John Borrowman: His Journal Confirms Brigham Young's Prophecy — 'Not One of the Battalion Would Fall in Battle' (1846–1847)

John Borrowman was born January 2, 1820, in Falkirk, Scotland. He immigrated to the United States, joined the Church, gathered with the Saints to Nauvoo, and in July 1846 enlisted in the Mormon Battalion — assigned to Company B.

Borroman kept a journal that is among the most frequently cited primary sources for Mormon Battalion history. His entry from the day after the Battalion's departure records the blessing and promise of Brigham Young to the assembled soldiers: that if they kept the commandments of God, not one would fall in battle.

His journal corroborates this prophetic promise from the soldier's perspective: he heard it, he recorded it, and he watched it come true. The Battalion marched through Mexican-contested territory during an active war, skirmished with stampeding wild cattle on the San Pedro River, crossed three days of waterless desert, and traversed the Rocky Mountains — without losing a single man to enemy fire.

Borroman's account of the 'Battle of the Bulls' is one of the most vivid on record: 'The rampaging bulls charged on and on. There was great confusion and fear.' And yet — not one soldier died. The prophecy held.

After his discharge, Borrowman returned to Salt Lake Valley and settled there. He eventually moved to Beaver, Utah, where he served as a local leader and raised his family. His journal was preserved and has been used extensively in histories of the Mormon Battalion, including Norma Ricketts' definitive study.

John Borrowman died February 3, 1896, in Beaver, Utah. He had spent 50 years watching the fulfillment of what Brigham Young had promised him on the Missouri River in 1846.