The Saints and the Union: Utah Territory during the Civil War

LONG, E.B.

ISBN 10: 0252008219 / ISBN 13: 9780252008214

Published by University of Illinois Press, Urbana, 1981

About this Item

Small 4to. Blue cloth, dust jacket. xiii, 310pp. Illustrations, map, map endpapers. Near fine/very good. Minor jacket edgewear. First edition, tight and superb, of this study showing how "While the Civil War raged in the East, the Mormons in Utah Territory zealously continued to guard their cultural identity and church practices from federal control." The half-title is inscribed and signed boldly by the author in blue ballpoint: "Inscribed for Charles Wesselhoeft / a fine student of / our past. / Best Wishes, / E.B. 'Pete' Long / Chicago / March, 1981." Wesselhoeft (1917-2002) was a noted member of the Civil War Round Table of Chicago. This inscription, though dated simply "March," actually dates to Monday, March 30: the day before Long's death at the age of 61. Long had attended a Civil War Round Club meeting that night -- at which event this book, which was officially released that same day, was signed and inscribed -- the only book signing held for this title. For this reason, signed copies rarely surface -- only the second time we've encountered one, having handled dozens of unsigned copies. Laid in is an Autograph Letter Signed from Long's wife Barbara, 1p, 5 3/4" X 7½", Laramie, WY, 1981 August 18. Same recipient. On pale grey letterhead, she pens a gracious thank-you. In part: ". I have been inundated by over 400 letters & have had to resort to answering them alphabetically -- otherwise I couldn't keep track of who had been answered. I sometimes still have trouble believing it's true -- It hasn't been easy, but I can here Pete telling me to be brave and carry on & try to make a meaningful life along. It is difficult to find that meaning, but I am trying -- I still feel as if I'm existing in a strange & terrible dream." With original envelope. DORNBUSCH IV, 2104. EICHER 953.

Seller Inventory # 39056

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Saints and the Union: Utah Territory during the Civil War
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press, Urbana
• Publication Date: 1981
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0252008219
• ISBN 13: 9780252008214
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • Civil War
  • Books

About this title

Synopsis

Utah Territory During the Civil War. Long's portrayal of two volatile personalties-Mormon leader Brigham Young and U.S. military commander GeneralnPatrick Connor--depicts events which helped shape the "opening up of the West." 310 pp., cloth, dj..

Review

"The history of Utah during the Civil War can be written largely in terms of two personalities, and this E. B. Long has done. They were Brigham Young, the dynamic and commanding president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and General Patrick Edward Connor, the mercurial Irishman who commanded federal troops in Utah from 1862 to 1865... Those who like their history straight from the sources will find The Saints and the Union a gem... [It] is solid history, comprehensively documenting an important period in Utah and Mormon history." -- Robert M. Utley, Journal of Southern History "Clearly the standard history of an unusual and interesting aspect of the Civil War." -- G. Thomas Edwards, Pacific Northwest Quarterly "[Long] avoids the provincialism that has persistently plagued Mormon history by placing his account firmly within the broader perspective of American history... [This] is a solid, scholarly, objective work which deserves the attention of all students of Mormonism, the Civil War, and the American West." -- Newell G. Bringhurst, Journal of the West "Long presents a wealth of material that vividly illustrates the paranoia, suspicion, and fear--real or feigned--that characterized the poles of authority--civil, military, and religious--in Utah during the war years... By letting the major personalities in Utah speak their minds during these troubled years, E. B. Long's book provides a much greater understanding of the Civil War on the western border." -- Harwood P. Hinton, Civil War History "Comes straight from the sources... An important piece in the puzzle of understanding the Civil War in the West." -- Civil War Book Review "A well-balanced, well-reasoned, and enlightening volume." -- Utah Historical Quarterly