Rescue of the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies (October–November 1856)

In October 1856, after Brigham Young issued the call at October General Conference to 'Go and bring in those people now on the plains,' an organized rescue from Salt Lake City rode east into early Wyoming blizzards to save the stranded Willie and Martin handcart companies. On Tuesday, October 7, a rescue party of sixteen supply wagons gathered at Big Mountain under the leadership of George D. Grant (George Davis Grant). Grant, who had returned from England earlier in 1856, chose Robert T. Burton and William H. Kimball as his captains. Riding ahead through the storms, the advance rescuers found the Willie Company first near the sixth crossing of the Sweetwater River in late October and later found the Martin Company in the snow near the Sweetwater, where members were starving, freezing, and near death. The rescuers brought flour, blankets, clothing, wagons, and other supplies that saved the survivors and escorted them back toward the Salt Lake Valley.

Robert T. Burton — later a seasoned trail captain, sheriff of Summit County, and mission president in England — kept a journal of the rescue (now in the Church History Library) that records the grueling eastward ride, discovery of the stricken companies, and the long escort back. Burton later summarized his character with the motto 'Be kind to the poor,' a phrase used by biographers recounting his role in the relief effort. Contemporary and later accounts emphasize Grant's command of the advance party and the critical work of the captains and rescuers in bringing food, clothing, and wagons that preserved many lives.

Fuller account of this event (as retold in Go and Bring Them In, Ensign, Dec. 2006):

On Tuesday, October 7, a rescue party with 16 supply wagons met at Big Mountain. Leader George D. Grant chose Robert T. Burton and William H. Kimball as his assistants. They were experienced leaders of the local militias, of which all men were members. Captain Grant and the rescue party, meanwhile, had traveled 100 miles through deep snow and reached Devil’s Gate on Sunday, October 26, with no sign of the ailing Martin, Hodgett, or Hunt companies. The rescue party was totally exhausted and spent the day “in fasting and prayer, and in preparing themselves to receive the mind and will of the Lord.” On November 18, 30 supply wagons led by William H. Kimball arrived at the Sweetwater. Knowing the immigrants were nearby, Kimball dispatched several rescuers to bring them in. Once the immigrants were gathered together, the rescuers gave up their wagons to them. Grant put Robert T. Burton in charge of bringing the Martin company into Salt Lake.