Lot Smith
Encyclopedia
Lot Smith was a Mormon pioneer
and American
frontiersman.
, Oswego County, New York
, he became a close friend of Orrin Porter Rockwell and was known as "The Horseman" for his exceptional skills on horseback as well as for his help in rounding up wild mustangs on Utah's Antelope Island
.
At sixteen, Smith joined the Mormon Battalion
and served on the journey through the southwest to San Diego, where the group was mustered out of service. He then came back across the mountains to the Great Salt Lake
, where he became a military leader in the Nauvoo Legion
in Utah.
Smith practiced the Latter-day Saint doctrine of plural marriage
, and had eight wives and 52 children.
from office based on reports from federal officials assigned to Utah who had abandoned their assignments
and returned to the east. Young's replacement as governor of Utah territory Alfred Cumming
was escorted by a contingent of 2,500 Federal troops led by Gen. Albert Johnston
as part of what was called the Utah Expedition
. The army's orders were to support the installment of the new governor, using force as necessary as resistance was expected based on the official's reports.
Smith was sent on a special mission by Young, who hoped to delay the arrival of the troops in the hope that a diplomatic breakthrough could be reached before the troops reached Salt Lake City. Smith led a group of Nauvoo Legion rangers east across Wyoming along the stretch where the California, Oregon and Mormon Trails merge. Eventually he found the Union wagon train and destroyed several wagons. Lot Smith and his rangers held off the Federal soldiers in the cold weather. He did so without his troops harming any soldiers on the Federal side. For many Mormons, Lot Smith and his men are considered heroes.
Interestingly, the owners of the destroyed wagons Russell, Majors and Waddell
were never reimbursed by the government and in 1860 they formed the Pony Express
to stave off bankruptcy with a new government mail contract.
Smith's efforts delayed the US forces from reaching Utah in 1857, forcing them to winter at Fort Bridger, Wyoming
.
. Chief Tuba
was a Hopi leader who joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Local Navajo
and Hopi
Indians used the area for grazing and farming, and the Mormons initially understood that the Navajo had first choice to the water and land resources. Although relations with the Navajo were initially cooperative, the growing numbers of Mormons in the Tuba City area began to cause conflict.
However, when Smith arrived in the settlement, he fenced in his land in violation of the agreement between the Navajos and Mormons. One day a herd of sheep broke his fence and started to graze. Smith came by and saw the sheep, became angry and tried to chase them away but failed to do so. Frustrated, he went home and returned with a pistol. During this time, the Navajo family who owned the herd began to gather their animals. When Smith returned, he killed several sheep and wounded others. He also shot at a Navajo woman and her daughter to "scare" them. The Navajo husband, angered at finding his sheep dead and family threatened, shot and killed several of Smith's cows. Smith then fired at the Navajo. The brother of the Navajo man returned fire, mortally wounding Lot Smith. Smith managed to return home and, about six hours later, died on June 21, 1892. Smith is buried in a cemetery in Farmington, Utah
.
Mormon Pioneer
The Mormon pioneers were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Latter-day Saints, who migrated across the United States from the Midwest to the Salt Lake Valley in what is today the U.S. state of Utah...
and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
frontiersman.
Background
Born in 1830 in WilliamstownWilliamstown, New York
Williamstown is a town in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 1,350 at the 2000 census.The Town of Williamstown is on the county's east border.- History :The Town of Williamstown was created in 1804 from the Town of Mexico....
, Oswego County, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, he became a close friend of Orrin Porter Rockwell and was known as "The Horseman" for his exceptional skills on horseback as well as for his help in rounding up wild mustangs on Utah's Antelope Island
Antelope Island
Antelope Island, with an area of , is the largest island of 10 islands located within the Great Salt Lake, Utah, United States. The island lies in the southeastern portion of the lake, near Salt Lake City and Davis County, and becomes a peninsula when the lake is at extremely low levels. Antelope...
.
At sixteen, Smith joined the Mormon Battalion
Mormon Battalion
The Mormon Battalion was the only religiously based unit in United States military history, and it served from July 1846 to July 1847 during the Mexican-American War. The battalion was a volunteer unit of between 534 and 559 Latter-day Saints men led by Mormon company officers, commanded by regular...
and served on the journey through the southwest to San Diego, where the group was mustered out of service. He then came back across the mountains to the Great Salt Lake
Great Salt Lake
The Great Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, is the largest salt water lake in the western hemisphere, the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world. In an average year the lake covers an area of around , but the lake's size fluctuates substantially due to its...
, where he became a military leader in the Nauvoo Legion
Nauvoo Legion
The Nauvoo Legion was a militia originally organized by the Latter Day Saints to defend the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, . To curry political favor with the ambiguously-political Saints, the Illinois state legislature granted Nauvoo a liberal city charter that gave the Nauvoo Legion extraordinary...
in Utah.
Smith practiced the Latter-day Saint doctrine of plural marriage
Plural marriage
Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...
, and had eight wives and 52 children.
Service in the Utah War
The President and US Senate had chosen to remove then-governor Brigham YoungBrigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
from office based on reports from federal officials assigned to Utah who had abandoned their assignments
Runaway Officials of 1851
The "Runaway Officials of 1851" were a group of three federal officers, Judge Perry Brocchus, Judge Lemuel Brandenbury, and Territorial Secretary Broughton Harris, who were appointed to Utah Territory by President Millard Fillmore in 1851...
and returned to the east. Young's replacement as governor of Utah territory Alfred Cumming
Alfred Cumming (governor)
Alfred Cumming was appointed governor of the Utah territory in 1858 replacing Brigham Young following the Utah War...
was escorted by a contingent of 2,500 Federal troops led by Gen. Albert Johnston
Albert Sidney Johnston
Albert Sidney Johnston served as a general in three different armies: the Texas Army, the United States Army, and the Confederate States Army...
as part of what was called the Utah Expedition
Utah War
The Utah War, also known as the Utah Expedition, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between LDS settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the United States government. The confrontation lasted from May 1857 until July 1858...
. The army's orders were to support the installment of the new governor, using force as necessary as resistance was expected based on the official's reports.
Smith was sent on a special mission by Young, who hoped to delay the arrival of the troops in the hope that a diplomatic breakthrough could be reached before the troops reached Salt Lake City. Smith led a group of Nauvoo Legion rangers east across Wyoming along the stretch where the California, Oregon and Mormon Trails merge. Eventually he found the Union wagon train and destroyed several wagons. Lot Smith and his rangers held off the Federal soldiers in the cold weather. He did so without his troops harming any soldiers on the Federal side. For many Mormons, Lot Smith and his men are considered heroes.
Interestingly, the owners of the destroyed wagons Russell, Majors and Waddell
Russell, Majors and Waddell
Russell, Majors and Waddell was a business partnership, based in Lexington, Missouri, between William Hepburn Russell, Alexander Majors, and William B. Waddell. It operated various transportation and communications services in the American West in the 1850s and early 1860s, including stagecoach...
were never reimbursed by the government and in 1860 they formed the Pony Express
Pony Express
The Pony Express was a fast mail service crossing the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the High Sierra from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, from April 3, 1860 to October 1861...
to stave off bankruptcy with a new government mail contract.
Smith's efforts delayed the US forces from reaching Utah in 1857, forcing them to winter at Fort Bridger, Wyoming
Fort Bridger, Wyoming
Fort Bridger is a census-designated place in Uinta County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 400 at the 2000 census. The town takes its name from the eponymous Fort Bridger established in 1842.-Geography:...
.
Settlement in Northern Arizona
Smith was asked to help the development of the Mormon settlement of Tuba City, ArizonaTuba City, Arizona
Tuba City is a census-designated place in Coconino County, Arizona, United States. The population was 8,225 at the 2000 census. It is the Dine' Nation's largest community, slightly larger than Shiprock, New Mexico. The Hopi town of Moenkopi lies directly to its southeast.The name of the town...
. Chief Tuba
Chief Tuba
Tuba was a Hopi leader in the late 19th century. Tuba was the headman of the small Hopi village of Moencopi, roughly fifty miles west of the main villages on the Hopi mesas. However, he apparently was an important person in the village of Oraibi as well...
was a Hopi leader who joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Local Navajo
Navajo people
The Navajo of the Southwestern United States are the largest single federally recognized tribe of the United States of America. The Navajo Nation has 300,048 enrolled tribal members. The Navajo Nation constitutes an independent governmental body which manages the Navajo Indian reservation in the...
and Hopi
Hopi
The Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...
Indians used the area for grazing and farming, and the Mormons initially understood that the Navajo had first choice to the water and land resources. Although relations with the Navajo were initially cooperative, the growing numbers of Mormons in the Tuba City area began to cause conflict.
However, when Smith arrived in the settlement, he fenced in his land in violation of the agreement between the Navajos and Mormons. One day a herd of sheep broke his fence and started to graze. Smith came by and saw the sheep, became angry and tried to chase them away but failed to do so. Frustrated, he went home and returned with a pistol. During this time, the Navajo family who owned the herd began to gather their animals. When Smith returned, he killed several sheep and wounded others. He also shot at a Navajo woman and her daughter to "scare" them. The Navajo husband, angered at finding his sheep dead and family threatened, shot and killed several of Smith's cows. Smith then fired at the Navajo. The brother of the Navajo man returned fire, mortally wounding Lot Smith. Smith managed to return home and, about six hours later, died on June 21, 1892. Smith is buried in a cemetery in Farmington, Utah
Farmington, Utah
Farmington is a city in Davis County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Ogden–Clearfield, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 18,255 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Davis County...
.