In 1846, During the War with Mexico, Was President Polk's Decision to Employ a Battalion of Mormons a Military or Political Decision?

This study looks into the underlying reasons the Mormon Battalion was called, organized, and deployed. 1846 was an unsettling year for the United States and the Polk Administration. Possible war with Britain loomed over the Oregon issue, the diplomatic break and subsequent war with Mexico over Texas annexation, and Polks desire to personify the concept of Manifest Destiny all contributed to a very dangerous time period in our nations history. For the Mormons, 1846 was a year of great upheaval. Earlier that year violent mobs expelled them from their holy city of Nauvoo, Illinois. Led by Brigham Young, they fled westward across the southern plains of Iowa to an unknown destination. However, in June, Young was forced to delay the churchs migration at Council Bluffs, Iowa, setting up camp on the Missouri River. While there, Army Captain James Allen, representing the Polk government, asked for 500 volunteers to fight in the War with Mexico. This study proposes answers to what motivated President Polk to ask for these 500 men to fight in a war that had more volunteers than it could use, and why did Brigham Young agree to provide them