HISTORY OF THE TUCSON MORMON BATTALION MONUMENT IN TUCSON, ARIZONA

Richard R. Burton, October 13, 2026

 

For years the only recognition of the Mormon Battalion’s visit to Tucson, Arizona was a small (12”x12”) bronze plaque in Presidio Park in downtown Tucson that said simply, “First American Flag Raised in Tucson, December 1846”. No details, no recognition of who placed the flag nor the tremendous sacrifice of those who did so.

 

I was Stake President of the Tucson Arizona Stake in 1987 when Wayne Goodman, a Tucson native and member of my High Council came to me and suggested that a more appropriate recognition of the accomplishments of the Battalion and its influence on Tucson ought to be considered. Wayne had led the local branch of the Mormon Battalion Association for many years and had organized a Battalion entry in the Tucson Rodeo Parade for several years which consisted of a banner, flag and varying numbers of male marchers dressed in levis and a white shirt dyed blue. I told Wayne that I agreed with his desire to improve the recognition of the Battalion’s accomplishments.

 

I checked with the Church’s historical department in Salt Lake about their participation in some form of permanent acknowledgement and was told that they thought it an appropriate task but that the Church did not provide funds for such recognition except at Church historical sites. Recognizing that this would of necessity be a local project requiring private funding, I asked a couple other members of the Church to join with Wayne and me in a committee to determine what could be done. This committee met monthly for a few months talking about how big the plaque should be and how much money we could raise to pay for it. The discussion went from a single plaque to two and then three to explain fully the Battalion’s history and importance to Tucson. There came a point in the discussion when the committee determined that more than words were needed to provide appropriate appreciation for the Battalion.

 

The committee was expanded to include some members of the local Church community who had some artistic sensitivity and the movement toward a representative statue began to be considered. It was decided that some sculptors would be interviewed so that we could have professional input. Three artists were interviewed and the committee decided to engage Clyde Ross Morgan from Sedona, Arizona. He had done some beautiful statues of Arizona historical figures and had done the Vietnam memorial in Salt Lake City. With his input the monument grew from a single figure with a flag representing the raising of the first American flag in Tucson, to a much more elaborate and expensive grouping of three bronze one and one-half life size figures with an emphasis on the peaceful exchange that had occurred when the Battalion entered the Presidio of Tucson and the exchange of nationalities, language and cultures which the Battalion coming to Tucson really represented. Of course, in addition to the figures, plaques would still be necessary for a full understanding of the Battalion’s history, march, and importance. The three figures represented were Captain Jefferson Hunt, the senior volunteer from the Church, Private Christopher Layton who raised the flag over the Presidio, and Teodoro Ramirez, a prominent Tucson Presidio merchant who would have been the one arranging for desperately needed food in exchange for officer’s clothing.

 

Financially, the whole project had gone from a few thousand dollars for a plaque to many thousand dollars, eventually costing close to $300,000 which, according to US Labor statistics, would be over $800,000 in 2026 dollars. The artist assured us that most of the fund raising would be through the sale of maquettes, which are bronze copies of the larger monument about 24” high and placed on a hardwood base. With this assurance, in 1994, the committee paid the artist with what funds had been raised and began the process not knowing how difficult that process would become.

 

At the beginning no end date was a consideration, but now it was recognized that the 150th anniversary of the entry of the Battalion into Tucson on December 16, 1996 would be a wonderful recognition to have the monument erected and dedicated on or near the 150th anniversary which would become a significant timing issue for both fund raising and monument erection.

 

While the artist finalized the statue design, we began fund raising and had little success. Recognizing the value of the maquette for sale, fund raising was put on hold. The artist finished his work, and about eight maquettes were cast by Desert Crucible, a local business owned by a good member of the Church. Contrary to the artist’s promise, the sale of a $7500 piece of art to a broad range of members of the church (our main fund-raising focus) was not easily done. We may have sold three after months of trying. Wayne Goodman and I, along with a few others, delivered a maquette as a gift to President Hinckley, the President of the Church, in his office in Salt Lake. That was a special experience, and he was very appreciative and even receptive to the invitation to dedicate the monument when it was erected, depending on his schedule availability.

 

The foundry company told us they needed six months to do the molds, casting and assembly and it was now six months until dedication. I called a special meeting of the committee and told them we had paid the artist in full, and a few other costs involved and had no more funds in hand. We would need to raise about $250,000 in the next six months where we had only raised $30,000 over the past two years. We had to decide whether to allow the foundry to proceed and commit ourselves to the $250,000 or stop or postpone the project and miss the 150th dedication window. After much discussion, we decided to pray about it. Following a heart-felt prayer, we felt we had an answer, took a vote and unanimously decided to make the commitment.

 

We contacted representatives from each Stake in Southern Arizona asking them to help by inviting us to a Stake function of some kind and specially inviting anyone they felt could help. We were excited that one such function was planned in Thatcher, Arizona and it was going to be held in a classroom at the University there. The committee’s fund-raising chairman and I traveled to Thatcher the prescribed evening and brought with us one of the maquettes to show what was being planned. The evening was very disappointing since only the event coordinator and one other person showed up. We went ahead with our presentation and drove home late at night very despondent. About a week later I got a letter from the one person who had attended saying that the Layton family in Arizona were committing to $50,000!

 

Another answer to prayer came when our fund-raising chairman heard that the owner of RC Willey, the Utah furniture chain, was helping on some projects for the Church. He flew to Salt Lake and met with this gentleman. He expressed some interest and, at our request, came to Tucson a couple weeks later. We took him to the foundry, and he saw the pieces of the monument being cast. He contributed $50,000 on the spot!

 

Another fund-raising tool we used for those not in the high-income bracket was a framed copper certificate given to anyone contributing $100 or more which identified them as a private, or officer in the Battalion based on the amount contributed. This was successful in raising even more funds.

 

Now that we were better assured of being able to afford the monument, I contacted President Hinckley’s office to confirm his willingness to dedicate the monument, and fortunately, his attendence was confirmed.

 

With the fund-raising moving in a positive direction the next step was to identify a location for the monument. Many possibilities were explored but the obvious choice was the Presidio Park in downtown Tucson near the City and County buildings. It was most desirable since it fell within the original Presidio walls where the Battalion had entered, raised the flag, and bartered for goods. I contacted the Director of City Parks and Recreation and explained our project and was pleasantly surprised at his receptiveness. He agreed that Presidio Park would be an appropriate site but told me we’d have to have the Mayor and Council’s approval. The next few weeks were spent talking to each member of the Council individually. There was some push-back due to the theme of Tucson being invaded by an outside force, and the potential race issue of white and Hispanic; but it appeared that we would receive a positive vote. However, there was a provision in the City Code which required any work of art being placed in a public location, must receive approval from the Tucson Pima Arts Council, an independent group of citizens, mostly artists. With full confidence I took the maquette and with the artist went to their meeting. I was totally caught off guard by the negativity of the group. They felt that “representative art” was not in style, but they would be more receptive to something more “symbolic”. They also felt that the Hispanic figure on the monument was being depicted in a demeaning way. He was in the minority with two American figures, he was dressed in traditional “charro” clothing, and he was on the edge of the monument. I was less than diplomatic in my response particularly regarding the representative issue. Fortunately, the artist was more sensible and suggested we make some alterations and return to their next meeting to which they agreed. We were very fortunate that no vote of rejection was taken.

 

The artist adjusted the depiction of Teodoro Ramirez by moving him forward in the sculpture, and by changing his attire to a more formal European style frock coat. With a stroke of inspiration, he also did some research and found a direct descendant of Ramirez in Tucson, Ted Ramirez. The artist met with him and got his support for the project. He also changed the face on the sculpture by using Ted’s likeness. Ted agreed to attend the next Arts Council meeting with us, and with the changes that were made and with Ted Ramirez’s endorsement, they reluctantly agreed to recommend approval to the City Council. A vote of approval was given at the next meeting of the City Council.

 

Thinking we were home free, using the only logical site in the park and the one assigned by Parks and Recreation, I began designing the base for the bronze monument incorporating the proposed five explanatory plaques, and the immediate area surrounding the monument. This was presented to Parks and Recreation who, again, were very supportive, however, they pointed out that Presidio Park, although owned by the City was built over a subgrade garage owned by Pima County and we’d have to receive permission from them to place this very heavy piece of art over their structure below. I had asked Berner Loftfield to do the construction work necessary and he agreed to do the work at less than the cost of the materials, what a blessing!  I thought he was being given sufficient time since there were three months left and the bronze sculpture would be finished a week before the dedication. But, now with this new approval requirement, time had become critical. I received the subterranean garage drawings, and based on them, it appeared the monument was being placed in the worst possible structural location, between two large concrete girders. Working with the County’s engineer, the only solution appeared to be to add two concrete beams from girder to girder beneath the monument. This was not only prohibitively expensive but would make completion of the monument impossible in time for the dedication. Under inspiration, Berner went into the garage and did a physical measurement of the main girder beams and determined the monument would fall directly over one of the girders! The County’s engineer could not believe this was possible and went with Bern into the garage to do the measurements. To his amazement he confirmed the location and gave his permission to proceed. However, now the construction time for Berner’s crew was down to two and one half weeks! Working day and night, miraculously they were able to have the base and surrounding areas completed and the bronze sculpture was set in its place the day before the dedication.

 

Sufficient funds had been raised to pay all costs of the monument with an excess of $25,000 which was to be used for the ongoing maintenance of the monument and the grounds around it.

 

Besides President Gordon B. Hinckley, the Mayor and two Congressmen participated in the dedication. President Hinckley had a severe cold but still attended and, besides the dedication met with the local missionaries, and the youth of the area. The Mayor graciously accepted the gift of the monument from the foundation to the City of Tucson.

 

Looking back on this history, I recognize that the monument was inspired and couldn’t have happened without many miracles and the hard work of many volunteer men and women. It is evident that our Heavenly Father has a full intention of fulfilling Brigham Young’s promise to the Battalion volunteers that “your names shall be held in honorable remembrance to the latest generation.”

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THE FOUNDATION

In 1987 a group of Tucson Mormons began efforts to
erect a monument honoring the men and women of
this historic, peaceful exchange between the
anglo-american and hispanic cultures and the
beginning of U.S. influence in the Southwest. To
accomplish their objective, they formed The Tucson
Mormon Battalion Monument Foundation, a non-profit, tax-exempt organization whose mission was to erect a significant monument to commemorate this historic event.
 

The monument was dedicated December 14, 1996 on the sesquicentennial of the event by Gordon B.
Hinckley, President of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints (the “Mormons”). this memorial sculpture is a gift to the people of Tucson from the The Tucson Mormon Battalion Monument Foundation, through the support of many individuals dedicated to preserving and honoring Arizona’s historical heritage.

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THE ARTIST
Clyde Ross Morgan, an internationally renowned sculptor, was commissioned to design the monument.
Mr. Morgan, of Sedona, Arizona, is known for
his historically accurate, narrative bronze sculptures.

 

For this commission, he selected three historical
figures: Captain Jefferson Hunt, Commander of Company A and Battalion senior captain; Private Christopher Layton, Company C, later colonizer and community leader in Southern Arizona, and Teodoro Ramirez, a successful and highly respected Tucson Presidio merchant.
 

In the sculpture, Captain Hunt points to the spot
where Private Layton has been ordered to post the
American flag while Teodoro Ramirez examines the
Captain’s chest of quality European clothing that is
being offered in exchange for bags of beans and wheat.