In his official report to the War Department, Connor boasted, ‘I captured 175 horses, some arms…and a large quantity of wheat and other provisions which had been furnished them by the Mormons.’ (The Mormons offered provisions and help to all travelers passing through the territory.)

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But Connor was not one to credit the Mormons with any assistance. In his official report he also wrote, ‘I should mention here that in my march from this post no assistance was rendered by the Mormons, who seemed indisposed to divulge any information regarding the Indians and charged enormous prices for every article furnished my command.’

He failed to acknowledge the food, clothing and shelter given by Mormons to his suffering and wounded soldiers in the northern Utah settlement of Logan, Wellsville and Brigham City. Luckily, he had legendary Mormon scout Porter Rockwell as a guide to go among the Mormons and acquire 18 sleds to carry the dead and wounded back to Camp Douglas.

On their return, the troops remained all night in Logan, the citizens furnishing them supper and breakfast. The settlers provided teams and sleighs to assist them in carrying the dead, wounded and frozen back to Camp Douglas. In crossing the mountains between Wellsville and Brigham City, the troops toiled and floundered all day through the deep snow until, worn out, they returned to Wellsville. The next day, Bishop W.H. Maughan gathered the men and teams in the place and assisted the troops through the pass to Salt Lake valley.

Even though the settlers in Cache Valley deplored the cruelty of the battle, they saw some good coming out of the campaign. One wrote: ‘The victory was of immense value to the settlers….It made the flocks and herds and lives of people comparatively safe.’

Connor couldn’t understand Brigham Young’s philosophy that it was better to feed the Indians than to fight them. Even The New York Times wondered if conciliation wasn’t better than a fight. The slaughter of the Indian men, women and children, said the paper, was unwarranted, unnecessary, harsh and brutal.

Connor received a general’s star for his victory in the Battle of Bear River (which is now sometimes called the ‘Massacre of Bear River’), but he also received some criticism for the number of soldiers killed. His obsession with the Mormons continued. In his dispatches to the War Department, Connor complained about Brigham Young and his ‘absolute and tyrannical control of temporal and civil affairs.’ Patrick Edward Connor was finally relieved of his command in 1866.

Connor eventually became known as the father of mining in Utah and did a credible job of opening the industry in the Utah Territory. He diligently worked to build a non-Mormon population in the area to wrest control from Mormon leaders. In this, too, he failed, dying among the Mormons in Salt Lake City on December 17, 1891.

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