Traditionally, historians said it began when federal judges (accused of immorality by Mormons) convinced Buchanan that Mormons refused to subject themselves to judges' rulings and federal law. So Buchanan sent an army led by Col. Albert Sidney Johnston to install a new governor to replace Brigham Young and to ensure laws were followed.

Mormons viewed it as a renewal of old persecution and believed the Army was coming to destroy them. They armed for defense and evacuated Salt Lake City. Mormon militia ran off the army's livestock, burned its supplies and otherwise harassed it, stalling it enough to force it to spend a deadly winter in Wyoming.

Some historians have argued that Buchanan was a Southern sympathizer who wanted to move the Army out of place before the Civil War. Others said he tried to show the South the government would not allow perceived rebellion. Others said he tried to divert attention from slavery to the other so-called "twin relic of barbarism," polygamy.

Arguments also rage whether Mormons won a David vs. Goliath type of victory through raids on Johnston's Army, or whether they essentially surrendered to government demands after some face-saving concessions were allowed.

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