In mid-1857 Johnston commanded an expedition against insurgent Mormons in Utah. His campaign began that fall but was delayed until the following spring by severe weather. Following a series of negotiations, Johnston's army marched unopposed into Salt Lake City in June 1858. Promoted to brevet brigadier general that year, he remained in Utah until February 1860. Following his reassignment as commander of the department of California, Johnston reluctantly decided to resign from the U.S. Army in April 1861 when he learned that Texas had seceded.

BLAIR, Francis Preston, Jr., a Representative and a Senator from Missouri; born in Lexington, Ky., on February 19, 1821; as a child moved with his father to Washington, D.C.; attended private schools and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; graduated from Princeton College in 1841; studied law at Transylvania University, Lexington, Ky.; admitted to the bar in 1842 and commenced practice in St. Louis in 1843; enlisted as a private during the Mexican War; served as attorney general of the Territory of New Mexico; resumed the practice of law in St.