Patrick Edward Connor
Patrick Edward Connor | |
---|---|
Born | County Kerry, Ireland | March 17, 1820
Died | December 17, 1891 Salt Lake City, Utah, US | (aged 71)
Place of burial | Fort Douglas Cemetery, Salt Lake City, Utah |
Allegiance | United States (Union) |
Service/ | United States Army Union Army |
Years of service | 1839–1844; 1846–1847; 1861–1866 |
Rank | Brigadier general Brevet major general |
Commands held | 8th Rifle Company, Independent Companies of Texas Volunteers 3rd California Infantry Regiment District of Utah District of the Plains |
Battles/wars | |
Other work | California State Ranger |
Patrick Edward Connor (March 17, 1820
Early life and career
Patrick Edward Connor was born in Ballyferriter,
Mexican–American War
Connor joined the
California
Upon his arrival in California, Connor was involved in a boating accident in the Pacific Ocean while attempting to establish a new settlement near the mouth of the Trinity River. Connor and his men were unaware that the Trinity River empties into the Klamath River instead of the Pacific. Of the 10 people in the whale boat attempting to navigate the heavy surf, five drowned.[9]
On May 28, 1853, Connor was called by
Civil War
When the American Civil War broke out, Connor was in command of the "
While in Utah, Connor, as senior officer, became commander of the
In October 1863, Connor and Governor Doty signed peace treaties with the remaining hostile Indian tribes, thereby bringing to a close all Indian hostilities within the Utah Territory. Shortly after the signing of the treaties, officers and enlisted men of the California Volunteers stationed at Fort Douglas established the first daily Utah newspaper called The Union Vedette. This newspaper offered a balance of news unavailable through the Deseret News, owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Connor provided protection for non-Mormons and those wishing to leave the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during his three years of service in Utah. He also discovered valuable mineral wealth in Utah that was reported to his superiors. This led to the gradual immigration of non-Mormons into Utah that led to weakening of the power of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on everyday affairs in the territory. Connor engaged in extensive military correspondence, which was published in 1897 under The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies.
Connor remained in command of the District of Utah until it was merged in March 1865 into the District of the Plains, established at his suggestion that a "Department of the Plains" be created which he would command. The new district, in the
Bear River Massacre
In the early 1860s, population pressures in the Washington Territory near the present-day Idaho–Utah border led to conflicts between immigrant settlers and Native Americans. After an attack on miners with depositions given in Salt Lake City by the survivors, Connor marched his regiment 140 mi over the frozen winter landscape to "deal" with the Indians. From Fort Ruby, Connor instructed his troops to "destroy every male Indian whom you may encounter."[11] On January 29, 1863, Connor's troops encountered a Shoshone encampment along the Bear River. Connor and his militia crossed the river and attacked the camp, then feigned a retreat only to encircle the camp and renew their attack.
Connor sent additional troops to block the Indian escape route through a ravine, and sent the rest of his soldiers on a flanking maneuver to a ridge, from where they fired down into the Indians. The soldiers also fired on Indians as they attempted to escape by swimming across the bitterly cold river. The troops killed nearly all of the Indians in the encampment, aside from about 160 women and children, who were later released and given some wheat to help feed them.
The Shoshone had been supplied by the Mormons and large quantities of wheat and articles of war were captured by Connor's command after the battle at Bear River. According to Connor, an Indian survivor later said that the large band of Indians was planning on destroying the town of
Post-war activities
Powder River Expedition
After the Bear River Massacre, Connor was appointed
The soldiers were harassed by Indians, who avoided pitched battles. Connor established Fort Connor, later Fort Reno, and destroyed an Arapaho village at the Battle of the Tongue River. His Pawnee scouts also ambushed and killed a band of 24 Cheyenne warriors. Most of the time, however, Connor's three units were on the defensive, fending off Indian raids on their horses and supply wagons, which left many soldiers on foot, in rags, and reduced to eating raw horse meat.[14] On the whole, the expedition was considered "a dismal failure" carried out with "large, ungainly columns filled with troops anxious to get home now that the Civil War was over."[15]
Later life
After the Civil War ended, Connor was appointed a brevet major general in the Volunteer Army and mustered out of the volunteer service in 1866. Never having been in combat against the Confederacy in the East, he continued to command troops on the frontier. He recruited Confederate veterans for service against the Indians.[citation needed]
Making his permanent residence in Salt Lake City, Connor established one the city's first newspapers. He also became involved in mining again. He founded a city in Utah and named it Stockton in honor of his California militia unit.[citation needed]
Connor died in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, in 1891 at the age of 71 and was buried there.
Reputation in Ireland
Little was known about the Bear River Massacre or the life and reputation of Patrick Edward Connor in his native County Kerry in Ireland. However, on Monday 7 August 2023 (August Bank Holiday Monday) local radio station, Radio Kerry, broadcast a 90-minute radio documentary entitled Gloryhunter, Kerry’s Indian Killer.[16]
This documentary sets out a detailed account of the massacre and Connor’s role in the dispossession and killing of first nation Americans in modern day Utah, Idaho and Colorado. It features interviews with historians and authors, as well as representatives of the Shoshone nation. The full documentary is available to hear on Spotify.[17]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Rodgers, 1938, p. 1
- ^ a b c Long, 2001, p. 96
- ^ Rodgers, 1938, p. 1–2
- ISBN 978-1-85109-603-9.
- ^ Rodgers, 1938, p. 2
- ^ Rodgers, 1938, p. 2-3
- ^ Rodgers, 1938, p. 4
- ^ Long, 2001, p. 96–97
- ^ Rodgers, 1938, p. 5–8
- ^ "California and the Civil War: Regiments of the California Volunteers in Federal Service: 3rd Regiment of Infantry". www.militarymuseum.org. Archived from the original on June 13, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
- ^ "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Bahsahwahbee" (PDF). National Park Service. June 30, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 22, 2017. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-87004-266-9.
- ^ Countant, Charles Griffin, History of Wyoming Archived August 15, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, Chapter xxxvi, accessed August 6, 2012.
- ^ Hampton, H. D. "The Powder River Expedition 1865" Montana: The Magazine of Western History Vol 14, No. 4 (Autumn 1964), p. 11.
- ^ "Major General Patrick Edward Connor". The California Military Museum, accessed August 9, 2012.[dead link]
- ^ "The Kerryman Who Massacred Native Americans – August 4th, 2023". RadioKerry.ie. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
- ^ Gloryhunter - Kerry's Indian Killer, August 8, 2023, retrieved August 11, 2023
Further reading
- Long, E. B. (2001). The Saints and the Union: Utah Territory During the Civil War. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-07011-2.
- Madsen, Brigham D. Glory Hunter: A Biography of Patrick Edward Connor. (1990) ISBN 978-1-60781-154-1
- Madsen, Brigham D. (1994), "Connor, Patrick Edward", Utah History Encyclopedia, University of Utah Press, ISBN 9780874804256, archived from the originalon November 3, 2022, retrieved April 12, 2024
- Rogers, Fred B., Soldiers of the Overland: Being some account of the services of General Patrick Edward Connor & his Volunteers in the Old West, Grabhorn Press (1938), hardcover, 292 pages.
External links
- Works by or about Patrick Edward Connor at Internet Archive
- "Patrick Connor", MilitaryMuseum.org