The Mormon Battalion (It's History and Achievements)

"The Lieutenant-Colonel commanding congratulates the Battalion on their
safe arrival on the shores of the Pacific ocean, and the conclusion of
their march of over two thousand miles. History will be searched in vain
for an equal march of infantry."

So wrote Lieutenant-Colonel P. St. George Cooke in "Order No. I," from
"Head Quarters Mormon Battalion, Mission of San Diego", under date of
January 30th, 1847. If Col. Cooke is accurate in his statement--and one
has a right to assume that he is, since he was a graduate of the United
States Military academy of West Point, and hence versed in the history
of such military incidents--then the march of this Battalion is a very
wonderful performance. For if history might be searched in vain for an
equal march of infantry when Col. Cooke wrote his "Order No. I," then
certainly no march of infantry since that time has equaled it.