In 1856, the newly forming party of Abraham Lincoln included in its platform a stinging criticism of slavery and polygamy, referring to the two institutions as the "twin relics of barbarism."
The Republican Party was founded for the express purpose of stopping the spread of slavery into the Kansas and Nebraska Territories, as well as into any future territories. However, a plank was also inserted into the 1856 Republican presidential platform condemning Mormons as well as slavery - "it is both the right and the duty of Congress to prohibit in the territories those twin relics of barbarism--polygamy and slavery." In 1856 anti-Mormon sentiment was not limited to the Republicans. Democrat Steven A. Douglas also came out against "Brigham Young and his confederates," but not against slavery.
A consequence of the election was the dispatch of "Johnston's Army" to the Utah Territory. This force established itself at Camp Floyd in the Territory from 1857-1861. This was the fictitious "Mormon War." The fiction lies in the fact that there was no war. The Mormons were occupied without resistance. Camp Floyd was located west of the town of Lehi. Camp Floyd was named for Secretary of War John B. Floyd. In 1860 Secretary Floyd became ever more vocal about his Southern sympathies and was forced to resign and return to Virginia. Floyd was then replaced by Secretary Crittenden. Camp Floyd was then renamed in honor of Secretary Crittenden. Johnston's Army was commanded by Albert Sydney Johnston, who was brevetted a Brigadier for his services in the Mormon War. He resigned in 1861 and made his way to Richmond to join the Confederacy, which he served with distinction as a General until his death at the battle of Shiloh in 1862 - a bullet nicked his leg severing his femoral artery, and he bled to death.
In the summer of 1861 after the battle of First Manassas the Union Army at Camp Crittenden was recalled to the East. Some of the soldiers returned to fight for the Union, others remained in the West and still others, including Camp Commander Albert Sydney Johnston, made their way back to the Southern Confederacy. When the Southern States began to secede from the Union, officers with Southern sympathies were required to officially resign their commission in the U.S. Army while the enlisted men were allowed to just leave. About 40 officers and men made their way south and were caught in a blizzard at a place then called "Grassy Pass" in Wasatch County, Utah. Seven men and a fourteen year old boy died at the summit and were buried by a spring near the summit of the pass. In 1880 the Rio Grande Western Railroad Company renamed "Grassy Pass" to "Soldier Summit."
2nd National flies over Soldier's Summit
The Utah Civil War Association is a group of re-enactors in the state of Utah that coordinates living history events with its members. Through their activities they seek to develop a deeper understanding of the War Between the States in order to create a greater empathy for all those who suffered, and to honor all men and women who were willing to sacrifice for what which they felt to be right. Two units are memorialized - the 4th Texas Company I and the 81st Pennsylvania Company B.
The following are their stated purposes http://www.utcwa.org/:
The Camp Floyd Stagecoach Inn State Park and the Utah Civil War Association conduct a summer day camp for kids where children learn what life was like during the 1861-1865 era by spending a day in the life of the period.
Utah is renowned for its large genealogical collection at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, which includes records of Confederate soldiers. The Library is collaborating in the compilation of a computerized index of all Union and Confederate soldiers. The Commander of the Colorado Springs MOSB is an Emeritus Accredited Genealogist for the Southern States. He will gladly assist those seeking to join the Colorado Springs MOSB to establish their eligibility.
For additional information of Soldier's Summit check out the following links:
http://history.utah.gov/apps/burials/execute/viewcemetery?id=WH0800
http://history.utah.gov/apps/markers/detailed_results.php?markerid=1935