In July, 1846, with the approval of Brigham Young, five companies of men volunteered to serve in the Mexican War as part of the Mormon Battalion. Five companies in the army could have up to 20 army hired and paid laundresses. 18 laundresses have been documented as serving with the Mormon Battaion and recieving a private's pay. Other women actually accompanied the Mormon Battalion. 34 women and 44 children have been documented as accompanying the Battalion. Most of the women who journeyed with the Battalion were married to a Battalion soldier. Only 4 women, Melissa Coray, Phebe Brown, Susan Davis, and Lydia Hunter, and four children made the entire journey with the Battalion to the Pacific Ocean. The other women and children who left with the Battalion were sent to Pueblo, Colorado with sick detachments and Battalion soldiers who did not complete the entire journey to San Diego. This photoghaph depicts a reenactor with a wagon on the plains.
