Comments on: Somali Pirates, Mormon Militiamen, and the U.S. Military

By: John T.

John T. — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 02:42:11 +0000

I just came across this post, Ardis. Fantastic work.

Yes, for once, no one suspected Mormon complicity in Shaffer’s death. He was sick with Tuberculosis at the time of his appointment. His wife died a short while into his brief gubernatorial career, and then he became gravely ill that fall.

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:08:42 +0000

Holy #&@&, Justin! That’s an even more fanciful account than I’ve heard before! Well, at least we know why the living descendants and the op-ed writer thought things had gone the way he told it.

By: Justin

Justin — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:00:22 +0000

Thanks, Ardis. While looking for the Tribune article to which you refer, I came across a Deseret News article from 1996. The DN writer relates: "When it was time for the July 4 procession to begin, the Mormon leader [Brigham Young] had a little surprise of his own. The Nauvoo Legion was nowhere in sight. Instead, a procession of young girls with crowns of flowers paraded, creating a marked contrast with the armed soldiers. De Trobriand noted the event in his memoirs, congratulating the church leader on his cleverness." I searched for his memoirs and found a book by his daughter that told the same tale (424-25).

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:15:49 +0000

Bruce, I’m only familiar with him through the newspaper accounts of the half-staffing, but since I’ve just been working on that story it’s like an old friend to see his name. I’ll have to look through my notes to pull out the accounts from the various papers that mention him and send them to you, in case there’s one you haven’t seen.

Justin, I first became aware of the legends one or two Julys ago when an op-ed piece appeared in the Tribune about de Trobriand. That piece included these legends, and made some other errors (moving the incident from an Independence Day parade to a Pioneer Day parade and playing up or inventing other details calculated to put Mormons in the worst possible light), incorporating the legends I mentioned. I wrote an op-ed piece for the Trib to correct the history. That was a little tricky, because overall the first article was clearly intended to be a tribute to de Trobriand by a man who is himself a veteran, and I didn’t want my factual corrections to sound as though I was attacking either de Trobriand or the author or showing disrespect to veterans. After my corrections appeared, the first writer contacted me in the friendliest, most gracious manner, inviting me to an event I could otherwise never have gotten a ticket for, and cheerfully accepting every correction I had made. He told me that most of his information had come from conversations with some of de Trobriand’s descendants.

The short answer is, I don’t know whether this is a case of family legend grown wild (because all the fabrications tended to make a more dramatic, more heroic figure of de Trobriand), or whether the descendants had heard those stories from some other source.

By: Bruce Crow

Bruce Crow — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:50:35 +0000

Oh, you’re a descendant of that Crow! Cool.
So you’ve seen the name before! Do you know something I don’t?

By: Justin

Justin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:45:54 +0000

Popular legends have grown up in recent years that the parade marched through columns of soldiers with their guns aimed and ready to fire, and that little girls stood between the soldiers and the Legionnaires, placing daisies into the barrels of the soldiers’ guns and begging them not to shoot, and that General de Trobriand, moved to tears, declared on the parade route that he could not give the order to shoot. Pure fantasy, all of it.

Ardis, do you know the origin(s) of these legends?

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:09:22 +0000

Phoebe, just saw your comment, sorry. I don’t know off the top of my head who the NYT correspondent was at that particular moment, but it’s been easy enough to identify correspondents for several papers at several points where it was important to a story. It just takes time. And although I have been to every MHA for the past ten years, I’m skipping this year in favor of a trip to Pennsylvania. More about that trip forthcoming, I expect.

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:06:29 +0000

Oh, you're a descendant of that Crow! Cool. I learned long ago never to trust a thing in the Tribune from that era without having confirming information elsewhere. I'm glad to see your post, Bruce. My paper is on the history of the Grand Army of the Republic in Utah. It's not especially focused on the conflict between GAR and LDS, but obviously that conflict plays a huge role in the story.

By: Bruce Crow

Bruce Crow — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 17:41:09 +0000

Ardis, My great-great-grandfather was a constable at the time of the July 4th 1885 Half Mast Incident. He was at the ZCMI flagpole and was charged with preventing the crowd from raising the flag. His involvement as recorded in the Tribune was very different from the events as described to his grandchildren. I'll look for the UHQ article. If it is written by you I expect it will be as wonderful to read as your blog.

By: Brandon

Brandon — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:06:25 +0000

Ardis-

I haven’t run across this story before. Thanks for posting it. I look forward to reading the UHQ article as well.

I’ve always found the revolving governorship at this time (Shaffer-Vaughan-Black) very intriguing. Maybe I need to take a closer look.