Union Vedette

Create article on Union Vedette, 1863–1867 Camp Douglas newspaper in Utah Territory

New page {{Short description|1863–1867 newspaper in Utah Territory}}

{{Italic title}}

{{Infobox newspaper

| name = ''The Union Vedette''

| type = Weekly newspaper; later daily newspaper

| founder = [[Patrick Edward Connor]]

| foundation = {{Start date|1863|11|20}}

| ceased publication = November 1867

| political = [[Unionism in the United States|Unionist]], pro-mining, critical of [[Plural marriage (Latter Day Saints)|plural marriage]]

| language = English

| headquarters = [[Fort Douglas|Camp Douglas]] and later [[Salt Lake City]], [[Utah Territory]]

| publishing_city = Camp Douglas; Salt Lake City

| publishing_country = United States

}}

'''''The Union Vedette''''', later published as '''''The Daily Union Vedette''''', was a newspaper published in [[Utah Territory]] from 1863 to 1867. It was founded at [[Fort Douglas|Camp Douglas]] by Colonel [[Patrick Edward Connor]] of the [[3rd California Infantry Regiment|Third California Volunteer Infantry]] during the [[American Civil War]].{{cite web |last=Nichols |first=Jeffrey D. |title=Colonel Connor Filled a Varied, Dramatic Role in Utah |url=https://historytogo.utah.gov/colonel-connor/ |website=History to Go |publisher=Utah State Historical Society |date=May 1995 |access-date=July 4, 2026}} The paper began as a weekly and later became a daily newspaper.{{cite encyclopedia |last=Bennion |first=Sherilyn Cox |editor-last=Powell |editor-first=Allan Kent |title=Journalism in Utah |encyclopedia=Utah History Encyclopedia |publisher=University of Utah Press |year=1994 |url=https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/j/JOURNALISM.shtml |access-date=July 4, 2026}}{{cite web |title=Utah Digital Newspapers {{!}} Union Vedette |url=https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/search?facet_paper=%22Union+Vedette%22 |website=Utah Digital Newspapers |publisher=J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah |access-date=July 4, 2026}}

The newspaper provided a Union Army and non-Latter-day Saint editorial voice in Civil War-era Utah. It published military news, national dispatches, local commentary, and reports promoting Utah mining. Connor used the newspaper to publicize mineral discoveries and to encourage non-Latter-day Saint migration and investment in the territory.{{cite web |title=Fort Douglas |work=National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form |publisher=National Park Service |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/23297173-e57a-4e03-98be-c74bbc3bc586 |access-date=July 4, 2026}} The paper was also a rival editorial voice to the Church-owned ''[[Deseret News]]'', the newspaper associated with [[Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]].

==Background==

Camp Douglas was established east of Salt Lake City in October 1862 after regular federal troops were withdrawn from frontier duty during the Civil War. Connor and the California volunteers were sent to Utah to protect the overland mail route and telegraph lines and to maintain a federal military presence near the territorial capital.{{cite encyclopedia |last=Hibbard |first=Charles G. |editor-last=Powell |editor-first=Allan Kent |title=Fort Douglas |encyclopedia=Utah History Encyclopedia |publisher=University of Utah Press |year=1994 |url=https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/f/FORT_DOUGLAS.shtml |access-date=July 4, 2026}}

Relations between Connor, federal officials, and Utah's Latter-day Saint leadership were often tense. Connor was suspicious of Latter-day Saint loyalty and opposed the political and economic influence of [[Brigham Young]] and the Church of Jesus Christ in the territory.{{cite encyclopedia |last=Holzapfel |first=Richard Neitzel |editor-last=Powell |editor-first=Allan Kent |title=The Civil War in Utah |encyclopedia=Utah History Encyclopedia |publisher=University of Utah Press |year=1994 |url=https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/c/CIVIL_WAR_IN_UTAH.shtml |access-date=July 4, 2026}} The creation of ''The Union Vedette'' formed part of Connor's broader effort to influence public opinion, promote mining, and support a non-Latter-day Saint presence in Utah Territory.

==Origins and publication history==

''The Union Vedette'' was founded at Camp Douglas in November 1863. Digitized issues in Utah Digital Newspapers begin with an issue dated November 20, 1863, and show the title continuing through 1867. The paper was first issued weekly and later became a daily newspaper.

The newspaper was later published under the title ''The Daily Union Vedette''. Utah Digital Newspapers lists more than one thousand digitized issues under the paper title ''Union Vedette'', with issues from 1863 through 1867. The National Register nomination for Fort Douglas states that the paper continued until November 1867.

The ''Utah History Encyclopedia'' places ''The Union Vedette'' within an early sequence of Utah opposition and non-Latter-day Saint newspapers. It states that the paper succeeded the earlier ''[[Valley Tan]]'' and preceded later publications including the ''Utah Magazine'', the ''Mormon Tribune'', and ''[[The Salt Lake Tribune]]''.

==Contents and editorial position==

''The Union Vedette'' published Civil War news, military information, local commentary, and reports on Utah's mineral resources. The newspaper reflected Connor's Unionist politics and his opposition to the influence of Brigham Young and Latter-day Saint territorial leadership. The ''Utah History Encyclopedia'' describes the paper as a vehicle for criticism of the Latter-day Saints during the Civil War period.

The newspaper was also closely tied to Connor's mining policy. Connor believed that publicizing mineral discoveries would attract non-Latter-day Saint miners and investors to Utah, reducing the political and economic dominance of the Latter-day Saint population. The National Register nomination for Fort Douglas states that soldiers at Camp Douglas discovered gold, silver, and lead and publicized those discoveries in the ''Union Vedette'', which it describes as the post newspaper.

==Mining promotion==

Connor encouraged troops stationed at Camp Douglas to explore Utah Territory for mineral deposits. After ore was found in [[Bingham Canyon]] in 1863, Connor supported the formation of mining organizations and promoted further exploration. According to the National Register nomination, the ''Union Vedette'' gained wide circulation in Utah and neighboring states and territories by publicizing mining discoveries from Camp Douglas.

The paper's mining coverage was part of Connor's larger effort to attract outside settlement and investment to Utah. Jeffrey D. Nichols of the Utah State Historical Society wrote that Connor founded the ''Union Vedette'' to promote Utah's mineral resources and to provide a viewpoint different from that of the Church-owned ''Deseret News''.

==Reception and legacy==

The ''Union Vedette'' became one of the principal non-Latter-day Saint newspapers in Utah Territory during the Civil War era. Its editorial line placed it in opposition to the ''Deseret News'' and to Latter-day Saint political leadership, especially on questions of federal authority, plural marriage, mining, and outside migration.

Although the newspaper was short-lived, it is cited in histories of Utah journalism, Fort Douglas, and the Civil War in Utah for its role as the Camp Douglas post newspaper and as a public advocate of Connor's mining program. The National Register nomination for Fort Douglas describes it as widely circulated and identifies it as part of the post's Civil War-era significance.

==See also==

• [[Fort Douglas]]

• [[Patrick Edward Connor]]

• [[Utah in the American Civil War]]

• [[Deseret News]]

• [[Valley Tan]]

• [[The Salt Lake Tribune]]

==References==

{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==

• {{cite journal |last=Nelson |first=Richard A. |title=The Daily Union Vedette: A Military Voice on the Mormon Frontier |journal=Utah Historical Quarterly |volume=42 |issue=1 |year=1974 |pages=39–48}}

• {{cite book |last=Madsen |first=Brigham D. |title=Glory Hunter: A Biography of Patrick Edward Connor |publisher=University of Utah Press |location=Salt Lake City |year=1990}}

• {{cite book |last=Long |first=E. B. |title=The Saints and the Union: Utah Territory During the Civil War |publisher=University of Illinois Press |location=Urbana |year=1981}}

==External links==

• [newspapers.lib.utah.edu/search ''Union Vedette'' archive] at [[Utah Digital Newspapers]]

• [npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/23297173-e57a-4e03-98be-c74bbc3bc586 Fort Douglas National Register documentation], [[National Park Service]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Union Vedette}}

[[Category:Defunct newspapers published in Utah]]

[[Category:Newspapers established in 1863]]

[[Category:Publications disestablished in 1867]]

[[Category:1863 establishments in Utah Territory]]

[[Category:1867 disestablishments in Utah Territory]]

[[Category:History of Salt Lake City]]

[[Category:Utah in the American Civil War]]