Beyond the Rio Gila

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"In 1846, the Mexican-American War cast together Latter-day Saints fleeing persecution and the U.S. Army on a desperate mission to capture California. The Mormon Battalion--including two pregnant laundresses--must march two thousand miles. Among the army's First Dragoons, Moses Cole, a Virginia farm boy running from his abusive father, grows to manhood under the mentorship of a tormented alcoholic and former professor. Among the Mormons, Orson Everett battles personal devils yet teaches his colorful followers to work for their brethren with God in their hearts. On such a journey, some will thrive, some will perish, all will be transformed. This deeply researched depiction of the U. S. military's longest march, told in evocative prose, brings a little known yet uniquely American story to life"--