Turtledove
Register
Advertisement
Flag of Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City is the state capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Utah. The city was founded in 1847 by Brigham Young, Isaac Morley, George Washington Bradley and several other Mormon followers, who extensively irrigated and cultivated the arid valley. Due to its proximity to the Great Salt Lake, the city was originally named Great Salt Lake City — the word "great" was dropped from the official name in 1868. Although Salt Lake City is still home to the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church, or Mormons), less than half the population of Salt Lake City proper are members of the LDS Church today

Salt Lake City in Days of Infamy[]

Salt Lake City was the home town of U. S. Navy aviator Orson Sharp.

Salt Lake City in The Hot War[]

Salt Lake City was one of several American cities that were atom bombed by the Soviet Union on March 2, 1951. Governor J.B. Lee was among the casualties.[1] As a result of the destruction of the city, the state government of Utah was decapitated. It fell to the Federal government to call out the National Guard for the state.[2]

Salt Lake City in The House of Daniel[]

Like the rest of the country, Salt Lake City was struggling to deal with the aftermath of the Big Bubble bursting. Both the government and the Mormon church provided services to the unemployed.[3]

Salt Lake City had a semipro baseball team, the Industries. The Industries were one of several teams to play in the Denver Post semipro tournament in June 1934.[4]

Four days after they won the whole tournament, the House of Daniel headed to Salt Lake City to play the Industries, beating them 13-11.[5]

Salt Lake City in Southern Victory[]

Temple

The Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Salt Lake City. This building was leveled by the United States and rebuilt as many times by the Mormons.

As the capital of the U.S. state of Utah, Salt Lake City was the site of substantial military action during the several Mormon uprisings. It was the home of the Mormon Temple, which the United States Army leveled during each uprising. The Mormons tenaciously rebuilt it each time the U.S. normalized relations.

Given its conflicted past, it should come as no surprise that Salt Lake City has attracted many luminaries of U.S. history. In 1881, Abraham Lincoln, who was visiting on a speaking tour, was trapped in the city when the first Mormon uprising began, taking advantage the distraction the Second Mexican War was to the U.S. The U.S. Army under John Pope and George Armstrong Custer promptly squashed the rebellion with sheer brutality. Fort Custer stood as a testament to their success.

After the second uprising was crushed in the Great War, Utah was placed directly under military control. Colonel Abner Dowling, Custer's former adjutant, was made military governor of the city, and then the state when General John Pershing was assassinated in his Salt Lake City office in 1929. Dowling remained in Salt Lake City until President Al Smith returned states rights to Utah.

When the Second Great War began, the Mormons once again rebelled, and Salt Lake City became a focus of war. This rebellion was also crushed by 1943. The U.S government, having had its fill of the rebellious Mormons, began considering relocation of the population, perhaps to the Sandwich Islands, rather than returning indefinite military rule.

SLC1913

Downtown Salt Lake, 1913, just a year before the Great War.

Salt Lake City in The Valley-Westside War[]

Salt Lake was one of the easternmost nations with which The Valley had contact. A telegraph system ran from Salt Lake to Vegas.[6]

References[]

  1. Bombs Away, pgs. 164-165, ebook.
  2. Ibid., pg. 170, ebook.
  3. The House of Daniel, loc. 4427.
  4. Ibid., loc. 3647, ebook.
  5. Ibid., loc. 4365-4427.
  6. The Valley-Westside War, pg. 195, hc.
Advertisement