The Mormon military experience : 1838 to the Cold War / Sherman L. Fleek, and Robert C. Freeman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fleek, Sherman L., author.

Freeman, Robert C., 1959- author.

Series:

Studies in civil-military relations

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Latter Day Saints--United States--History.

Latter Day Saints.

United States--Armed Forces--Military life--Mormons.

United States.

United States--History, Military--Religious aspects.

Christian soldier--United States--History--19th century.

Christian soldier.

Christian soldier--United States--History--20th century.

War--Religious aspects.

Genre:

History.

Military history.

Physical Description:

357 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lawrence, Kansas : University Press of Kansas, [2023]

Summary:

The Mormon military experience is unique in American history. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) is the only denomination to field military units for its own support and purpose rather than national interests, an effort which began in Missouri in 1838 and lasted through the Spanish American War of 1898. From World War I onward, however, the military exceptionalism of the LDS Church faded and Mormon soldiers came to serve national interests as loyal citizens alongside their fellow Americans. The Mormon Military Experience: 1838 to the Cold War is the first book to present a historical overview of the Mormon military experience. Sherman Fleek and Robert Freeman tell this unique story of how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has experienced war and military service and their teachings concerning participation in armed conflict. The Mormon military experience is unique in American history. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) is the only denomination to field military units for its own support and purpose rather than national interests, an effort which began in Missouri in 1838 and lasted through the Spanish American War of 1898. From World War I onward, however, the military exceptionalism of the LDS Church faded and Mormon soldiers came to serve national interests as loyal citizens alongside their fellow Americans. The Mormon Military Experience: 1838 to the Cold War is the first book to present a historical overview of the Mormon military experience. Sherman Fleek and Robert Freeman tell this unique story of how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has experienced war and military service and their teachings concerning participation in armed conflict. While LDS leaders adapted church practices and policies to support national objectives at times, there were also occasions when Mormon militia units defied state and federal military forces, sometimes to the point of open combat. No other American denomination has done this. This is a story about changing loyalties: as the LDS Church transformed from a personalist religious movement on the edge of society to a mainstay of American religious and political life, Mormons have moved from battling the US military to serving with distinction within it.--Book cover flaps (front and back).

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: Book One Nineteenth-Century Conflicts and Mormon Exceptionalism

1. The Mormon Way of War: Teachings and Practice

2. A Civil Conflict in Missouri: 1838

3. The Nauvoo Legion: Forging a Mormon Army

4. The Mormon Battalion: The Only Religious Unit in American History

5. Mormon Defiance: The Mormon Territorial Militia and the Utah War

6. The American Civil War: LDS Service and Postwar Frustration

7. Saints and Indians at War

8. Wars with Spain and the Philippines, 1898-1902: The End of Mormon Exceptionalism

Book Two Twentieth-Century Conflicts and the End of Mormon Exceptionalism

9. Intervention in Mexico, 1916: A Unique Mormon Story

10. World War I: Mormons Enter the Mainstream Ranks

11. World War II: Saints in the Global War

12. Early Cold War Conflicts: The Rise of the International Church

13. Southeast Asia: Defending Democracy and Expanding the Church

14. MX Missile Basing and LDS Opposition

Epilogue: The Cold War and Beyond

Appendix: Medal of Honor Citations

World War I

World War II

Korean War

Vietnam War

Global War on Terrorism

Chronology: The Mormon Military Experience, 1820-1896.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Fleek, Sherman L. Mormon military experience

ISBN:

9780700634323

0700634320

OCLC:

1355222831