Sunday, Nov. 15, 1846:

In the evening, members of the Twelve met with the Winter Quarters high council. Brigham Young was concerned about the lack of security in the growing frontier settlement. He was not satisfied with the existing method used to guard it. A rotation of volunteer guards was not functioning well, and he wanted to establish a formal police guard.

The council wrote a letter to Charles C. Rich, leader of the Mount Pisgah settlement. He was asked to appoint a high council at Mount Pisgah to help share the burden of leadership. Instructions were that they should be "faithful men, who have got hearts of mercy and compassion towards their brethren, and especially towards the poor . . . be as fathers and saviors to all who are Saints." Elder Rich was also instructed to distribute the tithing that he had collected to the poor, destitute and sick.

Monday, Nov. 16:

Rain fell all night and into the afternoon. Orrin Porter Rockwell returned from Mount Pisgah. He brought in 10 head of stray cattle found along the way. In the evening, a council meeting was held. A committee was appointed to lay out the new cemetery on the second bluff west of Winter Quarters. The council discussed the possibility of establishing a settlement on the east side of the Rocky Mountains that could be used as a way-station during the future migrations west.

Willard Richards wrote a letter to Thomas L. Kane in Philadelphia. "Many of the families in camp, are now in small log or turf houses, just fit to ward the winter's blast, and many more will be like situated should the very mild weather continue till winter's day." He explained that the timber used by the Saints for their houses had been taken from the flood plains near the river. "We consider it far better that these logs be laid in houses to shelter the widow and orphan, than left to snag boats in the Missouri."

Tuesday, Nov. 17:

Wilford Woodruff, recovering well from his serious accident the previous month, returned to work on his house. He observed the hard labor taking place in Winter Quarters. "I have never seen the Latter-day Saints in any situation where they seemed to be passing through greater tribulations or wearing out faster than at the present time. After being exposed to the sufferings of a tedious journey of 10 months in tents and waggons without houses, we are obliged to build a city of log Houses numbering more than one thousand . . . and having to go a great distance for timber & wood."

The second sick detachment of the Mormon Battalion, led by James Brown, arrived at Pueblo

in present-day ColoradoT after a long journey from Santa Fe. They pitched their tents near 20 newly constructed log cabins built by the first sick detachment.

Wednesday, Nov. 18:

At 5:30 p.m., the Twelve and high council met together to address some Winter Quarters issues. Stray sheep were becoming a problem in the city during the night. A city ordinance was established that all animals must be put in pens during the night. If strays were found by the police, a fine of 25 cents would be imposed on the owner.

Thursday, Nov. 19:

In the evening, the Winter Quarters "Regular Standing Police Guard" was organized. Hosea Stout was unanimously sustained as the captain. Twenty-five men were chosen to serve in this organization. Many of these men, like Brother Stout, had also served in the "old police" in Nauvoo.

Friday, Nov. 20:

Horace Eldredge was one of many in the city of Winter Quarters who had recently finished building their homes. He wrote, "I got my little family under the first and only roof that had sheltered them since the early spring." Hosea Stout regulated the police guard, assigning two shifts during the night, six men on each shift.

Col. Cooke, commander of the Mormon Battalion, held a serious consultation meeting with his guides. They advised him to abandon his plan to forge a road through the mountains. Instead they should head south, into Sonora, Mexico. Cooke agreed and informed the battalion of this decision.

In the evening, David Pettegrew and Levi Hancock, priesthood leaders for the battalion, visited every man in the camp. They requested that the brethren plead with the Lord in prayer that night to change the mind of their commander. They believed that a march deep into Mexico would place the men in great danger of being ambushed by Mexican forces.

Saturday, Nov. 21:

The Mormon Battalion commenced its march toward Sonora, Mexico. After only traveling about 11/2 miles, Col. Cooke called for a sudden halt. He then said with firmness: "This is not my course. I was ordered to California and . . . I will go there or die in the attempt." Turning to the bugler, he said, "Blow the right!" David Pettegrew cried out, "God bless the colonel!" William Coray wrote, "At this time particularly, I could see the hand of God displayed in directing our course. If we had gone to Sonora to all human appearance, we would have lost our lives. We being so small a force in comparison to what [the Mexican army] could raise."

Sources: Manuscript History of Brigham Young, pp. 453-63; Wilford Woodruff's Journal 3:95-6; Journal History, Nov. 20, 1846; The Diary of Hosea Stout 1:209-12; Luman Shurtliff Autobiography, p. 292; "The Journal of Robert S. Bliss," The Utah Historical Quarterly 4:77-8; "Journal of Philip St. George Cooke" in Exploring Southwestern Trails 1846-1854, pp. 101-09; A Ram in the Thicket: The Mormon Battalion in the Mexican War, pp. 277-78, 362-71; Horace Eldredge, autobiography in Tullidge's Quarterly Mag. 1:407.