The First U.S. Flag over Arizona
Mormon Batallion Monument in downtown Tucson today.
On December 16, 1846, during the Mexican-American War, the Mormon Battalion raised the first U.S. flag over Tucson, marking the first time Old Glory flew over what would later become the state of Arizona.
Today, a small monument marker resembling a chiseled tombstone commemorates the historic spot where the flag was first raised.
Want to know where it is?
Join us for our Tucson Origins Tour to locate this historic site and get the full back story of the Mormon Batallion’s encounter with Mexican Tucson.
Lieut. Colonel P. St. George Cooke
These were the words of the Mormon Battalion commander at the end of the road in San Diego to his troops (mentioning Tucson):
“To bring these first wagons to the Pacific, we have preserved the strength of our mules by herding them over large tracts, which you have laboriously guarded without loss.
The garrison of four presidios of Sonora concentrated within the walls of Tucson, gave us no pause. We drove them out, with their artillery, but our interaction with the citizens was unmarked by a single act of injustice.
Thus, marching half naked and half fed, and living upon wild animals, we have discovered and made a road of great value to our country.”
Source:
Lee, John D., and Juanita Brooks. "Diary of the Mormon Battalion Mission." New Mexico Historical Review 42, 3 (1967). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmhr/vol42/iss3/2