the Army with lumber, forage, and grain.

Safely arriving in Salt Lake, Captain Van Vliet and the Mormons gathered. The captain was allowed to meet the LDS First Presidency (Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Daniel H. Wells), Utahs congressional delegate John M. Bernhisal, the apostles then in the city, and about one hundred leading citizens to explain his mission and

M1860 field and staff sword

Camp Floyd Acquires Civil War Major Generals Sword and Belt

By: Colonel Chuck Mood, USAF retired

Hilt of the sword

3was listened to with great interest. Young believed that the requested items could be supplied, but he also believed that the silence of the Buchanan administration in sending the Army meant that the Army was coming to destroy the Mormons. Had they not been forcibly removed from Missouri and Illinois? For six days Young quizzed the captain if President Buchanan considered the Mormons to be in a state of rebellion and Van Vliet stating that he was simply there a soldier operating under instructions of a superior officer to determine if supplies for the Army would be available. With no secured location or contract for supplies in hand, Van Vliet left Salt Lake convinced that Governor Young and the people of Utah will prevent, if possible, the Army of Utah from entering the Territory this season.

In his report to the John B. Floyd, US Secretary of War, Captain Van Vliet said:In the course of my conversation with the Governor and the influential men of the Territory, I told them plainly and frankly what I conceived would be the result of their present course. I told them that they might prevent the small military force now approaching Utah from getting through the narrow defiles and rugged passes of the mountains this year, but that next season the United States Government would send troops sufficient to overcome all opposition. The answer to this was invariably the same: We are aware that such will be the case; but when those troops arrive they will find Utah a desert. Every house will be burned to the ground, every tree cut down, and every field laid waste. We have three years provisions on hand, which we will cache, and then take to the mountains and bid defiance to all

the powers of the Government.I attended their services on Sunday, and, in course of a sermon delivered by Elder Taylor, he referred to the approach of the troops and declared they should not enter the Territory. He then referred to the probability of an overpowering force being sent against them, and desired all present who would apply the torch to their buildings, cut down their trees, and lay waste their fields, to hold up their hands. Every hand, in an audience numbering over four thousand persons, was raised at the same moment. During my stay in the city I visited several families, and all with whom I was thrown, looked upon the present

movement of the troops towards their Territory as the commencement of another religious persecution, and expressed a fixed determination to sustain Governor Young in any measure he might adopt.

Captain van Vliet remained sympathetic to the Mormons and was convinced that they had been misrepresented. It is said that he stated that if the government made war upon the Saints, he would resign from the army. But he also believed he could get the government to send an investigative committee to Utah. I believe, said Governor Young, God sent you here, and that good will grow out of it. I was glad when I heard you were coming. If we can keep the peace this winter, I feel sure that something will occur to prevent the shedding of blood.

In 1858 President Buchanan finally sent out Peace Commissioners to Utah. In General Grants later years, when he referred to his time at the United States Military Academy, he stated that he was at the time in doubt as to whether Napoleon or Capt. Van Vliet was the greater man. High praise indeed

Stewart Van Vliet between 1865 and 1880

Belt buckle

4Friends of Camp FloydBy: Russ Felt, President of the Friends of Camp Floyd

Friends of Camp Floyd have been busy compiling poetry written by soldiers stationed at Camp Floyd and compiling it into a bound edition. Some of the poetry is remarkable in its construction and content. It reflects people who are separated from family and who find themselves in a remote area with little to do. Summers were hot and dusty and winters cold with blowing snow. If someone had a leave pass there was really no place to go. One stanza of one poem is as follows:

Beautiful Snow... the snow, the beautiful snow,

Filling the sky and earth below?Over the house tops, over the street,

Over the heads of the people you meet?DancingFlitting

Skimming along

Beautiful snow it can do no wrong,....

Authors were only identified by initials. One can only guess it was to protect the writer from torment or perhaps from being embarrassed. These poems were published in a decidedly biased newspaper, The Valley Tan that was published in Salt Lake by Kirk Anderson.

Each edition of the newspaper also contained current news, humorous anecdotes, and biased reporting along with the poetry. Such contributions as poetry are a reflection of cultural activities that were conducted at Camp Floyd such as a theater, a choir, and an orchestra. We are appreciative of the contributions to Camp Floyd made by Megan Keller who is moving to another position in the Hawaiian Islands on the big island. We wish her the very best in her future. It will be difficult to replace her. We hope to remain in contact with her as her career continues. Best Wishes Megan from your Friends at Camp Floyd.

On April 5th at 10am we held our second annual Quest of the Pony Express 5K race. We had a total of 107 participants and it was a

success! Look for the event again in spring of 2015!

Quest of the Pony Express