Runaway Officials of 1851

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The "Runaway Officials of 1851" were a group of three federal officers, Judge Perry E. Brocchus, Judge Lemuel G. Brandebury, and Territorial Secretary Broughton Harris, who were appointed to Utah Territory by President Millard Fillmore in 1851. These men arrived in Utah in the summer of that year, and though they were cordially welcomed, they soon came into conflict with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and Latter-day Saint settlers of the territory. The confrontation centered around several features of the Mormon pioneer community, most significantly their practice of polygamy, which the appointees publicly denigrated. Eventually disagreements over territorial administration became rampant between the non-Mormon federal officials and newly appointed territorial Governor and President of the LDS Church, Brigham Young. By the end of September 1851, each of these officers left his Utah appointment for the east and their posts remained unfilled for the next two years. This was the first in a series of disagreements between the Latter-day Saint residents of Utah Territory and the United States government which would finally result in the Utah War of 1857–1858.