Henry Standage: Company E Soldier Whose Journal Became the Foundation of Battalion History (1846–1928)

Henry Standage was born in 1818 and joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in his youth. When the Mormon Battalion was called to serve, Standage enlisted in Company E, determined to faithfully record what he witnessed.

From 1846 to 1848, Standage kept a meticulous journal documenting the daily experiences of the Battalion's march from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to California. But unlike some diaries that record only basic facts, Standage's journal captures the spiritual dimension of the journey. He noted when President Brigham Young instructed the captains to "be fathers to their companies"—a principle that transformed how officers led their men. He recorded the hardships of the waterless stretches of the Cimarron Cutoff and the worse deserts beyond, showing how even the most difficult conditions became occasions for faith and divine provision.

What makes Henry Standage's journal extraordinary is its scope and detail. It became so valued by historians that in 1928—eighty years after the Battalion was disbanded—historian Frank D. Golder published Standage's account as the foundational work: "The March of the Mormon Battalion from Council Bluffs to California: Taken from the Journal of Henry Standage" (Century Company, 1928).

This publication stands as one of the most authoritative and complete accounts of the Battalion's experience. Scholars have relied on Standage's careful observations to understand not only what happened, but why the soldiers persisted. His journal reveals that the Battalion was not merely enduring a military march; they were participating in a sacred mission. Standage's willingness to record the full story—the suffering, the faithfulness, the divine providences—has allowed generations to understand the spiritual reality of the experience.

Standage moved to Mesa, Arizona, in his later years, where he lived to see the fulfillment of the pioneer dream. He died in 1899 at the age of 81, having witnessed the transformation of the Great Basin from wilderness to thriving communities. His journal, preserved and published, remains a gift that testifies to the power of faithful record-keeping.