Runaway Officials of 1851

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The "Runaway Officials of 1851" were a group of three federal officers, Judge

Fillmore's territorial officials began to arrive in Utah in the summer of 1851, and they were warmly welcomed by the Latter-day Saints regardless of their religious affiliation. For instance, Judge Brandebury, who was non-Mormon, was the first to arrive and was honored by a banquet and several dances.[3]^: 22 Territorial Secretary Harris and his wife, both "Gentiles," traveled to Utah with Bernhisel, and upon arriving on July 19 were greeted by a group of Mormons with a basket of fruit and champagne.^[3]: 22 Historian Norman Furniss states that

this enthusiastic reception was not a hypocritical pose, for Young and his colleagues were prepared to think well of their first Gentile officials. But for all that, the concord was soon broken.^[3]: 22

Donald Moorman writes that the arrival of non-Mormon federal officials in Utah followed a predictable pattern, beginning with "an introductory phase of amicable relations with the Church that quickly degenerated into a period of acrimonious dispute."^[4]: 8

Relations sour

The relationship between the "Gentile" officials and the Latter-day Saints quickly broke down despite the initial good will. For instance, Secretary Harris had been entrusted with $24,000 in gold and the

Several months later, Judge Brocchus was given an opportunity to address the crowd at the General Conference of the LDS Church. Brocchus has been described as a man "at times disarmingly charming, at other times biterly sardonic...His face was marked by frequent brawls, for he often engaged his opponents with a quick resort to his fists."^[4] Having heard of the accusations against the government on Pioneer Day, he took on this later visage and loudly reprimanded the Latter-day Saints for their lack of patriotism and morality, making an unmistakable inference to the Mormon practice of polygamy. Brocchus proceeded to lecture the women in the audience on the importance of virtue. The Latter-day Saint crowd now in an uproar, Brigham Young calmed the audience but issued a blistering diatribe against Brocchus in which he stated that he could have "loosed the congregation upon Brocchus with a gesture of his little finger, but he satisfied himself with a tongue-lashing."^[3]: 25 Brocchus' aversion to polygamy and other Mormon practices, was shared among the non-Mormon officials. Furniss states that Secretary Harris and his wife in particular "were prepared to treat the Mormons as they would a tribe of Arapahoe Indians - not as animals, exactly, but certainly not as civilized people."^[3]: 25 The condescension with which the federal appointees and their families treated the Mormons created a further source of tension between them.^{[citation needed]}

Runaways

Brigham Young tried to repair the breach between the community and the non-Mormon officials through a series of letters in late September. However, by this point the damage had been done. Harris, Brandebury, and Brocchus concluded that they could not fulfill their assignments in Utah, and they feared for their physical safety. The three men therefore left Utah for the east on September 28, 1851, less than three months after they had arrived in the Territory. The "Runaways" maintained possession of the $24,000 earmarked for the Territory and the territorial seal despite a lawsuit by Young to obtain them in the days before the officers left.

The day after the disgruntled officials departed Salt Lake City, Young wrote a strongly worded letter to President Fillmore defending the Latter-day Saints' patriotism, attacking the character of Brocchus and the others, and suggesting that territorial residents be appointed to federal office. When the officials arrived in Washington without incident, they wrote a report of conditions in Utah which "left unclear whether the people habitually kicked their dogs; otherwise their calendar of infamy in Utah was complete."^[3]: 29 Norman Furniss writes,

It is of no value to weigh the truthfulness of Brigham Young's assertions and the Runaways' counterattack. The Church, whether understandably or not, was in a mood incompatible with submissive acceptance of territorial status. For their part, Brocchus and the others had shown a remarkable indifference to the feelings of their temporary constituents, had without due cause deserted their offices, and had explained their behavior with statements of at best partial accuracy.^[3]: 29

However, the accusations of the Runaways created a firestorm for the Fillmore Administration and in Congress. Bernhisel and Thomas L. Kane of Philadelphia patiently lobbied for the Latter-day Saints in Washington. However, rumors flew about the capital that Brigham Young would be replaced as governor, or even that federal troops would be dispatched to Utah. But, by June 1852, the controversy had subsided. Congress passed a statute depriving any territorial officials of pay if they were absent from their assignments without due cause, and Daniel Webster advised Brocchus to either resign his position or return to the territory.

Results

The "Runaways" never returned to Utah Territory and their positions remained unfilled until 1853. The Utah Legislature conferred original jurisdiction in both criminal and civil cases to the territory’s probate courts in 1852; therefore giving local Mormon-controlled courts concurrent jurisdiction with the federal district courts. While this may have allowed for efficiency in justice given the lack of a full complement of federal judges, the move was denounced as a power grab by federal officials.

Both Brocchus and Brandebury were eventually replaced by non-Mormons officials who were generally friendly to the Latter-day Saints, bringing a measure of peace between the Mormons of Utah and the federal government until both men died in 1855. Both replacements, Judge John F. Kinney, and Judge W. W. Drummond, exhibited open hostility to the Latter-day Saints.^[5] The disputes between these officials and the Mormon hierarchy contributed greatly to the outbreak of the Utah War two years later.

See also

• John W. Dawson - Governor of Utah Territory in 1861 who left the territory and his post as governor after only three weeks

Notes