Happy 24th of July, Utah!!!

A happy 24th of July to all proud sons and daughters of the Great State of Utah!!! As I posted last year, today is the 158th anniversary of the arrival of the Mormon pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley and the biggest holiday in Utah next to Independence Day. I thought about working this into a "On this day in military history" post, but although this holiday and Independence Day go hand-in-hand for many of Utah, I couldn't find an angle to represent this for those not of Utah. Maybe if I said that thanks to the stalwart, pro-US Constitution, pro-US government, anti-slavery members of the LDS Church, President Abraham Lincoln did not have to worry about Brigham Young and the Utah territory rebelling against the United States during the Civil War. When he was elected president, he was told of the LDS Church in Utah territory and how the members were practicing polygamy. However, unlike his predecessors, he decided to leave the LDS Church alone and concentrated on keeping the union intact. As a result, most people from Utah are descended from pioneers and polygamists rather than Civil War veterans and Abraham Lincoln is one of our greatest presidents.