Robert Bliss: Company B Soldier's Published Journal Documenting the March to California (1846–1848)

Robert Stanton Bliss enlisted in the Mormon Battalion, Company B, and served from 1846 to 1848. His original journal, now housed at the San Diego History Center (MS 79), provides one of the most detailed and eloquent primary accounts of the Battalion's experience.

Bliss was an observant soldier who recorded not only the military and physical aspects of the march, but also the moral and spiritual lessons he witnessed. His journal captures the reality of frontier soldiering with unflinching honesty. When he witnessed injustice—such as the flogging of Indian laborers or men placed in stocks—he recorded it with candid concern, showing a conscience shaped by the faith principles he carried with him.

One poignant entry from June 1, 1847, captures Bliss's attention to natural beauty and divine abundance: he noted with admiration oats that grew spontaneously in California, observing that they were "as fine as any raised with great labor in the east." This simple observation reflects a man attuned to God's provision and the miraculous abundance of the land they were entering.

Bliss served throughout the Battalion's entire march and garrison duty in California. His messmates included Elijah Freeman and Francis Whitney. The officers recognized Company B for exceptional service; Colonel Stevenson publicly praised them as "the best company in the Southern Division of California."

After his discharge, Bliss continued on, and his journal was preserved. Today, it stands as one of the most valuable documentary records of the Battalion's experience—a testament not only to what the soldiers endured, but to the character of a young man who saw spiritual significance in the ordinary details of his service and faithfully recorded them for posterity.

Fuller account of this event (the complete account as preserved in The Journal of Robert Stanton Bliss, edited by Sylvia J. Cook, Utah Historical Quarterly, Vol. 4, No. 3 (1931)):

June 1st. We are now in the valley of the San Luis Rey. The country is beautiful. The wild oats are as fine as any raised with great labor in the east. They grow spontaneously and cover the hills and valleys for miles.