Connor, Patrick Edward, 1820-1891

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Patrick Edward Connor was born in rural County Kerry, Ireland on St. Patrick's Day, 1820. He emigrated to the United States and enlisted, as "Patrick Edward O'Connor", in the United States Army on November 28, 1839. In addition to service in the Seminole Wars, he served as a dragoon at Fort Leavenworth, Fort Atkinson, Fort Sandford, and at the second Fort Des Moines. He was honorably discharged as a private on November 28, 1844, and after two years in New York, he moved to Texas. On April 5, 1845, he became a naturalized citizen.

Connor joined the Texas Volunteers in May 1846 using the name "P. Edward Connor", serving as a first lieutenant in the Texas Foot Riflemen during the Mexican–American War. On July 7, 1846, at Galveston, he was mustered into the United States Army as a first lieutenant, enlisting for 12 months. His independent company of Texas Volunteers under the command of Captain Charles A. Seefield was ordered to Port Lavaca on Matagorda Bay as a part of General John E. Wool's Army of the Center, which was slated to invade Mexico. Marching through Monclova, Parras, and Saltillo, the company, now under Connor's command as a captain, and attached to the 2nd Illinois Volunteers under the command of Colonel William H. Bissell, fought in the Battle of Buena Vista in February 1847. The company saw heavy action and Connor was wounded in the hand; two of his lieutenants and 13 men were killed. Connor was honorably discharged on May 24, 1847, near Monterey, Mexico, resigning due to rheumatism. When the California Gold Rush began, he crossed Mexico from Texas and arrived in California on January 22, 1850.

Upon his arrival in California, Connor was involved in a boating accident in the Pacific Ocean while attempting to establish a new settlement near the mouth of the Trinity River. Connor and his men were unaware that the Trinity River empties into the Klamath River instead of the Pacific. Of the 10 people in the whale boat attempting to navigate the heavy surf, five drowned.

On May 28, 1853, Connor was called by Harry S. Love to be his lieutenant in the company of California State Rangers with 20 other experienced Mexican–American War veterans. They hunted down and killed Mexican outlaw Joaquin Murrieta and three others of his gang and captured two others, breaking up the so-called "Five Joaquins".The rest of the Rangers and he were well-rewarded by the state before being disbanded.

When the American Civil War broke out, Connor was in command of the "Stockton Blues", a unit in the California Militia. He brought the strength of the unit up to regimental size and it became the 3rd Regiment California Volunteer Infantry.[10] His regiment was ordered to the Utah Territory to protect the overland routes from Indians and quell a possible Mormon uprising.

While in Utah, Connor, as senior officer, became commander of the District of Utah, Department of the Pacific, on August 6, 1862, establishing Camp Douglas at Salt Lake City in October, but became discontented with his assignment. His men and he wished to head to Virginia where the real fighting and glory was occurring. When Major General Henry W. Halleck (a personal friend of Connor's) became the general-in-chief of the Union armies, Connor pleaded that his men had enlisted to fight traitors. He offered to withhold $30,000 from the regiment's pay to ship the troops to the eastern battlefields. Halleck suggested that Connor reconnoiter the Salt Lake City area. Connor did so and established Fort Douglas in a commanding position over the city, despite the wishes of the Mormons. Brigham Young tried through his personal representative to Congress John F. Kinney to displace federal troops. However, through the efforts of Governor James Duane Doty and Colonel Connor, federal troops were sequestered at Fort Douglas by Washington and the Pacific Theatre commanding general.

In October 1863, Connor and Governor Doty signed peace treaties with the remaining hostile Indian tribes, thereby bringing to a close all Indian hostilities within the Utah Territory. Shortly after the signing of the treaties, officers and enlisted men of the California Volunteers stationed at Fort Douglas established the first daily Utah newspaper called The Union Vedette. This newspaper offered a balance of news unavailable through the LDS Church-owned Deseret News.

Connor provided protection for non-Mormons and those wishing to leave the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during his three years of service in Utah. He also discovered valuable mineral wealth in Utah that was reported to his superiors. This led to the gradual immigration of non-Mormons into Utah that led to weakening of the power of the LDS Church on everyday affairs in the territory. Connor engaged in extensive military correspondence, which was published in 1897 under The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies.

Connor remained in command of the District of Utah until it was merged in March 1865 into the District of the Plains, established at his suggestion that a "Department of the Plains" be created which he would command. The new district, in the Department of the Missouri, combined the former districts of Utah (redesignated West Subdistrict), Nebraska Territory (East Subdistrict), Colorado Territory (South SubdDistrict), and the Territory of Idaho (North Subdistrict). Connor was named commander of the new district.

In the early 1860s, population pressures in the Washington Territory near the present-day Idaho–Utah border led to conflicts between immigrant settlers and Native Americans. After an attack on miners with depositions given in Salt Lake City by the survivors, Connor marched his regiment 140 mi over the frozen winter landscape to "deal" with the Indians. On January 29, 1863, Connor's troops encountered a Shoshone encampment along the Bear River. Connor and his militia crossed the river and attacked the camp, then feigned a retreat only to encircle the camp and renew their attack.

Connor sent additional troops to block the Indian escape route through a ravine, and sent the rest of his soldiers on a flanking maneuver to a ridge, from where they fired down into the Indians. The soldiers also fired on Indians as they attempted to escape by swimming across the bitterly cold river. The troops killed nearly all of the Indians in the encampment, aside from about 160 women and children, who were later released and given some wheat to help feed them.

The Shoshone had been supplied by the Mormons and large quantities of wheat and articles of war were captured by Connor's command after the battle at Bear River. According to Connor, an Indian survivor later said that the large band of Indians was planning on destroying the town of Franklin in modern-day Idaho. Connor's dispatches are detailed in The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies of the Pacific Theater. For a less biased view, Brigham Madsen's book The Northern Shosoni tells a different story.

After the Bear River Massacre, Connor was appointed brigadier general in the Volunteer Army. From July to September 1865, he led the punitive Powder River Expedition against Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Indians who were attacking travelers along the Bozeman Trail and overland mail routes. Connor's 2,600 men were organized into three widely separated units, which traversed hundreds of miles of what would become Montana and Wyoming. As the expedition began, Connor's orders to his officers were, "You will not receive overtures of peace or submission from Indians, but will attack and kill every male Indian over 12 years of age." Connor's superiors countermanded this order.

The soldiers were harassed by Indians, who avoided pitched battles. Connor established Fort Connor, later Fort Reno, and destroyed an Arapaho village at the Battle of the Tongue River. His Pawnee scouts also ambushed and killed a band of 24 Cheyenne warriors. Most of the time, however, Connor's three units were on the defensive, fending off Indian raids on their horses and supply wagons, which left many soldiers on foot, in rags, and reduced to eating raw horse meat. On the whole, the expedition was considered "a dismal failure" carried out with "large, ungainly columns filled with troops anxious to get home now that the Civil War was over."

After the Civil War ended, Connor was appointed a brevet major general in the Volunteer Army and mustered out of the volunteer service in 1866. Never having been in combat against the Confederacy in the East, he continued to command troops on the frontier. He recruited Confederate veterans for service against the Indians.

Making his permanent residence in Salt Lake City, Connor established one the city's first newspapers. He also became involved in mining again. He founded a city in Utah and named it Stockton in honor of his California militia unit.

Connor died in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, in 1891 at the age of 71 and was buried there.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Rogers, Fred Blackburn, 1889-. Patrick Edward Connor Collection. Utah Division of State History, Utah Historical Society
referencedIn Gibson, J.P. Letter, Blackfoot, Idaho, 1864 July 16. Harold B. Lee Library
referencedIn PH 1600, Martin, Edward photographer 1818-1882. Edward Martin portraits 1860s Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Church History Library
referencedIn Fort Douglas (Utah) collection. Landmarks of Science Microform Service
creatorOf Connor, P. E. (Patrick Edward), 1820-1891. Patrick Edward Connor letter : to H[enry] G[oode] Blaisdell [sic] : ALS, 1864 December 7. UC Berkeley Libraries
creatorOf Connor, P. E. (Patrick Edward), 1820-1891. Letter, 29 Apr 1867. Utah Division of State History, Utah Historical Society
referencedIn PH 200, Savage and Ottinger (Photography Studio). Savage and Ottinger collection of studio portraits circa 1862-1872 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Church History Library
referencedIn Recollections of an unknown soldier stationed at Ft. Laramie, Dakota Territory reminiscences [microform], 1864-1867. Kansas State Historical Society
referencedIn Cole, Nelson, d. 1899. Nelson Cole's Powder River Expedition papers, 1861-1899 (bulk 1865) Univerisity of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
creatorOf P. E. Connor legal agreement, 1873 L. Tom Perry Special Collections
referencedIn Photographic Portrait File The Huntington Library
referencedIn Moonlight, Thomas, 1833-1899. Thomas Moonlight papers, 1864-1870. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn Frederick M. Dearborn collection of military and political Americana, Part III: The Civil War: The Union, 1804-1915. Houghton Library
creatorOf Connor, P. E. (Patrick Edward), 1820-1891. Legal agreement, 1873 November 3. Harold B. Lee Library
creatorOf Connor, P. E. (Patrick Edward), 1820-1891. William Alexander and Mary E. Carter papers, 1859-1890. Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library
referencedIn Alsop, Thomas, 1834-. Dictation from Thomas Alsop : Laramie, Wyoming, 1885. UC Berkeley Libraries
referencedIn Thomas Bradley letter, 1864 J. Willard Marriott Library. University of Utah Manuscripts Division
creatorOf William Alexander and Mary E. Carter papers, 1859-1890 Utah State University. Merrill-Cazier Library. Special Collections and ArchivesUniversity Archives
referencedIn Fort Douglas records, 1861-1954 J. Willard Marriott Library. University of Utah Manuscripts Division
referencedIn Letter, Blackfoot, Idaho, 1864 L. Tom Perry Special Collections
referencedIn Simmonds, A. J. California S.O.B.s, about 1967. Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library
referencedIn PH 1300, Carter, Charles William photographer 1832-1918. Charles W. Carter glass negative collection circa 1860-1900 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Church History Library
referencedIn PH 5962, Smith, George Albert 1817-1875. George A. Smith photograph collection circa 1862-1873 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Church History Library
referencedIn Patrick E. Connor and Fort Douglas, Utah, 1930-1934. Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library
referencedIn Bear River Massacre files. 1860-1980. University of New Mexico, Los Alamos, UNM-Los Alamos Library
referencedIn Philip Case Lockwood memorial collection of Civil War portraits and autographs, 1862-ca. 1886. Houghton Library
referencedIn Edwards, Edward H., d. 1867. Letters, 1865-1867. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn De Jarnatt, Paul. Partick Edward Connor and the Bear River Massacre. 1988. University of New Mexico, Los Alamos, UNM-Los Alamos Library
referencedIn Recollections of experiences on the western plains notes by an unknown soldier [microform], 1865. Kansas State Historical Society
creatorOf Bridges, T. M. Papers, [ca. 1897]. Washington State University, Holland and Terrell Libraries
referencedIn PH 327, E.G. Williams & Bro. (Engraver : N.Y.). Engraved portrait collection circa 1890 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Church History Library
referencedIn Simmonds, A. J. Battle of Bear River / by A.J. Simmonds. Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library
referencedIn Nelson Cole Powder River Expedition papers, 1861-1899, 1865 Univerisity of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
creatorOf Howard, William J.,. Letters to William J. Howard, 1854-1879. Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Connor, P Edwd - State: Texas - Regiment: 1 Texas Foot Riflemen, Company A - Enlistment Rank: 1 Lt - Discharge Rank: 1 Lt National Archives at Washington, D.C
referencedIn [California] Connor, P Edward - 3rd Infantry, Company F&S National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Connor, P Edwd - Utah - 1863 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Connor, P E - California - 1853 - File No. C28 National Archives at Washington, D.C
Relation Name
associatedWith Alsop, Thomas, 1834- person
associatedWith Blasdel, Henry Goode, 1825-1900. person
correspondedWith Bradley, Thomas person
associatedWith Bridges, T. M. person
memberOf California. Militia corporateBody
associatedWith Carter, Charles William photographer 1832-1918 person
associatedWith Carter, Mary Eliza Hamilton, b. 1827? person
associatedWith Carter, William Alexander, 1818-1881 person
associatedWith Chetlain, Augustus L. (Augustus Louis), 1824-1914 person
associatedWith Clampitt, J. W. person
associatedWith Cole, Nelson, d. 1899. person
associatedWith Dearborn, Frederick M. (Frederick Myers), b. 1876 person
associatedWith De Jarnatt, Paul. person
associatedWith Edwards, Edward H., d. 1867. person
associatedWith Farr, Lorin 1854-1928 person
associatedWith Gibson, Jack Pittman, 1932- person
associatedWith Gibson, J.P. person
associatedWith Howard, William J., person
associatedWith Lavalle, Edward person
associatedWith Lavalle, Edward. person
associatedWith Lockwood, Philip Case, 1844-1897 person
associatedWith Martin, Edward photographer 1818-1882 person
associatedWith Meyers, William. person
associatedWith Moonlight, Thomas, 1833-1899. person
associatedWith Rogers, Fred Blackburn, 1889- person
associatedWith Root, Frank A. (Frank Albert), 1837-1926 person
associatedWith Savage and Ottinger (Photography Studio) corporateBody
associatedWith Simmonds, A. J. person
associatedWith Smith, George Albert 1817-1875 person
associatedWith Taggart, John P. person
associatedWith Taggart, John P. person
leaderOf United States. Army. California Infantry Regiment, 3rd. corporateBody
memberOf United States. Army. Dept. of the Pacific (1853-1858) corporateBody
leaderOf United States. Army. District of the Plains. corporateBody
associatedWith Wilson, Posey S. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Galveston TX US
Ireland 00 IE
Salt Lake City UT US
California CA US
Estado de Coahuila de Zaragoza 07 MX
Florida FL US
Port Lavaca TX US
Sheridan County WY US
Monterrey 02 MX
Salt Lake City UT US
Fort Leavenworth KS US
Franklin County ID US
Des Moines IA US
Fort Reno WY US
Fort Douglas UT US
Subject
Bear River Massacre, Idaho, 1863
Buena Vista, Battle of, Mexico, 1847
California Gold Rush
Civil Procedure and Courts
Civil War, 1861-1865
Correspondence
Government, Law and Politics
Governor
Immigration
Judges
Material Types
Mexican War, 1846-1848
Military bases
Mines and mineral resources
Mines and mineral resources
Mormons
Pioneers
Powder River Expedition, 1865
Seminole War, 2nd, 1835-1842
Sutlers
Women pioneers
Occupation
Miners
Miners
Newspaper proprietors
Soldiers
Activity

Person

Birth 1820-03-17

Death 1891-12-17

Male

Americans,

Irish

English

Information

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