Ninety-five letters, written by a soldier, Joseph C. Clark, have been found in a metal box, unearthed from a closet in a Pennsylvania 
home. It seems that Clark traveled by stagecoach to Camp Floyd for the so-called Mormon Rebellion. He was one of 3500 troops sent to Utah by President James Buchanan, establishing what for a time was the largest military installation in the United States – Camp Floyd in Utah County, Utah. The following excerpt from one of the letters gives some idea of what was found:
Aug. 16, 1860, Great Salt Lake City:
Dear Mary,
“…We reached the highest point of the South Pass about dark and rested at the Pacific Springs, the water of which flows toward the Pacific Ocean. We passed two or three Mormon ox trains with emigrants for their ‘land of promise’; most of them appeared to come from England, Wales and Switzerland. They were from the lower walks of life and not at all attractive in their appearance, but when they get the dust of travel washed off them they may look somewhat better.”
Clark went on to leave Utah after a short time, and fought in the Civil War, being severly wounded at Antietam. He survived the war, and passed on in 1906.
A book, Kiss the Children For Me, based upon the letters is planned by Vern DeLong.
Read the full and VERY INTERESTING article in the April 10, 2009 edition of the Deseret News Online.
