James Allen (February 15, 1806 – August 23, 1846) was a

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

officer who organized the

Mormon Battalion The Mormon Battalion was the only religious unit in United States military history in federal service, recruited solely from one religious body and having a religious title as the unit designation. The volunteers served from July 1846 to July ...

and was commander of Fort Des Moines (1843–1846), the fort from which the City of Des Moines grew. He was also in charge of improvements to the harbor of Chicago as well as producing maps of the U.S. frontier. Allen was born in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. He graduated from

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

in 1829. In 1832, he accompanied

Henry Schoolcraft Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (March 28, 1793 – December 10, 1864) was an American geographer, geologist, and ethnology, ethnologist, noted for his early studies of Native Americans in the United States, Native American cultures, as well as for his 1 ...

on an expedition to the headwaters of the Mississippi River, which led to Allen producing the first accurate map showing the lakes and streams of the headwaters. In 1833 he was assigned to the First Regiment of Dragoons, where he served as an engineer in the exploration of the Indian country of the Southwest. Allen oversaw improvements to the harbor of Chicago in 1834. In 1842 he was transferred to

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, taking charge of the

Sac and Fox The Sac and Fox Nation ( ''Mesquakie'' language: ''Othâkîwaki / Thakiwaki'' or ''Sa ki wa ki'') is the largest of three federally recognized tribes of Sauk and Meskwaki (Fox) Indian peoples. Originally from the Lake Huron and Lake Michigan ...

Agency ("Fort Sanford") and then Fort Des Moines No. 2. After Fort Des Moines No. 2 was abandoned in 1846, it became the core of what is now the modern City of Des Moines. He was sent to Mt. Pisgah, Iowa, to a camp of homeless Latter-day Saints who had been driven from their homes by anti-Mormon mobs, to recruit a battalion of 500 men to fight in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

. Initially the

Mormons Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

were suspicious of him, but after he met with Mormon leader

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his ...

, Young fully endorsed the plan. Allen served as the commanding officer (with the acting rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

) of the Battalion from the July 16, 1846 until his death on August 23, 1846. He was the first officer buried at

Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located on Fort Leavenworth, a United States Army installation north of Leavenworth, Kansas. It was officially established in 1862, but was used as a burial ground as early ...

Namesake

Allens Bay Allens Bay is a bay in Beltrami County, Minnesota, in the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists ...

on Cass Lake in the State of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

is named in his honor.

References

Sources

* ''Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History'', p. 19 * The Mormon Battalion, U.S. Army of the West, p. 11 * The Rise of the Allens, Two Soldiers and the Master of Terrace Hill, {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, James 1806 births 1846 deaths American military personnel of the Mexican–American War Members of the Mormon Battalion People from Kirtland, Ohio United States Military Academy alumni American military engineers Place of birth missing Engineers from Ohio