A Camp in the Sage Brush

A Camp in the Sage Brush. . , Established in 1858, Camp Floyd was the largest military post in the United States. It was created to put down a Mormon rebellion which never took place. , With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, soldiers were recalled and Camp Floyd was dismantled. Today, little evidence exists of a once thriving camp. , Living conditions at Camp Floyd were hard, as one soldier described: "Camp Floyd is one of the most miserable, disagreeable and uninteresting places that ever disgraced the earth. It is built upon a dry plain, entirely destitute of grass, or, indeed, any vegetation, except sage, that flourishes where nothing else will grow. There is no water here except a little dirty stream that runs near the west end of the camp, scarcely large enough to drown a mouse." Utah, a soldier with Johnston's Army. September 25, 1858 , The small stream in front of you once separated Camp Floyd from the town of Fairfield. The Commissary building to your left is believed to be the only original structure remaining fron the military camp. , The photo and area in front of you depict the isolated landscape Utah was trying to describe. , Lieutenant H.S. Putnam, of the U.S. Corps of Topographical Engineers, surveyed the camp in January 1859 and drew this map.